Help me answer the kitchen designer's questions

[pantalo]

We're getting a new kitchen, and planning to use a recommended local company. They came for an initial visit and asked lots of questions, to get more information for the design. Trouble is, we haven't put in a kitchen for 20 years, so we haven't got a clue! For background, it's a fairly small kitchen which will be very well used - we cook a lot and we're not the sort to be wanting to worry about lots of special maintenance. We're looking for modern style (probably flat front grey/black/brown/cream) and want to maximise work surface and storage (it's for cooking in, no space for dining table). Money certainly isn't 'no object', but we're not on a tight budget either - we're prepared to spend a bit more than standard Wickes etc. It needs absolutely everything doing to it (though nothing structural), and we don't want to have to manage any of it ourselves.

So, I'd love some MN help on the pros and cons of the following.

Worktop - do I want laminate, quartz, corian (apparently that's a real thing) or granite?

Do I want integrated appliances?

I definitely want a double oven, but do I want the top oven to be a combi microwave?

Hob - will definitely be induction (no gas supply) but how big - standard or bigger? What kind of splashback behind?

Do I want drawers? A larder unit? Whirly corner cupboard things?

Do I want an exposed extractor fan or one in a cupboard?

Do I want a boiling water tap? (I rarely boil a kettle, but I do often boil pans of water.)

What kind of fridge do I want? I have space for a freezer in the garage - but do i still want an icebox?

So I want tiles or luxury vinyl flooring?

I would really welcome any MN wisdom on all of this - and on any other likely questions that I don't even know that I don't know how to answer yet!!

All the little things you add can quickly add up in a kitchen. You need to come up with a budget and that will help you make decisions. Like quartz is going to be far more expensive than laminate. Have a look at the work surfaces they have to offer and see what you like best.

Integrated appliances look much better but are more expensive so if you have the budget I would

I never used my combi microwave as anything other than a microwave and they can cost a lot more so think it you can I'll really use it.

I have a 4 hob and don't often use more than that. Really depends of the type of cooking you do and how many for. Metal splash backs are a nightmare to keep clean. Personally I find tiles the best to keep clean.

I think a lot of these questions are dictated by the space you have. Like I would love a larder but don't have the room. Pan draws are brilliant if you can fit them.

Hot water taps are good but again do you have the budget.

I'd have a bit of a freezer inside, I have a big one in garage but would hate to have to go out everytime I want peas. Meals go in the garage but extras like peas, chips and garlic bread are in our small inside one.

Tiles are colder and harder to walk on than vinyl

Corian. Glass splash back = no grout to scrub. Bookshelf or cupboard extractor in a small space. Drawers not carousel as they are not space efficient. Not fussed about a boiling tap for guests to burn themselves. Underfloor heating. Drawer storage under the casters. Pull out extra work surface.

For the induction hob, do any of your household have a pacemaker or an insulin pump (or any similar medical device I think)? They can’t be used near induction hobs. I think it’s the electromagnetic fields that can cause issues.

We had a new kitchen last year, I spent months planning it.. I can recommend..

Deep pan drawers instead of cupboards for low units, so much more practical.

At least 2 shallow drawers. One for cutlery, one for cooking utensils.

Look at plastic drawer dividers (Amazon) to organise utensils drawer. (I have a wide drawer under the hob divided into 3... wooden utensils, metal utensils and knives is how I split mine

We had a 1 1/2 oven (so big oven with small oven/grill above) and a separate built in microwave next to it replacing what could have been a wall cupboard. I really like this. We had every from Neff.

80cm 5 ring induction hob. Not too big but loads of cooking space. I've not had an induction hob before.

Tall cup with pull out drawer/shelves. We were going to have one of those tall cupboards where all the shelves come out when you open the door, but the guy in the show room talked us out of it as he pointed out that all of the weight on the shelves hangs on the door, so you have to consider this when putting stuff on the shelves. The pull out shelves we have instead are much more practical.

