Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

What you love most in your kitchen?

202 replies

Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 20:05

Hi :)
I'm now designing a new kitchen. It's a decent space (was the kitchen and diner originally) but we are certainly not on a luxury budget so boiling water taps for 1k are not on the radar.
But I would LOVE to know what you love in your kitchen that it's worth me thinking about, I've never before had the opportunity to design a kitchen and so I'd like to get it right but would really appreciate advice of those who have been there and done that,
Thanks so much for your time :)

OP posts:
DilemmaDelilah · 14/12/2022 21:17

I had my kitchen done at great expense (an inheritance paid for it) two years ago and have nearly everything I could ever want in it!
top cupboards go up to the ceiling so nothing can be dumped on top of them
bottom cupboards nearly all drawers. Only exceptions are under the sink and one other.
3 full height cupboards with pull out wire baskets
Its a very long kitchen so I have:
A 'coffee station' down one end which is a peninsula between the kitchen and the breakfast area with a kettle, shelves and an under counter fridge. The other standard cupboard is this end and contains a small pull out bin for teabags.
We have another kettle and a big fridge freezer down the working end of the kitchen.
lots and lots of cupboards, including a full height one which has plugs in it where I charge the hoover, floor cleaner etc.
and I think I love MOST of all the fact that I have over 2 metres of uninterrupted (and uncluttered) work surface in beautiful Silestone composite.
We thought of having a boiling water tap at the coffee station but decided against it. What I would like is to have a tap fitted at that end so that we can fill the kettle without having to go all the way down to the other end of the kitchen. It is still possible as there is plumbing at that end, but probably an unnecessary expense.

GenialHarryGr0ut · 14/12/2022 21:17

Another vote for boiling water tap - we have a proboil that cost about £300 - worth every penny

Pull out spice cupboard

Wide and deep draws for baking trays and pyrex

Corner pull out pan thing

SkiingIsHeaven · 14/12/2022 21:18

My ball baring washing machine

What you love most in your kitchen?
motleymop · 14/12/2022 21:20

chronictonic · 14/12/2022 21:01

Big deep wide draw that was probably intended for pots and pans but houses all our spices and soice blends - jars with labels on top so easy to locate, but also perfectly higgedly piggedly with packets and all different shapes as let's face it, they come in all different shapes and sizes and if you're into your cooking, you end up with all sorts not just uniform sainsburys , waitrose or barts jars!

I bought a label maker for any jars without labels on top. Very useful!

Fleur405 · 14/12/2022 21:20

Big drawers for pans and plates etc are soooo much better than cupboards. A big pull out larder thingy.

And I love my quartz worktop and island. Sometimes I just stroke them….

motleymop · 14/12/2022 21:21

I would recommend a tap with a pull out hose.

DilemmaDelilah · 14/12/2022 21:21

@LucySno why not just have two kettles, like me?

Timepasse · 14/12/2022 21:29

The toaster!

comeondover · 14/12/2022 21:32

Love these:
Pan drawers
Warming drawer
Underfloor heating

But the tall pull-out larder cupboard - meh. Hard to see what's in there and yet lots of wasted space.

RunDownRita · 14/12/2022 21:36

The pull-out handheld sprayer thing. Not expensive but so useful for cleaning, especially cleaning the sink itself.

Bogglebrain · 14/12/2022 21:36

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 14/12/2022 20:11

I have just had a brand new kitchen put in and we had a max budget of 10k all in including fitting and some appliances (hob, oven, dishwasher and microwave). The things I love are pan drawers and my pull out bin. Sad as it sounds I just love them. Also the only splurge we had was a bosch built in microwave as our kitchen is teeny and we were losing a chunk of worktop for an oven housing. So getting the microwave off the counter was fab.

We did end up going over budget by £780 but that was for some unforseen electrical work and a blind.

I agree with this.

pan drawers are brilliant, better than cupboards. Also pull out bin drawers too.

And we have our microwave in a wall unit too!

Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:40

How does a butler sink work with draining, no insta beautiful kitchens have any draining crockery do they Grin

OP posts:
Bogglebrain · 14/12/2022 21:41

We also just have the one large sink (not one of those with the small draining part) and it’s perfect for washing the grill pan and large baking trays/pots etc.

Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:41

33goingon64 · 14/12/2022 20:30

We've got a bendy tap in our new kitchen and I love it. You can direct it wherever you need. Not seen anyone else with one in UK but we stayed in a French cottage that had one and we vowed we'd get one.

www.tapwarehouse.com/p/clearwater-morpho-chrome-mono-kitchen-mixers

We had a bendy tap in our last house and I loved it!!

OP posts:
Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:43

junebirthdaygirl · 14/12/2022 20:33

Mine is granite worktop as with teens cooking etc it's still perfect and really looks well at all times. It never changes.
A good view of the garden which is pleasant while you're chopping.
And the deep drawers for pans etc.
What l don't like is the floor is too dark..dark tiles. Even though it's a very bright room with big windows the dark floor soaks up light.

Our current Flor is dark and an absolute pain in the arse for every crumb and cat hair, I'm looking at oak effect LVT throughout whole of downstairs. I love the herringbone, although a bit trendy

OP posts:
Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:43

LazyDoll · 14/12/2022 20:33

Imo don’t get a cheap hot water tap. Waste of time and money. It won’t go the distance and you’ll regret it. Spend on one or don’t bother. They’re an investment. Do you have appliances in your island or a sink or just entertainment/prep space?

Just the bins in the island, nothing else. Wide set of drawers and some cupboards

OP posts:
AtomicRitual · 14/12/2022 21:45

MrsPuddle · 14/12/2022 20:49

To those with a hot tap, do you have a problem with hard water? I live in london and the calcium is obvious in my normal kettle, but I can pour it down the sink. Why doesn’t it block up the boiling water cylinder? That’s what’s stopped me getting one!

You can get a water softener fitted before the tap. I live in a very hard water area and had an in line filter in my old kitchen. Really effective. I miss it in this house and have to put up with a Brita filter until we get round to doing our kitchen.

Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:45

NotMeNoNo · 14/12/2022 20:43

Layout is everything. I think the Blum "dynamic space" zones works well so everything in a logical flow.
One good big prep area next to the hob.
Separate tea/coffee area.
Really good storage, double door larder with custom shelves and pullout drawers/inner drawers in all the base units.
Big pullout bins (see Binopolis)
I can take or leave different sinks and ovens but I'd put an induction hob in a new kitchen now.

Interesting about zones, I'm not sure our room is big enough to be zoned, but I'll look into it.

Love the pp who has a breakfast fridge.

OP posts:
Lcb123 · 14/12/2022 21:46

We had a tiny / very simple new kitchen - I love having a pull out bin in a cupboard.

Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:46

NotMeNoNo · 14/12/2022 20:45

If you are in a budget, a wall mounted Xpelair type fan will do the same job as a cooker hood or £££ vented hob.

Not sure what I think about cooker hoods. Our current is built into hidden in a cupboard. The new plan has one of those big silver things, I'm not sure I like it. He says it can be handy as a shelf?!!

OP posts:
tunainatin · 14/12/2022 21:47

Oven fitted high up so you don't have to bend down to use it. Waste disposal reduces rubbish significantly.

Original poster
Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:47

MandaLynn · 14/12/2022 20:47

An appliance pantry. Home for the toaster, blender, microwave, slow cooker, etc - all usable in the pantry. Means the countertops are clear (or at least, have clear space for all the kids crap!)

This is beautiful, clear surfaces bring me joy

OP posts:
Rummikub · 14/12/2022 21:47

Pull out larder.

Next time I want a talk corner pantry.

Like the idea of a breakfast area too.

Rummikub · 14/12/2022 21:49

Celeste777 · 14/12/2022 21:46

Not sure what I think about cooker hoods. Our current is built into hidden in a cupboard. The new plan has one of those big silver things, I'm not sure I like it. He says it can be handy as a shelf?!!

Show quote history

I dislike cooker hoods. Mine is broken and I don’t think I need one again.

kitcat15 · 14/12/2022 21:54

I love the original ceiling beams....I love the oaks plank shelves with wrought iron shelf fixings ( no wall cabinets at all) ....I love all my kitchen.plants....mostly the 2 that hang in macrame hangers and I love my big made to measure blue larder cupboard

Swipe left for the next trending thread