New kitchen: must haves or what to avoid?

missbiggles1

Mojisola wrote: »

Our kitchen fitter boxed in above the cupboards and people comment on how good it looks.

But you must have lost a lot of storage space by doing this, surely?

missbiggles1

Consider whether you actually need a drainer if you have a dish washer. I stopped having one two kitchens ago and have never missed it.

LameWolf

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Also, handles. Our old kitchen had cupboard door handles that were fiddly and really difficult to clean. Everyone puts their hands on them, thats what they are they for, you need something thats easy to wipe.

I was also going to mention handles. Apart from agreeing with YL about not having "pretty" fiddly ones that collect all the grease and grime, I also made sure to have D shaped handles as opposed to knobs. My hands are very arthritic, and it means in the mornings when I have little or no movement in my fingers, I can put them down the back of the D and still open the cupboard or drawer.

jaybee wrote: »

Cupboards that go right up to the ceiling - no more awkward area to clean!

I'm quite short, as well as disabled, so I got our fitter to set the wall cupboards as low as possible. The space on top is used to store things like spare kitchen rolls, plastic beer containers (for use at beer festivals;) ) - stuff like that. I opted against a plinth on the tops of the cupboards, so that I can haul stuff down with my picker-upper gadget without it catching on the plinth.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

A set of standard drawers as well as deep ones. Means you don't have to stuff all the random gibble into one drawer that then jams shut for weeks.

If you have a mock drawer planned for under the sink, change it into a teatowel/kitchen roll holder. With all the will in the world, you may have the best intentions of keeping teatowels folded nicely in a drawer, but you'll probably end up hanging them off the cupboard handles - and if you use kitchen roll, it will always fall over and unravel over the floor with one of those stand up holders just as you need just a couple of a sheets in a hurry.

A section for stacking baking sheets/chopping boards on their edges.


Bright lighting that isn't just directly behind you as you stand chopping veg.

A sensibly placed smoke alarm. The builders put mine directly in line with the oven door and you couldn't even open the oven without it going off.

A double oven helps - or at least leave an easily enlarged space if you decide to get one later (or try to sell your home to somebody who wants one - it could be the difference between 'we'd have to redo the kitchen straight away with this house' and 'great, we can just whip the single oven out and put a double in its place without redoing everything'.

Plinth storage.

Somewhere to put your vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket, broom, dustpan & brush, etc. I've got a theoretically full length cupboard under the stairs - with a door three foot high, so I feel like I'm trying to get into Wonderland if I need them (although the OH usually just props everything up against the kitchen wall, so it just looks like he's permanently about to clean. Or he's trying to trip me over to claim on a secret insurance policy).

A convenient mini shelf for radio/wireless speaker/laptop/tablet above counter level.

Alternative, non glaring lights. It's nice to be able to go in there at night without burning your eyeballs out.

Smooth/sealed flooring. Not to turn it into a water slide (!), but as compared to grouting or mock tiling, as the amount of muck that collects in the little recesses means the floor never looks or feels totally clean.


A separate corner for animal feeding if you have pets out of the main walking route. Can't beat not having the little darlings constantly trying to trip you up or you tripping over their bowls.

Somewhere for people to sit and chat to you as you're cooking/vice versa.

Somewhere to put your compost caddy. They aren't particularly pretty and they get in the way.


Make sure you can open your window easily without having to climb the sink.


What I'd like somebody to invent if they haven't already, is a soft close step that comes out from the plinths, so you just tap it with your feet and it's there for reaching those extra few inches to the top shelf or for children to be able to cook without standing on chairs.

A sliding partition in open plan kitchen/diners so you can still pretend the entire house is tidy when there are visitors.

Extra heating - open plan houses get very, very cold, compared to ones where you can shut the doors and keep the heat in the room you're occupying at the time. Especially if you need to open the back door whilst cooking.

Mojisola

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But you must have lost a lot of storage space by doing this, surely?

No, we used tall wall cupboards with three shelves in them - that only left about five inches between the top of the cupboards and the ceiling.

jaybee

yellowbear wrote: »

I had two of these fitted. Useless things. Kept falling off the runners at the top when it was opened and you had to loft the whole unit up to realign them.
Ended up having them taken out and shelves put in.

https://www.howdens.com/kitchen-collection/kitchen-accessories/storage-solutions/upgrade-full-height-pull-out-larder/

Oh! I have always hankered after them!

PasturesNew

Looking at the photos supplied above, I think there's a little confusion between kitchen and aircraft hangar ....

Andypandyboy

I would choose an oven where the door slides in when it is open, saves so much space. http://www.neff.co.uk/features-slide-hide.html

pigpen

JIL wrote: »

Don't go for shiny black worktops, they are so difficult to get streaks off.

you use a squeegee.. like for windows.. then buff with a dry microfibre cloth.. mine are beautiful I adore them.


I love my belfast sink.

As few drawers as possible they only end up full of crap you don't need.. I LOVE those pan drawers.. and I like the pull out folding shelfy things for corner units...that makes no sense to anyone but me does it?

A bin cupboard.. I would love a bin cupboard

pineapple

I recently bought a cottage circa 1750 complete with ye olde beams and 60s kitchen with woodchip. :eek:
The kitchen has to go but I am doing the opposite to you guys. For once in my life I am going for an 'unfitted' kitchen. So quirky but with less cupboard space though I might compromise with a small run of painted tongue and groove units and woodblock work suface. Unfortunately they would have to be built into a curve in the wall - and the quote for that is £3000 :mad:
The thing I regret doing in my last (fitted) kitchen was going for a Magnet trade pack of appliances. They were all Candy. Never again.