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Property/DIY

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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:
Davros · 27/03/2022 23:49

I hate having kitchen/diner/living all in one big space. We are renting for now so will not want that layout when we move.
All kitchens should have at least two normal size sinks and an extra half if possible. It's the law!

missminimum · 27/03/2022 23:49

Quartz worktops, so easy to clean and make the kitchen look really good. We weren't sure about spending the extra money on them and having to wait a bit longer for them to be fitted, but really glad we went for them.
Pan drawers, built in bins, induction hob have all been great additions for us

TooManyPJs · 27/03/2022 23:50

@MrsFezziwig You've obviously not met my husband. He manages to get greasy fingerprints over everything. Including our fridge, which has a handle! I'm still not entirely sure how he manages it. I definitely wouldn't trust him with handleless doors.

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 27/03/2022 23:59

I have a utility room with a sink off the kitchen so I rejected the planner's suggested 1.5 sink in favour of a big sink to get oven shelves and my big frying pan in. I didn't check the mixer tap was big enough. Love the big sink. Am annoyed by the tiny tap frequently.

theeaimee · 28/03/2022 09:41

I recently discovered this kitchen company through a friend, I saw they do stunning pantry and larder cupboards and I'm kicking myself for never thinking to include one in mine :(

EmmaGrundyForPM · 28/03/2022 09:50

Swing out pantry cupboard

Drawers! We have 3 huge pan drawers plus a unit with 4 "regular" drawers and I still wish we'd put in more.

Eye level oven. So much easier them under counter ones.

Induction hob.

JudgeRindersMinder · 28/03/2022 09:50

@Davros

I hate having kitchen/diner/living all in one big space. We are renting for now so will not want that layout when we move. All kitchens should have at least two normal size sinks and an extra half if possible. It's the law!
Interested about your sink usage! I’m doing battle with my kitchen designer as he doesn’t believe me that I only need a single sink (went to single after 1.5 bowl and loved it in old house) as I have a dishwasher
11stonesomething · 28/03/2022 09:53

This reply has been deleted

This post has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Nelliephant1 · 28/03/2022 09:59

Another one voting with the avoid wren at all costs!

JustJam4Tea · 28/03/2022 10:06

Pan drawers.
Drawers in larder cupboard.
A pull out thing by the hob for oils, salt and pepper etc.
Boiling water tap - luxury but I like it.
We got a tall larder freezer with drawers - so we can actually find stuff - it was a Howden's bosch though and I wish we'd upgraded as drawers are flimsy.
Quartz is good - but cold and a bit clangy - laminate would have been fine.

We spent a couple of hours working out how much stuff we had to store and planning where it would go.

The extra height cupboards weren't that useful.

Induction hob - it's very bleepy but I wouldn't go back to gas.

Self cleaning ovens.

Warming drawer - got a double height one mainly for aesthetics - and use it all the time.

We've got a drawer under the oven where we keep oven gloves and a cupboard underneath for oven trays.

Think about plugs and charging phones.

JustJam4Tea · 28/03/2022 10:06

Bin in cupboard is great.

We still haven't worked out where to put recycling though.

TatianaBis · 28/03/2022 10:10

@JustJam4Tea

Bin in cupboard is great.

We still haven't worked out where to put recycling though.

We have a double bin pullout. One for recycling the other for non recyclable. Our food waste bin is under the sink. But you could do food in one and recyclable in the other.
BlueJayCailin · 28/03/2022 10:12

We got a socket in a cupboard for charging phones etc - still have the inevitable mess of cables but at least i can shut the door on it!

cataline · 28/03/2022 10:13

We've just finished our kitchen reno and my tips are as follows:

Take the time to look at what needs to be stored in your kitchen and plan where every single one of those things will go.

Then do the same for everything you need and want to do in there. It makes all the difference!

Pull out bins in a cupboard -as big as possible and preferably separate recycling and general waste.

Drawers rather than cupboards. So much easier to use!

brokengoalposts · 28/03/2022 10:15

I have dark colours doors, I went for matching interiors in all cupboards except my big pantry one. I wish I'd got the same lighter interior for all cupboards, particularly the corner cupboard. I've had to put battery lights in them as I just can't see otherwise.

Jillyfernilly · 28/03/2022 11:00

I economised on cabinet inserts (drawer units inside the cabinet) but actually I really dislike and underuse the cupboards as stuff gets lost at the back.

3 years down the line it seems like a stupid false economy.

My kitchen designer wouldn't put a drawer unit in the area I'm talking about as it would spoil the line (he was right),

Things i love - drawers - I have 2 sets of 1m wide drawers they hold SO much stuff. One set has an internal upper cutlery drawer too.
My pyrolytic oven. Fancy tap. It makes me happy. Bookcase built into a small otherwise unusable 15cm gap - it holds my cookbooks and some ornaments.

