New Kitchen - your must-haves

Drachenfach

We're planning to replace the whole of our kitchen later this year - we're having some repair work done by insurance where the extension was not fully tied in, and then starting again from scratch (ie bare walls and concrete floor)


It's the first time we've been able to work from an almost blank canvas and we're looking at getting a fitted kitchen from Pineland (all wood, traditional style cream cupboards, probably wooden worktops). I was wondering what were your must-haves for a new kitchen, and what you think are just expensive gimmicks?


All our appliances are free-standing, so we don't need to worry about any of them being built in.

Rain_Shadow

Lots and lots of sockets.


Large drawers for pans rather than cupboards at lower levels.


Plenty of well positioned lighting.

Rain_Shadow

I have these. I saw them in a showroom and thought 'Oh I have to have some of those'.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbzKPG7I04M


They work a lot more smoothly than in the video, those are really badly adjusted, but they are marginal for cost vs usefulness.

JP08

Have said this before on other kitchen threads but bears repeating.

Pan drawers - far better than pots and pans in cupboards - and if you can fit in 1.2m ones then do - the bigger the better.

Our kitchen guy recommended NOT to have a pull out larder. They are heavy when full and not very efficient on space. Have individual pull out baskets if you have a tall thin cupboard. You then don't have to leave a space above your can of beans to be able to get them out - so get up to twice as much in there and no heavy lugging to open it.

Corner unit gizmos. In the showroom give them a DAMN GOOD THRASHING. Whang the thing up and down, side to side, slam it in and out (sorry - all Frankie Howerd for a moment !). If it can't take 60 seconds abuse in the showroom, it won't take a decade in the kitchen. Would recommend this one in terms of robustness - pricey but rock solid and very space effective. LINK Note - just the carousel - don't know anything about the company.

usernameisvalid

Mine is my larder with individual pull out shelves and baskets. I love it
So easy to stock take,Mao easy to find anything and easy cleaned

Also corner turntables and complete pull out shelves and drawers under the hob for pans, plates and dishes

System

Why pineland and all wood?

Rain_Shadow

the_r_sole wrote: »

Why pineland and all wood?

To go with the free standing appliances for that 1979 look?

rach_k

Great lighting, plenty of sockets all over, drawers instead of cupboards wherever possible. Go right up to the ceiling with cupboards if you can - even if you can't reach the top cupboards easily, you can use them for things you don't need often but still want to keep.

PasturesNew

My must-haves differ from the norm.

I DO like the big 1970s base units with the sliding doors, a triple unit, with no compartments inside and two good shelves, where everything fits!



I'd go with pan drawers where possible. Everything fits in those. Big/deep/wide.

NOTHING on the wall - it captures dirt/grease at the top and most people can't reach into wall cabinets anyway. They also limit what you can put on worktops.... and I've seen way too many fall off walls to feel comfortable with them.

Corners - HATE them - usually creepy/inaccessible, those "lazy susan" units in them really will NEVER fit the stuff you own - and, when turned, stuff will fall off down the back. For corners I'd want a corner shelf unit with double doors so everything's visible/accessible.

Like this: http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/simply-hygena---southfield---oak---935mm-highline-corner-base-235080 - full open door access, just shelves.

Sink MUST have 1.5 bowls - and draining board on the LEFT.

A proper larder would be best/ideal, no pull out stuff.

No fiddly metal baskets/contraptions that'll just be annoying over time and fall apart, or get things "trapped" in them.

Longest stretch of worktop possible in one hit, so you've room to work.

No metal bars creating joins at corners of worktops, mitre the joins in.

Max of one single base unit - you really can't fit much in them, so they're useless.

Rain_Shadow

PasturesNew wrote: »

NOTHING on the wall - it captures dirt/grease at the top and most people can't reach into wall cabinets anyway. .

Buy a roll of lining paper and lay it on top of wall cupboards. It collects all the dirt and grease and you just replace as often as you can be bothered.

Oakdene

Pan drawers & a built in cooker...