Do you have a gloss kitchen? Also, what "must have" is in yours

[HurdyGurdy19]

From being convinced it would never happen, it's now gone to looking very likely that we will be building an extension and having a huge kitchen.

I've been looking at kitchens online and like the idea of the gloss/high gloss ones from Howdens, but I'm wondering how easy they are to keep clean and not show marks, splashes, etc.

Also - what is a must-have in your kitchen? I last had a kitchen fitted 23 years ago, and that was an awful experience, and I have never had the kitchen I wanted. It was from MFI (remember them? "Major Fucking Incompetence").

I really want to get it right this time. So what's "new"? What kind of thing should I definitely consider? I don't think waste disposals are as popular now as they were in the early 2000s, but Quooker type taps are calling to me this time round.

What do you love in your kitchen, and what do you wish you'd not bothered with?

We're not quite at the "money no object" level, but we do have a decent whack to spend😊

[SuperSange]

I have a white slab gloss kitchen and I love it. Super easy to keep clean, as it shows all the dirt, which is what I wanted.

[RJnomore1]

White and dark grey high gloss. Get a window vac, it’s so easy to clean.

things I couldn’t live without in future:
boiling water tap, waste disposal, pop up sockets and filtered water and ice from the fridge. Pull out cupboards and drawers.

Things I wish I had done:

every cupboard as drawers or pull out. The couple of normal cupboards annoy me immensely. And two dishwashers… one dirty one clean…

[USaYwHatNow]

We have white gloss cupboards in our kitchen. They're actually not as annoying as I thought they'd be. We've been in the house 6 years and I just use furniture polish and a microfibre cloth once a fortnight to get rid of water marks and bring them and the handles up to a shine.

[HurdyGurdy19]

Thank you - sounds like the gloss ones can stay on the table then

I like the idea of pop up sockets - that's on the wish list now . Not sure I can justify two dishwashers, but I definitely do want two larder fridges. Our single one just isn't enough and I'm forever opening the door to a cascade of food or jars/bottles falling out of the door shelves.

[AnnoyedByAlfieBear]

Get more plug sockets at worktop level than you think you need. We got what I th to get was plenty and it's still not enough!

[Dinneronmybfpillow]

We were at the opposite end of the budget scale... almost everything I would have wanted was out of our price bracket but we have got a) loads of storage by adding top boxes on top of our larder units/fridge etc for storing stuff you only use once a year and b) my ONE thing for me. My very lovely wine cooler 😁 (do your research if you want one to fit sparkling bottles though, they mostly don't and we had to change ours)

[Porridgeislife]

We inherited acres of black gloss in our kitchen and it’s the bane of my existence. Completely futile if you have small children. I can see marks & imperfections from a mile away (I missed my calling as a new build snagger) so it’s basically never clean enough.

[Sorryyoufeelthatwayy]

Yes and I loathe it. Wood next!

[Shookethtothecore]

I loath my gloss kitchen. We have bifold doors and Everytime the sun shines in I see all the finger prints and marks and no matter how much I clean it they haunt me. I will never get one again

[ExcusesExcuses]

we steered away from gloss. Too.many fingerprint marks.

[febrezeme]

Do you have kids??? If so do NOT get high gloss - it scratches ridiculously easy with everyday objects like toy cars or plastic figures

[Veryfishy]

I’m currently having a new kitchen ( I’m in the despair mode , weeping and rocking in a corner that I can barely see for dust )
my wish list …

Kitchen must haves 
Larder unit with pull out shelves
Hidden fridge 
One and half white sink and drainer
Built in double oven 
Lots of storage 
Island / peninsula unit 
Display shelves ? Book shelf ? 
Plate rack or good alternative 
Broom / ironing board cupboard
Boiling water tap
Dishwasher
Hidden bins

I’m having sapphire blue base units with ivory wall and tall units , pink ( 🙀) walls in the kitchen and white walls in the dining area

I’m going matt , not gloss units though

We’re having walls down , ceilings down , new flooring , the whole hog

[BigPussyEnergy]

I have white gloss cupboards. 15 years old and they’re all still in great condition although not as bright white as when they were first put in. Definitely not scratched etc despite having 3 kids grow up here.

My must haves would be water/ice dispensing fridge (in fact we spent £30k knocking through into the dining room to make sure we had room for an American style fridge freezer!

And also I went for a double sink rather than sink and drainer, which means draining stuff is hidden below worktop level in the other sink and if needed I can move it out of the way to tip stuff away while washing up. I also love my pull out tap, handy for rinsing things, filling the mop bucket or big pasta pot etc.

[Caitlin991]

I have white gloss cabinets an I would never get them again.
They always look grubby - especially with a toddler & pets & I find I can’t clean them without leaving them streaky (but that’s probably my bad cleaning skills 😂)

[Ylvamoon]

We have a "cashmere" gloss kitchen from Howden.

I love it. Its super easy to clean- I use window cleaner!
Yes, you'll see some marks on the cupboard...

My must have is definitely a boiling water tap with filter water function.

[blueraininlondon]

I think the things which make a kitchen are: shake style kitchen, sky lights, island, bifold doors and a wine fridge!

[FoodieToo]

No gloss for me , ever again .Cannot wait to replace mine with a matt version . Shows up every mark , I spend ages shining it but it still smears .
Awful !
No handles for me either . More cleaning !

[PolaDeVeboise]

We got ours done recently, and went for a navy matte - you can see every blinking greasy fingerprint on them! Sill love it though. Definitely go for drawers, rather than cupboards.

[wiffin]

No to gloss (marks and dated) pale quartz top (stains) island (unless you have a really big kitchen) boiling water tap (££££gimmick)

Yes to fridge with plumbed in filtered water and ice. Walk in larder. Skylight. Painted wood but not grey or navy. Under counter lights. Big sink and drainer. Dishwasher. Separate utility if space. Dh would say wine fridge and underfloor heating.

[wiffin]

And yes to drawers too. Love those.

[BonjourCrisette]

I am 100% with @wiffin. Apart from the underfloor heating her husband wants and which I couldn't care less about.

[DiscoBeat]

Our utility has those units but I'm not a fan. It's lovely and clean but not very stylish and I suspect will age very quickly.

[VintedoreBay]

I absolutely detest our white gloss, can't wait to rip it out! Shows up all the dirt and even the flecks of lint from the cleaning cloth. Awful!

[Numberunknown]

I’ve previously had high gloss kitchens and loved them , one white another dark grey , I had handless doors and draws because I prefer that minimalist look , all white goods were integrated again I prefer the look of clear worktops , I had a wall of floor to ceiling units for storage when gadgets not in use
(I also had a large utility for my gadgets to both store and use )
useful additions
boiling tap
wine chiller
ice machine ( but not as part of an American freezer )
cookbook book shelves
As many sockets as you can fit in
Dark smoky glass wall splash back behind cooker
up-stands at back of counters , no tiles but walls painted

[FormerlySpeckledyHen]

My sister has a glossy kitchen and her wine fridge looks fabulous, and is very handy!