Easy to clean kitchen ideas

[DoneRomeodone]

Beginning to plan a new kitchen. Never been able to start from scratch with a kitchen before. Along with something I like visually, I want to avoid “hard to clean” materials and things that don’t stay new looking for long.

Current kitchen has stainless steel splash backs and hobs, cooker hood that are hard to clean, wooden counters that scratch easily, and a sink that seems to absorb stains. Any tips of what else to avoid and what makes keeping clean/new liking kitchen welcomed!

My fitter was dead set against Shaker style because he said they collect dust but we wouldn't have chosen that anyway and I have no idea if he was right.

I was dead set on a Shaker style, I love it, but your fitter is completely correct.

No shaker kitchen. No cupboard doors with grooves or ridges or anything like that. Also an induction hob. I prefer a stainless steel sink as heard too many with ceramic stain. Porcelain or Neolithworktop, not quartz

Nothing too light or too dark, or you're always wiping prints.
I think making sure your dishwasher is close to your work area and where you store your crockery helps speed tidying up. A deep sink, where you can scoop all dirty pots waiting to be washed.
An induction hob.
Eye height oven.
Basically make ot easy to clean, then ots easier to keep on top of.

I have an induction hob and grey gloss kitchen units with no handles or grooves.
Really easy to keep clean with soapy water and an e cloth. Three years old but still looks like new.

I hate cleaning my kitchen so I went with flat fronted melamine cupboards and drawers in cream. And a pale wood melamine for the counter tops. My kitchen is in quite a dark corner so needed to be pale.

I just wipe it down. I have never regretted not having fancy decor.

And I went with a matt finish to the cupboards so no finger prints.

My top cupboards are extra tall and go right up to the ceiling so I don’t have to balance on the work surface to clean the tops of my cupboards 😂

And tidy the crap that gets put there 😁

Yes the tall cupboards which reach the ceiling are a game-changer. I agree with all the replies including the one about the deep sink

I have a Shaker style kitchen (Wickes Tiverton range), cant say I've noticed it being especially dusty. Avoiding grooves etc is generally good advice though, not just kitchens.

I also have a laminate worktop - very unfashionable at the time - which has been ace. Never needed to worry what I put on it. Cleans easily.

Ceramic hob also easy to clean. I never liked cleaning the rings on a gas hob.

I have laminate worktops which I know are very unfashionable, but they still look like new after 10 years. Same with the completely smooth gloss cream cupboard doors. I also have an electric hob after getting sick of cleaning a gas one.
I have one row of large, ceramic rectangular tiles standing upright - 60cm x 30cm I think for the splash back, with a darkish grout that doesn’t show the dirt.

Do people really clean the tops of cupboards??!!

Thank you for all your comments - brill tips I’d never have thought of.

For those of you with handleless cupboards, do you find the cupboards themselves get more finger marks on them? I’m thinking DS with grubby fingers opening doors.

Definitely light coloured matt doors and quartz splashback to match worktop

We have an induction hob flush with the work surface, a larder cupboard for our appliances (coffee machine, microwave, toaster) and a hot water tap (so no kettle), which means our hob and work surfaces are completely clear and level making them very easy to clean. Most of our storage is also floor to ceiling, so no cabinet tops to accumulate dust or clean. Hardware is dark bronze so doesn’t show dirt easily.

Anything will get dirty from sticky fingers. The thing is to choose a cupboard door that cleans easily.

I had forgotten floor to ceiling from my list. @MagpiePi for me it's the fact that the tops of cupboard accumulate stuff. Kids artwork, broken things to fix, junk. So very tall cupboards (victorian house) avoids this.

I had a refit last year and I also don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning or to have surfaces that stain/mark easily. I went for:

• granite worktops, splashbacks and sills (no grouting to keep clean!) this was expensive but looks fabulous and is very easy to clean.
• Stainless steel sinks - don't stain, easy to clean
• Shaker units with matt surface - i've had them before and not had the dust problems people describe. Matt doesn't hold finger prints.
• Simple handles with two points of connection. Again look good and last longer than handles with one point of connection
• all wall cupboards go up to the ceiling (I'm tall but granny steps are available!)
• Induction hob lying flat within the granite, because I couldn't have gas
• good taps

Its all very easy to clean. I miss a gas hob but no doubt the induction is easier to clean. Its also very simple in design which I also prefer.

I did have a moment of thinking wood worktops would look nice until several friends who had had them told me I was insane 😀

Nothing glossy.
Brushed finish on taps.

I just came across this thread while reflecting on how grotty and rubbish my kitchen is and feeling stuck with it 🙁

I had a handleless kitchen last time and food/crumbs used to get into the groove plus I lost so many fingernails on the pan drawers.

Our doors were shiny so saw lots of marks.

Currently having a shaker style put in with handles. Matt colour.

All kitchens have their pros and cons.

I'm in the middle of a kitchen renovation and have chosen all the things people say not to, white porcelain sink, solid oak work tops, shaker style units, freestanding range cooker with gas hob, but it looks beautiful! We have an old house and handleless shiny cupboards, quartz worktops and stainless steel sinks just wouldn't go with anything else!

This is basically exactly what we have done.

The continous worktop to backsplash is the best bit. Everything just wipes so easily. No grout!

Really happy with the handles also. Went for non polished brass bars. So it’s not super aged, but is beginning too. Most importantly is the perfect in between Matt and polish so it never shows marks.

I think either super Matt or super shiny is a potential problem. We have Matt composite taps in the bathroom and it’s a nightmare for limescale.

Oh and UNDERMOUNT sink with grooves in worktop for a drainer.

So everything just sweeps straight into the sink.

Had to edit as said wrong one

Last house (cottage) I had cream shaker style,we kept the original wooden cupboards and painted them to match..range cooker,gas. Good extractor but cleaning spot lights and tiles frequently..I hardly ever fry. Kitchen now,at the end of the living room, just a bit of wall each side, the width of a cupboard. Yup,wall cupboards up to the ceiling ( of course you need to clean the tops otherwise) vanilla gloss, because its tiny,cream metro tiles on 3 walls, grey grout. Induction hob, would never go back to gas. Laminate worktops,all put in by DH 13 years ago,does show finger mark s. I want a new worktop, have seen the one I want. We also have a round sink,no drainer, because I don't want to sit in the living room and see it. There's a dishwasher, and you know that expression! Going for a small square sink, stainless. I have friends and a neighbour with resin,no ta! The kitchen is tiny,so worktops kept tidy, only essentials on them

I think it is worth thinking about the fact that an easier to clean kitchen that stays looking new, isn’t necessarily the most functional or attractive kitchen.

For example, yes gas hobs take longer to clean than others - but having used electric, gas and induction, I can honestly say I’d choose the better function of gas over an easier to clean induction/standard electric cooker every time. My kitchen is for cooking, and it is far more important to me that it cooks well even if that takes longer to clean.

As for the comments about not having grooves e.g in a shaker style kitchen as you have to dust them - yes that’s true. But they look far nicer, IMO, than a lot of the more modern style kitchens such as those without handles at all or those smooth fronted ones. I’d rather spend the tiny amount of additional time it takes to dust them, given I think they look much nicer. Especially because we often eat in our kitchen, and it’s nice to see it looking nice.

I guess what I’m trying to say, OP, is that some of your decisions need to balance up the disadvantages of an easier to clean kitchen, against the advantages. Don’t spend time and money designing a kitchen that’s easy to clean and then find yourself disliking the way it looks or works for the next 20 years!