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Original poster

New kitchen - what do you wish you'd included

111 replies

ranoutofquinoaandprosecco · 27/03/2022 16:36

Just that really, having a new kitchen installed in August, have a meeting with the planner this Wednesday what do I definitely need!

OP posts:
MarmiteCoriander · 27/03/2022 22:08

I'm currently planning a kitchen as renovating. Some things I've been told about:

  • Drawers all over- no more bending and squatting to get to the back of a cupboard
  • more electrical sockets than you'll think you need (phone charger, mixer, toaster, electric can opener, coffee machine, slow cooker etc)
  • I've read about under cupboard drawers which are hidden behind the base panel on the floor. Apparently you must have flat flooring underneath, but would be handy for excess tins, dog food tins, jars etc.
BIWI · 27/03/2022 22:10

The one thing I would change about mine would be to make the ovens slightly lower. The main oven is fine, but the combi oven/microwave on top is just a bit too high for me, as a shortarse.

newbiename · 27/03/2022 22:10
  1. Different coloured units
  2. Small wine fridge
  3. Double oven / separate grill.

Tiny kitchen so tricky to fit things in.

Original poster
ranoutofquinoaandprosecco · 27/03/2022 22:13

Keep the ideas coming, these are immense, I live the idea of hidden drawers floor level for excess tins, animal food etc.

What's everyone doing about heating? I've a largish kitchen diner which we're opening up so it includes the lounge as well!

OP posts:
PicpoulDeMeNay · 27/03/2022 22:17

I’ve heard wren horrors from friends.

I went with a benchmarx kitchen - they’re owned by Travis Perkins - and the identical kitchen was £2k cheaper than howdens.

I love my deep pan drawers, corner cupboard thing that pulls right out so you get plenty of useful storage from a corner, built in microwave which keeps worktops so uncluttered. I really wanted a pull out larder, but just didn’t have the space, but still love my new kitchen and wouldn’t change a thing about it!

ElephantLover · 27/03/2022 22:23

Underfloor heating (water/gas) for large open plan kitchen

  • place the dishwasher close to the drawers with plates/bowls/pans etc.
  • built in bins
  • water softener (if you wish)
  • splashback behind the hob (we had marble and then needed to cover it with glass to prevent stains)
  • a hob with sufficient space for large pans. I have 5 burners but only the middle one has enough 'space' to take a big pan. Huge pain!
HellToTheNope · 27/03/2022 22:32

What's everyone doing about heating? I've a largish kitchen diner which we're opening up so it includes the lounge as well!

I would not have open plan. I would definitely have a way to close off the kitchen/dining from the lounge.

BIWI · 27/03/2022 22:33

We had underfloor heating installed, as it meant we could free up more wall space as we wouldn't need a radiator. TBH I think it was a mistake. The kitchen is quite a big space now, and with a large velux window in the roof, a glass back door and a glass window at the back, it can get pretty cold there in winter. The UFH seems only to take the chill off the room, rather than actually heating it. When it's really cold, we have to make sure we keep the kitchen doors closed as otherwise it lets too much cold air into the rest of the downstairs.

MrsFezziwig · 27/03/2022 22:49

@BIWI

The one thing I would change about mine would be to make the ovens slightly lower. The main oven is fine, but the combi oven/microwave on top is just a bit too high for me, as a shortarse.
I’m short too - spent hours thinking about this and thought I had the levels cracked with a combi microwave above a standard oven. Had forgotten that a combi opens forwards (like an oven) instead of side to side (like a microwave) - so now I have to reach up over the outward opening door, and my arms are too short to reach to the back of the combi.
MrsFezziwig · 27/03/2022 22:56

@TatianaBis

Don’t be seduced by handleless cupboards - they get greasy hand marks all over them.
Baffled by this comment - how does the fact that they’re handleless relate to getting greasy hand marks all over them? My handleless cupboards have a lip and I open them using a couple of fingers in the lip recess - hardly touch the outer surfaces at all.
catfunk · 27/03/2022 22:57

Stretchy Tap
Intergrated bins
Stone or quartz worktop with cut out drainer grooves

gettingolderbutcooler · 27/03/2022 23:03

Magnet! They've done us a unit with 2 big bins for rubbish and recycling
X

gettingolderbutcooler · 27/03/2022 23:03

...and a pull out larder.

QueenOfHiraeth · 27/03/2022 23:11

I love my pan drawers and pull-out larder cupboards
I wish I'd had a Quooker tap and tiled the floor instead of LVT (alternative to Amtico/Karndean which is wearing badly)

Florence4170 · 27/03/2022 23:17

I have several pullout units. Bin cupboard with two large and two smaller bins. Mirror not tiles. Quooker tap. Loads of deep drawers. Induction hob with down draft extractor (I hate cooker hoods) and self-healing glass.

Florence4170 · 27/03/2022 23:18

Oh - and two plinth heaters. USB sockets.

MissFritton65 · 27/03/2022 23:28

@BIWI where are you? I'm in the North West and have water UFH in our kitchen (9m x 7m) and it's fantastic (Plus I feel the cold)

BIWI · 27/03/2022 23:30

@MissFritton65 SW London. Why?!

MrsLegend · 27/03/2022 23:30

Larger hob with more rings

Double oven rather than single

Two dishwashers (we are a large family)

MrsLegend · 27/03/2022 23:31

Pan drawers are the best. I've had loads put in and use them for glasses etc too!

MissFritton65 · 27/03/2022 23:38

@BIWI just thinking of cost of UFH as value for money. I've got 18 solar panels and several batteries so supplements the cost considerably

ElephantLover · 27/03/2022 23:42

@BIWI

We had underfloor heating installed, as it meant we could free up more wall space as we wouldn't need a radiator. TBH I think it was a mistake. The kitchen is quite a big space now, and with a large velux window in the roof, a glass back door and a glass window at the back, it can get pretty cold there in winter. The UFH seems only to take the chill off the room, rather than actually heating it. When it's really cold, we have to make sure we keep the kitchen doors closed as otherwise it lets too much cold air into the rest of the downstairs.
That sounds unusual. Our UFH is toasty warm and positively boiling in the toilet where we have vinyl tiles. We have a large open plan with an enormous skylight in the ceiling and one entire wall of bifold. Plus high ceiling (2 feet more than usual). I would suggest you investigate your UFH incase there is something that needs changing perhaps..
DalarnaHorses · 27/03/2022 23:42

Baffled by this comment - how does the fact that they’re handleless relate to getting greasy hand marks all over them? My handleless cupboards have a lip and I open them using a couple of fingers in the lip recess - hardly touch the outer surfaces at all.

I assume she means flat slab doors which have hidden push to close/open mechanisms. You just push against the front of the door, hence fingermarks. We have wardrobe doors like that which aren't a problem, but wouldn't want them in the kitchen.

DalarnaHorses · 27/03/2022 23:45

We rented a house with UFH, the bathrooms were fab and toasty, but the bigger rooms especially the large lounge just didn't get warm enough. Also you couldn't just knock it on if the weather unexpectedly turned cold, as it took forever to heat up.