to those of you who have installed new kitchens - what would you do differently next time?

[jasper]

Are there any decisions you regret - either things you left out and wish you had included, things you included but wish you had not, materials you would not use again etc.
Thanks.

heh heh Tinks! Well spotted! only about ten years, but at the last attempt a few years ago spent all my dosh on an AGA (thanks to Mumsnet)

Next lot of saved dosh went on a side by side fridge freezer ( thanks to mumsnet, specificaly Sofiaames)

Now the old units which have been repainted and repositioned five times are literally falling apart. It is only a matter of time before something drops off and clobbers one of the nippers.

Moondog I have seen that lamp - it's fab!

yes quite me too

Nothing quite like a kithen thread to get us all going is there?

I have grey granite - just to be different really as everyone was having black - and stainless steel splashback to a stainless steel range. TBH its not trouble to keep looking nice - a quick wipe over with a damp e-cloth and granite and stainless steel look fab.

Once a month or so I clean up the granite with Lakeland worksurface cleaner which just lifts any limescale which can dull the finish. Really couldn't be easier

On the other hand - I would not have pale real limestone floor tiles again. They stain easily and are a nightmare to keep clean. Cost a small fortune but will look to replace next time we are redecorating the kitchen!

kithen?

ith is a cute and fluffy kithen?

anyone know where I can get a dresser type thing that's not too country and is a cream colour?

buy some crappy thing and paint it

That;'s all they do in flash shops innit

genius-why didn't I think of that?

reminding myself of the dim information lady on cathy tate tonight!

moondog, Laura Ashley are now doing the rise and fall lights, which are cheaper, and over the Easter weekend, you can get a further 20% off. They are cream and lovely.

Liked Bears tip re; the huggies wipes, will remember that!!

Thanks bs, I'll check out LA,especially as I already have a v nice brass lamp on order there for dd's bedroom.

Well seeing as how I've had my new kitchen for oooo.... 1 day ... I'D CHANGE NOTHING... YIPPEE!!!!

Well okay, the electrics, tiling and flooring need to be finished, but even so it's beautiful

I would have splashed out for granite worktops and would not have gone for a china white sink as they are awful after a while and get all marked.

If you get a Villeroy and Boch Ceramic Plus sink they don't mark at all. I never even have to scrub mine!

really countessdracula? I love the look of ceramic sink but keep hearing they are hard to keep clean.
Convince me otherwise!

A bit of bleach twice a week keeps my V&B sink immaculate

Tinker: could you not just bung in a 2 - 4 way trailing adaptor and hence have easy access whenever needed ???

hub2dee - don't think so really. The socket is behind what should be a fixed cupboard. So flex would have to trail onto floor or would have to drill a hole into worktop for it to come up with socket left on top of worktop.

Hard to grasp your kitchen layout, Tinker. But you can put any amount of cable into a 2 / 4 way extension adapter (within reason !) and this could be glue-gunned at base of skirting around room, if that helps.

Hmm, think if I was re-doing whole kitchen woudl look into doing something about it but we're just going to do a tart-up job with new doors and worktops. Have had teh doors since last summer mind, so you can see how keen we are to get cracking

jasper, they have a whole site about it, here You can get any of their ceramic sinks finished in it, is a bit more expensive but really worth it.

Funnily enough I didn't order it, but the sink I ordered arrived broken after shipping and they gave me one with ceramic plus as a replacement as it was all they could get to me in time. I'm glad they did - it hardly ever gets stained, if it begins to look a bit grubby I just squirt a tiny bit of bleach onto a washing up brush and give it the once over.

You can get a very similar water / stain repellent treatment to that ceramic plus to treat existing sinks / glass shower doors etc.

It is called TPC16 Surface Protector manufactured by C.R. Laurence Co. Lts (CRL). We got ours when we had a fancy glass shower door installed.

Once it's applied, water beads and rolls away (similar to oiling teak, and similar to the ceramic plus pictures).

HTH.

Just to clarify, it needs reapplication according to wear. Once every 3 - 6 months maybe ?

VB claims ten years for the ceramic plus treatment. I think that might be a little optimistic.

Only had it for about 7 months so couldn't comment!

My mum has a normal ceramic sink and she says it does stain but bleach gets it off.

I would wait for a really good sale. Just bought an expensive B&Q kitchen, and now they are up to 70% off!!

Also, I would get three quotes on fitters, cause the prices range dramatically.