What is the best thing in your kitchen - or what you wish you had done?

[CMOTDibbler]

We will be having an extension built this summer, massively increasing the size of the kitchen and also adding a massive utility/storage/laundry room on the side.
I have a floor plan, but no more idea than that currently apart from the concept of an island (without sink/hob etc on it, but wine fridge and seating area included) no real ideas. Not a kitchen /diner and without french/patio doors so lots of wall space to play with, the former utility room we think we'd like as a pantry area, then the long thin utility on the side.
So if you had all that to play with, what would you absolutely do, and what would you avoid doing? We are not neat and tidy people, and I'm keen to give us the best chance of being organised in the future

We love the drinks fridge.

We put the hob on the Island and that works for us. Wish we'd put a little pull out cupboard (300mm) for salt and pepper, oil - next to the hob.

A cool pantry would be great - the manifold for our underfloor heating ended up in the cupboard I was hoping to use as a pantry - so it's too warm.

We looked at our cupboards and storage and replicated it plus quite a lot in the new kitchen.

We've got 5 wide drawers - with hidden cutlery drawer - where all the bowls, pans, plates etc are. They are great.

We got glass fronted display type cabinets to bounce some light round - but I need to frost the front as they aren't displaying anything nice.

Think about lighting - e.g. lighting above Island - what lights you'll want on when and whether you want sockets on the Island. I use the Island for food processor etc.

We got a boiling water tap which was stupidly expensive but very convenient.

I wanted a sink in the utility and also a tall cupboard with a plug for charging the vacuum and putting the ironing board in. Tried to make a pull down ironing board work but couldn't quite fit.

Love my boiling water tap.
Have a pull out spice cupboard that is great - I'm so sad I've put them in alphabetical order and I am the most unorganised woman in the world.
Have some v wide deep drawers for baking trays and pyrex
The corner cupboard has a pull out thingy so space isn't wasted.

An adjustable industrial style light over the sink and prep area which I can pull up or down ( like an anglepoise). My kitchen is dark north facing and the extra big light does help to brighten it up.

Wish I had somewhere to store the bread machine.

I have a laundry chute into the utility. The washer/dryer are stacked next to it and then I have 5 shelves with baskets to fold everyone’s laundry into.

Boiling water tap/ Sparkling water tap

Prep sink next to the hob, extra to the sink and a half elsewhere in the kitchen.

2 dishwashers

Spice drawer that is 1200mm wide and the spices lay down with labels showing - life changing.

Lots of drawers not cupboards

Island without anything on it.

Lots of plug sockets.

2 x full size oven, plus combi, plus 2 x warming drawer.

Built in coffee machine, but wish we had it plumbed in and that’s my only mistake really.

Our old home had a decent sized kitchen and we had pan drawers which was, imo, the height of luxury.

My Aga.

Our kitchen is small, and likely to stay so, since I really can't see myself spending my life savings on an extension for such a boring, functional room. The previous owners installed it and things that I like include:

there is a proper working 'triangle' between hob, sink and food prep space. Everything is within reaching distance or just a step and a lean in. I can be really cheffy in that space. I like cooking and entertaining, but I don't want people hanging around in the kitchen while I work. I want to emerge, swan-like and elegant, after being up to my tits in whatever I'm preparing. So even if I had a big kitchen, I'd want to make sure that functional triangle was in there.
there's good storage and use of space - plinth storage, cupboard doors that are hinged vertically so you can open them in a narrow space between them and the fridge freezer, carousels in the corner cupboards.
decent lighting.
Bins inside cupboards.
Two ovens, one of which is a combi-oven/microwave, so clears workspace. Very useful to have the second one.

Things I'd change:
I would have a proper extraction system, that ducts out of the house, not just a stupid hood extractor which is nowhere near up to the job.
big dishwasher. They crammed a small one into the corner, and I'm forever emptying and stacking the blasted thing.
A boiling water tap so I could clear the kettle off the worktop forever.
White/offwhite quartz/marble/stone worktop. The current one is black quartz - looks great when buffed up but shows every fingerprint and bit of limescale (London, hard water, there's always limescale to keep at bay).
Better heating. It's cold in there in winter - the previous owners put in one of those plinth heaters, but it's never worked.

Definitely my bin cupboard. Two large bins and two smaller bins in a pull out cupboard.

Drawers. As many as you can fit. Cupboards are a pain if your mobility is not up to much.
Also a hanging rack. My son has just had kitchen refit and was very non committal, but after me nagging got one and is converted. Everything to hand (albeit on tip-toe).

