What you love most in your kitchen?

[Celeste777]

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 :)

A tap that pulls out on a hose is brilliant.

With integrated fridges and freezers, you lose quite a bit of internal space.

I intended getting the stone cut beside my sink but the fitter advised strongly against it. The company I bought it from were keen enough to take extra money off me for it but he was practically begging me not to 😂 because he said the cut surfaces would slowly stain and it wasn’t effective enough to be worth it.

I was dubious and figured I could always get them back if I changed my mind. But actually it’s not been a problem. I was imagining puddles of water dripping down the front of the cupboard but the reality is a few drops that I just wipe into the sink.

I will admit that a stainless steel sink and drainer is a much more functional design and what any sensible person would take. But I’m happy to sacrifice a bit of function for the aesthetics of the butler sink.

Ok so plans being tweaked today.

Realised that my plan has laminate worktops and a single ceramic style sink. So no way of draining 😣🤡

Talk to me about quartz worktops- are they really the Bees knees, wasn't it granite in vogue before? And how expensive are we talking?

The sofa and the fire. I always wanted a big eat in kitchen with social space.

Ah, right! It's so tricky, isn't it - I think any kitchen you have, you end up accepting there's a practical compromise that just won't be budged in the end.

We've knocked through our kitchen/diner and lounge to make one big kitchen/dining/social space (plus separate cosy lounge) as like the idea of having a social family space

@Celeste777 I paid 3k for 9.3 meters of quartz including fitting. I went to a local supplier, quotes from kitchen companies were higher. Going direct also meant much more choice.

Another vote for a boiling water tap. It's the most used thing in our kitchen! I couldn't live without it now. Between my husband and I we probably make 10 hot drinks a day. We can have them in an instant! No ugly kettle cluttering up our nice clear worktops and no waiting for it to boil each time. We've got a Quooker one that's got the filtered drinking water as well (tbh I think this is standard?) and a then the regular hot / cold water so it's all one tap. It's also got a bendy hose that pulls out which is brill for cleaning the sink itself, rinsing berries etc. I've got small children and there are built in safety features which make it very difficult for a boiling water accident.

Other favourite things are all no cupboards on the bottom. Large deep pull out drawers for pots & pans, plates, cups etc. It makes life so much easier. And also my large wide spice drawer so I can just pull out one drawer and have all my spices on display in front of me. No rummaging to find the parsley at the back of the cupboard behind 20 jars of other herbs & spices!

Lastly a pull out drawer for all my bins - food waste, mixed recycling & rubbish.

Yup, local supplier for granite worktops. Way cheaper than a kitchen company. Involved a visit to a separate 'wholesale' yard to choose exactly what we wanted. The local supplier took delivery of the slab from the wholesale yard and did the templating, cutting and fitting after all the units were in.

There are granite/quartz suppliers online. I wouldn't buy from them but you can plug in your worktop dimensions and pick a product to get a rough idea of cost.

Well... I've had quartz in a couple of kitchens now and have even put it in my utility room. Very easy to keep clean. Will last forever. Mine are white with a slight grey speckle. I have a large one a half sink sat under the worktop and have draining grooves. I don't use the draining area much as my dishwasher is next to it, so stuff goes straight in. They can yellow a bit but I just use a scourer and they're back to clean.
We decided against the Quooker tap and have a garburator instead. They take up less room in the sink unit than the tank for the Quooker...but it is all personal preference.
If I had to choose either over Quartz worktops I would always go for the quartz.
Price wise...it will all depend on dimensions and choice of quartz.

And if you don't want to shell out for the full-on, pull-out bendy spray tap, there's a small attachment you can buy that just screws into a standard tap. Costs about a tenner and gives an optional spray/jet. It's directional too. Great for rinsing the bits out of corners of the sink. I think I got mine from Lakeland.

Big freezer

Yes to a deep drawer for Tupperware!

If you have room, extra deep worktops. Then stuff can sit at the back, if it must, but doesn't impinge on your workspace.

Best bit: the corner bracket DH designed, welded, painted and installed that carries the microwave below the upper cupboards, freeing up the workspace. Worst bit: I dislike the layout now (was a looooong time ago)< and would go for a corner larder.

Lovely old 1960s Aga. ❤️

I would have said my boiling water tap - sorry.

But, otherwise the deep pull out drawers instead of lower cupboards. I only have one corner lower cupboard. The rest are drawers and I find them so much more useful for the daily use things. Just more accessable.

I had a new kitchen this spring and the things I’m loving are;

boiling water tap (sorry but it’s amazing!) from Howdens you could either have their own brand (lowest price option) or Franke (we went for this mid price option) or Quooker (the high price option), the way it pushes in and turns means that it would be unlikely for a smaller child to be able to operate it (there is also a safety clip you could leave on when not in use but we don’t bother as teen DD understands the burning risk). Partner is a right tea Jenny so it has really been appreciated.

Quartz worktop that is also counter to cupboard (splashback) full height on the hob side, looks great and is easy to clean. This item I almost decided against due to the cost but I am so happy with it and glad I sacrificed some of my inside cupboard gubbins wish list to have it.

Induction hob, have always cooked on gas and was really reluctant to take the leap but it is so responsive and easy to wipe clean.

Full height cupboards, as someone else mentioned stops you from putting stuff on the top, has integrated bin storage (x4 to include recycling), and electric sockets inside to house non-integrated microwave.

I’m also glad I got rid of my breakfast bar, makes the room (kitchen diner)feel so much bigger and was just a dumping ground for crap.

No boiling water tap here - there's just the two of us at home these days and neither of us drink any hot drinks (!!!). Some days the kettle doesn't get boiled at all, but it's a nice electric Alessi one so looks pretty anyway 😉

What I love (apart from the kettle!).....

The articulated tap from Hornbeam Ivy/Steamvalve Originals - cost almost as much as a Quooker, but was chosen because of its similarity to a wall mounted pot filler.

The island - we had one in our previous three houses so even though our kitchen here is a bit smaller, I was determined to fit one in and it does, perfectly.

Lots of deep drawers.

The pull-out bins - two cupboards (disguised as drawers) each containing two bins so enough for everything.

The integrated dishwasher - and washing machine out of sight (and the kitchen!) in a separate walk-in laundry cupboard.

The huge vintage larder (1.5m w x 2.3m h) found on ebay for £380.

The splashback - wallpaper beneath tempered glass.

The sofa next to the fireplace.

The Dovre Vintage 50 wood burning stove 😍

If I can give 1 bit of advice when designing it will be this, Try to keep certain things is the same sort of place, I had my kitchen done 5 months ago and I STILL go to get a teaspoon out of my oven where the cutlery drawer used to be 😂

Cooking fumes/smells vented to the outside, via an existing chimney

Primarily pan drawers throughout. Once you've had them you won't go back. Use them for cups, glasses etc.

Also two dishwashers!

I love the general style of my kitchen - Shaker/cottagey but it will always rankle that it's about half the size I'd like it to be.

You can get dish drainers with a base, Celeste777 to go next to your butler sink. Lakeland and John Lewis should stock them.

OP, we have wooden worktops which have been treated with a plastic stain guard thingy that you just paint on. I was dubious when the fitter suggested it as thought it would look shiny and tacky, but it's completely unnoticeable. The worktops get splashed, have had hot pans on them, etc and are totally fine. Well worth investigating if you like the look of wood (I'm not a fan of granite / quartz etc either!)

... and definitely a built in/hidden bin that pulls out.

We bought a cheaper boiling water tap from Howdens and it was awful. Never particularly hot. Went back to a kettle. Therefore get one that has a guarantee on the temperature it reaches!