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New kitchen: must haves or what to avoid?

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rosie383
rosie383 Posts: 4,981 Forumite
edited 30 August 2016 at 4:53PM in Old style MoneySaving
We are in the very fortunate position of planning a brand new kitchen to go in our planned extension. Spent a few hours in IKEA today planning what we want. Having never, ever done anything like this before, and now that it is no longer just a faraway dream, I don't want to miss anything essential or put in something that I may later regret.
From types of cupboard doors, to the worktop, I especially am interested in looking at this with an OS eye. How easy will certain surfaces be to keep clean? What storage things do I really need rather than being swayed by what looks trendy or funky.
If I go for a solid wood worktop, will I be driven nuts by water marks? Or is it fine if looked after properly?
If anyone has done something similar, or has a kitchen nightmare that you can share so that I can avoid it, I would appreciate your input.




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  • JIL
    JIL Posts: 8,705 Forumite
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    Don't go for shiny black worktops, they are so difficult to get streaks off.
  • summerlady_2
    summerlady_2 Posts: 218 Forumite
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    Somewhere to store the larger utensils such as potato ricer; somewhere to store attachments for food processor etc (I don't have a proper place in my kitchen and it irks me).
    Grocery challenge 2017 January £158.74/£200
    Grocery challenge February £100.91/£190
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,559 Forumite
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    We did our kitchen a couple of years ago and went for mostly drawers instead of cupboards - so much easier to pull out a drawer and take things out than having to reach into the back of a cupboard!
  • Anne_Marie_2
    Anne_Marie_2 Posts: 2,123 Forumite
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    Agree with deep drawers, much easier than cupboards, you don't have to lift everything out to get at what's in the back, and it's easy to see what you have, rather than digging about. Especially if someone else has been putting stuff into the cupboards, in the wrong place.
  • Wicked_Lady
    Wicked_Lady Posts: 630 Forumite
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    Yes, deep pan drawers are so much easier to manage than cupboards.


    We also had a warming drawer put in immediately below the built in cooker and it has been invaluable; useful for keeping extra food warm and proving bread, as well as warming plates.
  • AnnieO1234
    AnnieO1234 Posts: 1,722 Forumite
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    These are on my own list of things I am slowly adding or have and wouldn't be without, won't suit everyone I know but some ideas:

    Sprayer attachment on sink
    Vegetable storage
    Mountings for cups, utensils etc if space is limited
    Double oven
    Warmer drawer
    Deep drawers
    Under sink organiser
    Corner unit dollies (so the insides can be brought out iyswim)
    Wine fridge
    Bottle rack (as in soda bottles)
    Disposal unit
    Can crusher
    Recycling storage/sorter
    If no utility room, then a utility area with a smaller cupboard or drawers for detergents etc, and a larger cupboard to take at least 1 wash basket.
    Dishwasher
    Butchers block fitted (as in an area for butchery not just the countertop)
    Quartz counters or wood
    Glass display cabinet(s)
    Split sink

    I'll shut up now. Xxx
  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
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    For me it was deep drawers, turnstiles and pull out larder - well each shelf pulls out. Mine is an ikea kitchen I have a granite work top, black pearl, lots of flecks so smears don't show as much. I also have the high gloss doors which I find easy to keep clean and smear free even though I scratch cook daily and am a pretty messy cook at that :)

    I also have a hanging rack for my every day use pans which I find invaluable, saves so much space

    We knocked out a really useless utility room to open up the kitchen and all the stuff that was stored in there such as brooms, mop, cleaning stuff, now all fits in one of their slimline tall cupboards using the sliding storage baskets that fit to one side

    When we planned ours 4 years ago, we were in and out of ikea for weeks fine tuning plans. We would have it sorted, then I would see some other feature that I thought I wanted and plans would have to be changed a bit. But the staff were brilliant and tbh I think we got our kitchen perfect in the end I've so much storage that the only things that sit out on my worktop are the kettle, toaster and my magimix which I think is too pretty to hide away, plus I use it daily
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    Try to avoid any corner unit where you have to reach into it. This sort of arrangement is my favourite: https://www.howdens.com/kitchen-collection/kitchen-accessories/storage-solutions/corner-base-shelf-unit/

    Deep pan drawers > cupboards.

    Narrow cupboards limit what you can keep in there, best avoided.

    Drainer on the left for most people.

    Get the biggest straight run of worktop you can, rather than single/tiny bits.

    Make sure you have enough sockets - right where you need them. There's no point having 20 in one corner if all you've got in that corner is one 60x60 piece of worktop.
  • Islandmaid
    Islandmaid Posts: 6,535 Forumite
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    edited 25 March 2016 at 1:33PM
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    Our kitchen is now a year old, like others have said we decided on -

    - large pan drawers - one with in inset cutlery drawer
    - slab fronts - we plumped for high gloss cream - so easy to clean
    - the best quality worktops you can afford - we went for Himax 50mm thick, as opposed to 40 mm - looks a lot more luxurious for not a lot of extra money.
    - magic corners - just brill
    - lots and lots of sockets
    - under wall cupboard lighting
    - we went for an inset extractor which is flush to ceiling with built in lights, great when cooking as our natural light source is behind us when using hob.
    - 3-in-1 boiling water tap - no more mucky kettle - a pet hate of mine
    Note to self - STOP SPENDING MONEY !!

    £300/£130
  • dirty_magic
    dirty_magic Posts: 1,145 Forumite
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    Definitely the carousel things for corner cupboards. I second the avoid black worktops too. I always dry ours after wiping them and they still streak. Ours are white quartz though so you can't see the streaks, but if they were black I'd spend an hour a day buffing them!

    The man at the granite shop also mentioned that the grooves in quartz or granite for draining boards look nice but they're impractical in reality, especially if you don't have a dishwasher, because the water goes all over the floor.

    Another good piece of advice from our electrician was to always have more sockets than you need. I only wanted two double sockets, but he put in 3 doubles and a single and there's something plugged into all of them now. It gives you more flexibility where to put things.
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