Bottom corner cupboard, pull out shelves (think they're called S shelves?) instead of a spinning shelf. Again I've had both, the pull out S shelf is loads more practical.

Plug sockets with usb chargers for charging phones and lots of other stuff that requires a charger!

Definitely invest in decent under cupboard lights. I can't believe how much nicer it is prepping when everything isn't in shadows!

Thin pullout spice/bottle racks next to cooker. Just dead handy.

As for work tops and splash backs it's totally personal taste. We had compact laminate as it was affordable and looks good.

We have a French style American fridge freezer that I love. The top half is double door fridge and the bottom half is freezer drawers.

Thank you! To answer some questions...

@randomusernam Budget - tricky. In theory we don't really have an upper limit (within reason!), which is obviously a very nice problem to have, but it makes it hard to know where to draw the line. On the one hand, I'm not interested in a 'show off' kitchen or having the best 'just because' - so I don't want to say that I don't have a budget and then get fleeced or talked into things I really don't want or need. On the other hand, I don't really know what a realistic price is, so I don't want to say that I've got a hard budget of X, when another 5k might have made a real difference in terms of quality or convenience. I guess in my head it could cost anything from 15K to 50k (to include everything - strip out, all appliances, plastering as needed, all trades, the kitchen itself, install, flooring, lighting, decorating), but I don't know where to draw the line between those figures.

Oven - I already have a proper top oven/grill and I use it quite a bit (usually I'm just cooking for four of us, but i also bake sometimes, and it's invaluable for Christmas for 10). If a combi is good then I love the idea of saving microwave space, but not if they don't work as well or go wrong more easily.

Hob - I had no idea about the medical restrictions, but thankfully no issues there. I do find my 4 hob frustratingly small on occasion (can't fit more than two large pans at a time), so I think I'll try for a bigger one if I can.

Hot water tap - I quite like the idea, but do they last well? Use much space underneath?

@VentBox why corian - what are the advantages? Probably won't have heating in there (don't have any at the moment), as we don't eat in there. But maybe short-sighted??

@yellowpurplebrown I love the sound of your kitchen. Dare I ask how much it cost?? And do you have a link to your fridge or a similar one? It sounds amazing, though I probably don't have the space. Really good thoughts about drawers and pull out cupboards.

Have you considered porcelain work tops these are now considered superior and better last that all the others.

I like our combo microwave (small oven, grill, microwave in one). Saves space as have enough oven capacity with that plus main oven, but don’t have to give up an extra slot for a microwave.

look at Dekton/Neolith for worktops if you have money to spend. Is indestructible and beautiful - I adore it.

agree small freezer handy (for Icecream, peas, ice cubes). But think about how much fridge space you need as every bit of freezer space is space you could have made fridge!

Double post on worktops - Dekton/Neolith are two of the porcelain brand names (Ie we are saying same thing)

We have a quartz work surface with deep upstands and splash back it is brilliant. No staining no heat marks no fuss. It was expensive but has been there for 23 years.

The Corian surface in the utility is too tricky, can’t stand heat: have to take care with the iron. Stains : so have to be careful with dyes and paintbrushes etc.

Definitely drawers, drawers everywhere and then a big pantry type cupboard too- with more drawers in! They are a real game changer for all storage. I like quartz myself, but corian is nice too- definitely worth avoiding laminate if you’ve got the budget.
I’m not a fan of integrated appliances- well we have an integrated oven/microwave and hob but have kept dishwasher and fridge/freezer separate as I don’t like losing precious fridge space. Like a pp I’ve got a fridge which has freezer drawers at the bottom which I LOVE! Oh and combi microwave and top oven is great- we mostly use ours as microwave, but occasionally for oven, like Christmas etc. and I much prefer having microwave built in.
This is the first place we’ve had a hot water tap- a qettle and it is really great. Does take up most of the cupboard underneath it but felt worth it for us as we’re big tea drinkers.
Definitely go for 80 or 90cm wide hob if you’ve got space- some now come with induction zones so you can fit pans of any size.

