Kitchen - what do you wish you had done/included that you didn't

[strawberry2017]

We are due to renovate our kitchen in May and we are at the final stages of planning and then I need to purchase appliances.
My question to you is, what do you regret not including or doing when you had the chance?
I want to make sure I've thought of everything before we finalise things.

If you go through the 'kitchen lessons learned' thread and copy paste all the bits that are relevant to you, that's what I did. Found good appliances, my independent concept planner, where to look forward worktops etc etc .

Having a big double fridge freezer! I would've loved one of those.

I'm following this with interest as planning our new kitchen.

Things I know I want
Boiling water tap
Big pantry like cupboard I'm going to design the whole kitchen around this.
Space for all the gadgets eg sandwich toaster so they are not stacked on top of each other. I plan on writing an inventory of stuff we want to keep and coming up with somewhere for all of it. Likewise shelves the right height for the food I buy.
Clever bin / recycling. I need to research this but the recycling currently makes me depressed
Extra big fridge
Proper vegetable storage
Space for coffee machine so I don't have to move it to empty out the grounds.

Mistake I’ve made more than once is not planning the bin/recycling.

@121hugsneeded any tips on finding it? I've tried searching on the name you gave but cannot locate it? X

Make yourself a BIG cup of tea!
lessons learnt

I had an idea of fancy bin/recycling, but saw kitchens where it is built in. A right pain as extra door to open and three separate containers to take out.

Hence we have a rubbish bin and a recycling crate in a space under a counter. Recycling gets sorted outside, our council only asks us to separate paper/card anyway. So just one crate to take out, plus the bin liner when that is full. Much easier.

regret is not standing over the installer as we didn't spot all the screw ups. The tap was fitted off centre to the sink and the water only just goes in the half bowl. This is after ripping out the aerator.

Paid more for RSJs and underpinning when we built the extension that the kitchen is housed in, so that we would not have needed to retain a central support pillar which is slap bang in the centre of the room.

@thelegohooverer thank you I'll give it a read once the kids are in bed! X

@strawberry2017

It's here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1554664-The-MN-lessons-learnt-kitchen-thread

Beaten to it.

We bought quite a basic kitchen but expensive worktops. I'd say invest in good worktops that last. We also got a good carpenter to come in at the end to add finishing touches and personal details - so the bog standard kitchen actually looks pretty unique!

@LittleOverwhelmed how are you having the 2 single ovens? I'm curious about this over the double oven option.

We had a larder built into one of the chimney breasts it holds so much and everything visible and easy to find

Food waste and compost bins. I did the usual standard and recycling bins and just plain forgot about food waste and compost so now have two caddies sitting on the side of a new kitchen!

We have a walk-in larder, and I wish we'd put in a light!

Agree on getting a decent worktop with more big standard cupboards. Mine is solid wood and cost the same as the IKEA particle-board laminate, but I can sand out scratches and oil it if I want. I wish I’d paid more attention to the floor before installing the kitchen - should have done that first!
Are you working with all new items or do you have to work with any appliances etc you already have?

Sorry, that should say bog-standard!

@WinterIsGone

We have a walk-in larder, and I wish we'd put in a light!

Something like this would be good for your larder - many other options out there. www.auraglow.co.uk/ag585-auraglow-drawer-cupboard-lights-with-proximity-sensor-twin-pack-1683.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAst2BBhDJARIsAGo2ldU6v1GQDm8JtVR-fipcjrs8CAR12KQdc_GLdTo4BuHpo2Zy_rsCaRQaAl-HEALw_wcB

I have a kitchen with wooden worktops - look lovely but they are a right pain to keep looking good. They are for people who don't want to actually use the kitchen. Kitchen was in when we moved but I would love to change for composite.

I wish we had left enough space for a massive fridge freezer! Ours is always jam packed and things are always falling out on me when I open the door. I feel like we need a bigger one but we only left enough space between our units for our tall thin one with fridge on top and freezer under.

A waste disposal - gets rid of all leftover food (which is a lot as my 5 year old barely eats !)

A place to towels and tea towels to hang up. Mine just loop over the oven handle.

Lighting is important. Builders will try for millions, you may need less but think about where the light will be in relation to you standing at the sink or using the worktop.