Thanks all, I was already planning on drawers as the main storage in the kitchen area, but had missed out on the thought of spice drawers which is fabulous. Quooker already on the list, as is two separate ovens and an eye level compact grill oven. I was wondering about bin cupboards, but we are currently thinking two bin cupboards so there is one for landfill and the other for recycling.
My vague plan is to have nice pull down industrial lights over the island, partly as it is the only place in the house where we could have them due to ceiling/people heights and to be able to have it bright for cake decorating or anything detailed or more relaxed. Not sure I'd planned enough sockets for the island though (at least in my head anyway, so great point)
@BigSkies22 due to the layout of the house, the kitchen is really pathetic in a big house, but my reticence to spend money on it is why we've been in this house 15 years, half the drawers are gaffer taped together at the back, and so finally we either just refitted the kitchen how it is and hated the lack of storage or did the extension and sorted things out. I'm sick of the good wine glasses living in my wardrobe too

Sockets with usb charging points incorporated.

Another vote for USB sockets, it’s a little thing that makes a big impact.

Many drawers.

Separate utility area if space allows.

I’d speak to an architect / interior designer who knows about space planning before I started my extension.

And I’d have large windows / French doors and a kitchen diner.

I think you are getting bogged down in small details without actually knowing how to best use all this space that you are paying a lot of money for.

Get the extractor fan fitted to your height. Not low if you are really tall. My DH continually hits his head on ours (rental).

In our own house we had it fitted above his head height.

Bespoke glass splash-backs.
No tiles.
Small prep sink near hob, baby-bath main sink.
Bin cupboards

Would have USB ports.

I wish I had two dishwashers.

@TheWayTheLightFalls

Another vote for USB sockets, it’s a little thing that makes a big impact.

Many drawers.

Separate utility area if space allows.

In the world of energy saving, those USB charging sockets are ‘always on’ and while the current draw when not in use will be minuscule, if you have half a dozen of them on all the time it’s something to be aware of :). I hate them because they’re slow, and just use an iPad charger to charge my phone. It’s much quicker. The sockets do look tidier though :)

On the socket front, twice as many as you think you’ll need. At least twice as many. And easy to access ones on the island too.

My must-haves would include plenty of deep drawers rather than cupboards, plenty of refrigerated space - I just use an extra build under fridge rather than a wine fridge as I can get more in it. And a built under freezer for the stuff you want easy access to - veg, fruit, bread etc. Worktop appliances hidden behind a door…toasters, mixers etc. Built in microwave rather than freestanding. And the Aga. Wouldn’t be without that either in an ideal world. Decent work surface and tiled floor with wet underfloor heating. And a nice big utility room for all laundry appliances and stuff, with plenty of room to use an ironing board. A big freezer in their as well.

Large bin with different sections for recycling, landfill and food waste
Hob on the island
Boiling tap

Ok, 'marmite' time but a prep sink with a waste disposal unit. The single best thing we have in the kitchen. No more maggots or smelly bins full of food waste. Yes I know there are solutions for all these things but a waste disposal unit is just so convenient.

Without a doubt having a double eye-level electric oven. I just can't understand why anyone would want to have to stoop down to check on/get things out of the oven. I've insisted on eye-level since I was in my early 30s so it's nothing to do with fitness.

Consider a Qettle instead of a Quooker, much cheaper and so far I love mine.

Run through your everyday activities in the imaginary new space and see where you’d prefer things. Eg make a cup of tea, where are the mugs, the teabags, boiling water tap, fridge for milk, etc.

I've just replaced my built in oven (which died) with a slide and hide Neff oven. The answer to a prayer - as was the induction hob. With regard to the 'work triangle' mentioned by a PP this is so important to give your kitchen 'direction'. I would also second plenty of sockets - we've got 20 and it's still not enough when you consider how many are plugged in more or less permanently.

I love my walk-in pantry, definitely a good thing to have if you can accommodate it. If you can’t, then full height pantry cupboards work well too. Having all food together just works well.

We also have two dishwashers, and whilst I remain sceptical on how necessary that was, I am thankful for them several times a week.

The big decision is whether you are a range cooker or separates person. I’ve had Neff separates for the last 7 years now, in two different houses/kitchens and that works well for me.

Self cleaning ovens.
Induction hob.

We have a French door American style fridge freezer which I love. In our old house that wouldn’t work so we had a full height integrated fridge and undercounter integrated freezer which also worked well.

@FormerlySpeckledyHen I've just had glass splash backs removed and replaced with tiles as they became a graveyard for teeny tiny fruit flies that could squeeze behind the glass - no way to clean behind them , yuck

I have an appliance cupboard, it's 500 wide and has one appliance per shelf, no scrapping about moving things out of the way to get to them and no appliances cluttering the work top.

A plug tower with USB ports.