If you have space my favourite thing in kitchen is my warming drawers. I entertain a lot so a godsend for keeping things hot while still have other stuff in oven.

Agree with American style ff with freezer drawers. Amazing just didn’t realise before how fab it was. Ours is Samsung.

I have 2 ovens and a combi microwave, and would do so again. We have a granite worktop as it can withstand hot temperatures.

I remember when looking at quartz etc they couldn’t withstand the same temperatures so were vetoed by me.

Our top oven is also a microwave and I love not having to give up surface space for a stand-alone. Be aware though that you can’t use it as a microwave if it is still hot from cooking - which is rarely an issue but occasionally if I want to quickly heat some custard after a roast
i wouldn’t be without my Quooker tap

If the worktop is large, go for laminate, much cheaper and easy to clean. I would have a fitted high level oven with fitted microwave above. Go for integrated appliances, they are a pain to replace but look so much better. As others have said glass or plastic splash backs, say 20 cm high. For corner unit have an internal turning shelf so you can get to everything. A narrow larder cupboard is always handy. Good luck!

Also, think carefully about the thickness of the worktop, some granite, Corina worktops seem cheap but that is only because they are very shallow, say 2cm, which looks really cheap.

Definitely integrated appliances will look so much better, definitely drawers, so much easier than scrabbling around in cupboards ( and as someone else said, smaller top drawers inside for cutlery etc) definitely combi microwave and definitely hot water tap!! I love mine, no kettle on workspace, instant boiling water and doesn’t take up much room in cupboard below. Enjoy choosing!

My other love is my waste disposal. I shove most things in there.

^ True
mine cause some of the lights in the rest of the house to flicker and the " controler " part is not fit for purpose so it sounds as if it is a bomb on countdown😒

Corian is great for a seamless look on the worktop and on the walls instead of tiles. It wraps around window ledges and a worktop 'base' meaning you can have it the depth you want. Depending on the colour you choose it can be prone to staining but easily removed with Bar Keepers Friend powder

We’ve literally (this week) finished our new kitchen(/dining room/living room). I’d definitely echo the sentiment of having drawers instead of lower cupboards where possible. We only have cupboards under the sink, otherwise we have drawers and love them. We have integrated appliances which look great. Eye level combi oven/microwave stacked with a single oven. We have a 60cm hob which is plenty big enough for us but we’re not huge cooks (more of a baker here too). Went for Neff appliances and are happy, especially with the slide and hide door. Our hob is a vented induction hob which I love as it needs to extractor. We needed as much storage as possible so have gore floor to ceiling cupboards wherever possible and now find we have more storage than we know what to do with which we never thought could happen! We’ve done the utility too and have stacked our washer/dryer to make good use of the space. We have the Quooker tap which we love too. It does take up a back corner of the cupboard but that’s all. We love our quartz worktop especially the waterfall edge on the breakfast bar which we feel adds a touch of luxury. It is harder to clean but then I’m probably just more precious about keeping it looking amazing as it’s so new! Oh it’s only 20cm by the way and we prefer that look! Oh, yes to larder cupboard! Ours has sockets inside (have as many sockets as possible btw-we have a pop up one in our breakfast bar too) and a light which comes on when we open it. Our larder cupboard is shelves at the top and drawers at the bottom-again, love it! Good luck-it’s been hard but the result has been so worth it!

We are mid kitchen refit at the moment. We've gone for a granite worktop for practicality, and I love the look. We have an integrated oven & combi microwave side by side as I'm a short arse so didn't want them stacked. We also have a warming drawer below the microwave so it's the same depth as the oven. Not sure how much we will use that, but a friend swears by hers! 60cm induction hob on an island with down draft extractor that vents through the plinth. This was because the RSJ above the hob is low and we didn't want to drop the height further with an extractor.

