New kitchen: must haves or what to avoid?

Sunshinemummy

suki1964 wrote: »

Shows how different we all are. This kitchen originally had Chinese slate floor and I hated it

Sure it didn't show foot prints but omg to actually clean it was a nightmare

Hands and knees with a scrubbing brush and cloth, then another bucket of clean water and mop, then another bucket and mop of sealant and shine. Used to take me hours

Yes you can see every wet foot print on porcelain but a two minute swish with a mop and it back shiny again

I have just realised that I must be a dirty person... omg.

I have only sealed it when we put it down.... quick swish with a mop and it is done, underfloor heating means it is dry very quick. I don't possess a scrubbing brush, and have never used a specialist cleaner.. whatever is on special offer, throw it in a bucket and slop it around on the floor with a mop. I cannot tell before or after it has been cleaned.. so have to force the other half to do it, whilst I have a cuppa!! lol

Our slates have good colour variation, we put some insert tiles in to break it up.. but next time I would miss the inserts out.

suki1964

Sunshinemummy wrote: »

I have just realised that I must be a dirty person... omg.

I have only sealed it when we put it down.... quick swish with a mop and it is done, underfloor heating means it is dry very quick. I don't possess a scrubbing brush, and have never used a specialist cleaner.. whatever is on special offer, throw it in a bucket and slop it around on the floor with a mop. I cannot tell before or after it has been cleaned.. so have to force the other half to do it, whilst I have a cuppa!! lol

Our slates have good colour variation, we put some insert tiles in to break it up.. but next time I would miss the inserts out.

Good grief I hope I never made you feel like that :eek:

I'm the biggest slob ever. I've dogs and chickens in and out of the kitchen all day and I dont give a fiddlers

Just with the slate, it never really looked dirty till you came to wash it. And just mopping it made dirty water settle in the grooves


For me it was a nightmare

Now it's a sweep, a once over and keep everyone off the kitchen floor for 30 mins and job done
No scrubbing, polishing , sealing, Sfa.

I'm still a slob, chooks and dogs still in and out, but at least I know when to clean it, it only takes 10 mins and it looks great

Sunshinemummy

suki1964 wrote: »

Good grief I hope I never made you feel like that :eek:

I'm the biggest slob ever. I've dogs and chickens in and out of the kitchen all day and I dont give a fiddlers

Just with the slate, it never really looked dirty till you came to wash it. And just mopping it made dirty water settle in the grooves


For me it was a nightmare

Now it's a sweep, a once over and keep everyone off the kitchen floor for 30 mins and job done
No scrubbing, polishing , sealing, Sfa.

I'm still a slob, chooks and dogs still in and out, but at least I know when to clean it, it only takes 10 mins and it looks great

Only joking, I know that I am a mucky bint.... and I am rather proud of it ... as OH does all the cleaning as he works significant less hours than I do.. every cloud and all that! Pleased you have the floor you like x

Wednesday2000

chiefpossession wrote: »

Personally I love the tiles and the underfloor heating. The cats and dogs love the floor!

:A Aw, they must be in heaven.

MallyGirl

My cat loves the heated bathroom floor - my sled dogs hate the heated conservatory floor and love the cold Victorian tiles in the hall by the drafty front door!

aliby21

rosie383 wrote: »

Thank you again so much.
Maybe we won't go for wood worktops now. It was solid oak that I wanted but two of you (plus someone else mentioned it to me the other day) are saying you hate them and wish you hadn't got them.
If I can't afford granite, and wood is a pain, is Formica the only option? And can it be tough?

My mum has ceramic tiles for her worktop, might be another thing to look at? Can be a pain to clean the grout, but if you get larger size not so bad. She has ones that have a marble effect finish, looks really nice.

rosie383

I hadn't considered a tiled worktop. Tbh, unless you loved cleaning, they probably would be a pain.

Gers

Just my tuppence worth - I'm in an hotel apartment this week and have found that the 'press to open' cupboards and drawers a real PIA. They bounce and, if not timed right, catch fingers in them.

smallholdingsister

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Why not?...

Because unless you religiously rinse and drain every item before it goes in, you get splashes up the wall by the dishwasher.

JP08

Bit late to this thread, sorry. Have posted something similar before, but will go again.

Pan drawers are great - the bigger the better. If you can fit 1200cm ones in, go for it. It will be money well spent.

Pull out larder cupboards look great but are heavy when full and not easy to get stuff in and out of the trays. Normal doors and individual pullout baskets are far more space efficient (eg you only need to leave a couple of cm between the top of the cans in the can basket and the one above, but in a pull out larder have to leave a much bigger gap).

Corner carousels are great if they are well designed. Crap if not. Get in the showroom and give the thing a good hammering back and forth. Give the shelves a good shake up and down. If it breaks (and the one in Wickes did - sorry Wickes) then it isn't going to last 10 years in a kitchen. We found one that rotated and with pullout shelves, so robust there was no vertical movement even when pulled out. Something like this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWLy6YJtYec

Actually, apply the good shake and tug to everything in the showroom. If it is any good, it will take it.