Davros · 28/03/2022 11:18

JudgeRindersMinder
Two big sinks so, if necessary, one can have stuff soaking or waiting to go in the dishwasher, the other can still be used as normal and a half size one for peelings and food prep. Ta dah!

EventuallyDelighted · 28/03/2022 11:38

We had excellent service from Wren last year, the design service was WAY better than Howdens, Magnet or Wickes and everything came exactly when it was meant to, one replacement (incorrect) item was couriered out the next day, impeccable service. We used out own tradespeople though.

We love our boiling water tap, it's a Quooker with the pull out hose for flexibility. Quartz worktops are brilliant too, so glad we pushed the budget out a bit for both these. Also, we had a water softener put in which is brilliant if you are in a hard water area.

I am also really glad we didn't go for a pull out bin, having used them in holiday homes we weren't keen at all. We have a smart free standing one which opens by a sensor, you just wave your hand over it and the top slides open, much easier and far better use of space. We do have recycling in a cupboard but use our own container which is less restrictive in size than the pull out ones.

We have an Everhot range cooker, so all our heating comes from that, the kitchen is never cold. I much prefer it to eye level ovens and we so rarely use the microwave now we've kept it in the garage.

Yes to deep drawers instead of cupboards. We have knobs on ours, I'm not keen on the handle-less look but it's a matter of preference. If you do have knobs/handles, one central one is better than two as you can open it with one hand, but might restrict the width you can have, ours are max 90cm.

We've gone from 1.5 sinks to one big one, it is great having the bigger sink for washing larger things like fridge shelves and looks better too.

My main tip is not to rush the planning - we took 6 months over ours, had several designs done, went to showrooms repeatedly and tweaked endlessly. It was well worth it.

TatianaBis · 28/03/2022 11:49

I’ve actually done 2 Wren kitchens - as a developer I make my mistakes on other properties. They were shit both times. And I just think the quality of Wren cabinetry is pants - clumsy with clunky heavy hinges. The buyers loved the kitchens though.

skippy67 · 28/03/2022 13:41

We've had our new kitchen for 4 months now. Things l love
Pull out tap
1.5 bowl sink. The main bowl is large enough to fit oven trays, shelves, large frying pans in to soak.
Slim wine fridge.
Slim pull out under hob for oils and spices.
Larder with internal drawers.
Wide pan drawers. I have 3 sets of 800mm wide drawers, including one set right next to the dishwasher.
Induction hob.

BIWI · 28/03/2022 13:44

When I was planning ours, I started with the appliances I wanted. I did a to-scale drawing of the space, and the individual appliances and where they would go/fit best. Then I used that as a startpoint with the architect - we were using an architect as we were having an extension built as well.

Once we'd worked that out, then it was a case of fitting the units around them.

JustJam4Tea · 28/03/2022 14:40

@Jillyfernilly

I economised on cabinet inserts (drawer units inside the cabinet) but actually I really dislike and underuse the cupboards as stuff gets lost at the back.

3 years down the line it seems like a stupid false economy.

My kitchen designer wouldn't put a drawer unit in the area I'm talking about as it would spoil the line (he was right),

Things i love - drawers - I have 2 sets of 1m wide drawers they hold SO much stuff. One set has an internal upper cutlery drawer too.
My pyrolytic oven. Fancy tap. It makes me happy. Bookcase built into a small otherwise unusable 15cm gap - it holds my cookbooks and some ornaments.

I'm getting a kitchen fitter in to put 4 more drawers in our tall cupboards, didn't think we needed them, but the existing drawers are so useful I'm going to get more.
EmmaGrundyForPM · 28/03/2022 14:44

@JustJam4Tea. the bleeping on my induction hob drove me mad for months.

Then I finally bothered to read the instructions and found I could turn it off 😅

RomeoOscarXrayIndigoEcho · 28/03/2022 14:49

I love our marmoleum floor (97% carbon neutral, fast growing source plant, naturally antibacterial, tough)

I love our Alexa integrated kitchen lights...which have loads of settings including disco!

Our ikea kitchen was less than 1/2 of the magnet equivalent AND included oven and combo micro (which the magnet kitchen didn't)

We used ikea fitters and oh my gosh the were fantastic. Fabulous attention to detail, creative too (a couple of areas they made suggestions really made a positive difference) but the new ikea system was shockingly bad.

Love our version of a double sink.

Lots of sockets with USB spaces.

Everything pulls out where it can and the oven has these special arms that pull out, so we bought an extra set.

We made a mistake with tap. Wish we had one that "pulls out".

freshcarnation · 28/03/2022 14:49

I've literally just ordered mine through Howdens. It was in an existing kitchen so I've changed all the stuff I hated the last time I designed this kitchen and kept the bits that work.

I've gone for nearly all pan drawers. Done away with corner cupboards. Got rid of the long thing slider metal cupboards, because stuff fell out unless they were wedges in old Tupperware boxes. This time I'm having drawers that can pull out, like a chest of drawers

I've kept the bins out of the units, gone for a double butler sink and no drainer.