Deep drawers are so much better than cupboards so we've included lots of those! Our bin is integrated (often overlooked) and we have a tall skinny cupboard for the ironing board. Lots of sockets (still not sure if we have enough) and zoned lighting so we can have different areas lit up. We've a mixture of spotlights and pendants - 3 small pendants over the island and a pull down pendant over the kitchen table.

We have a Howdens kitchen (chilcombe) and an engineered wood floor. We are also having a plinth heater rather than a radiator - hopefully this will be effective!

Look at lots of Pinterest kitchen ideas & don't be afraid to keep going back to your kitchen designer to tweak things. We cut out paper shapes to represent the island and table so we could see how they would fit in the space.

I'd choose

Vinyl floor - soft so less breakage , warm underfoot and and not slippery when wet, and fools most people

Balancing storage and worktop space - you can't get both - I like to ensure a good line of unbroken workspace

and as you want double oven ( I would make one a microwave oven combo for space ) and possibly larger hob again you will lose storage and worktop space. Be realistic about what you cook

Don't forget your bins and cutlery drawer

Drawers are great for storage - easy to find stuff

And pull out corner units also great

I prefer none integrated as I expect my kitchen to last longer than the washing machine

Things I love about our new kitchen:

The induction hob - easy to keep clean, almost as responsive as gas, boils water faster than a kettle
The boiling water tap (came free with the kitchen, part of a promotion)
The double oven - I rarely use the larger one, but it's there for Christmas and dinner parties if I need it - plus it has an air fryer setting (which I've yet to use!)
The LVT flooring - as a PP said, fewer breakages, not too cold underfoot (we spent a year living in a house with tiles, it was chilly in the winter!)
The 'hidden' cutlery drawer within a larger, deep drawer
The spice rack cupboards on either side of the hob - handy for keeping bottles of cooking oil, salt, pepper etc. off the work surface
The two tall larder cupboards with pull out baskets - they hold so much!
The integrated wine rack over the fridge/freezer space :)
The integrated bin - 4 sections, 2 large, 2 smaller
The under-cupboard lighting - as a PP said, much better experience than casting shadows over what you're preparing/cooking
The eight double sockets along the back of the work surfaces - you can never have too many sockets!

Things I would add if we were doing it again:

An integrated microwave - decided against it because I only ever use one when cooking poppadoms, but it would be handy
A tall cupboard to store brooms, mops, brushes, hoover etc.

Other than those two things, it's pretty perfect for us!

@pantalo
"@yellowpurplebrown I love the sound of your kitchen. Dare I ask how much it cost?? And do you have a link to your fridge or a similar one? It sounds amazing, though I probably don't have the space. Really good thoughts about drawers and pull out cupboards."

Agree with pp, integrated bin. Ours is single cupboard width with two inserts (one bin one recycling is what we use them for), I like it as I use the worktop above it for prep/making sandwiches, I then pull open the bin and sweep the crumbs straight into it from the counter top.

Our kitchen is quite big as we had an extension. My fridge freezer was my biggest extravagance but I fell in love with it. It is this one.. (to add the price has gone up by £700 since I bought mine, I wouldn't be able to afford it now!) but lots of similar style ones available

I found this at John Lewis & Partners. What do you think?  https://www.johnlewis.com/fisher-paykel-series-7-rf540adux5-freestanding-70-30-french-fridge-freezer-stainless-steel/p5553577?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&sshare=jlappioss_Y29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5LkNvcHlUb1Bhc3RlYm9hcmQ=

I was surprised to find that local independent kitchen supplier was no more expensive than the chain kitchen suppliers and I felt I got so much more from them as they rely on local reputation, so their service and attention to detail was outstanding. Definitely shop around.

I had appointments with the big chains (b&q, magnet, wren) to help me plan what I wanted, I then had these to take to local suppliers and show them what I wanted.