Kitchen Regrets
Discussion
Prompted by the bathroom thread, I'm currently in the final stages of locking down a kitchen design and that thread has had some excellent hints and tips from everyone.
So you've splurged a years wages on a fancy kitchen, what do you love, hate, miss or just plain wish you'd done different?
So you've splurged a years wages on a fancy kitchen, what do you love, hate, miss or just plain wish you'd done different?
If you have kids, make sure that the carcasses and hinges are very robust, especially on the fridge and whichever cupboard the biscuits are kept in.
Otherwise, keep a good stock of hinge repair plates in stock.
We had our kitchen done about two years ago, and the only design issue that we have come across is the cutlery drawer is underneath the induction plate, so when you are finishing up the cooking and somebody else is trying to set the table, it's not great.
We also wanted the washing machine and dryer behind doors, but not integrated. The worktop ended up a few inches wider than regular, but as it was a 6 meter run, the extra cost was huge. We also realised that the worktop coming over the top of the washer makes it quite difficult to add powder and softener into the drawer, but all in one tablets are an easy way around this.
That said, these are the only few issues we encountered.
Otherwise, keep a good stock of hinge repair plates in stock.
We had our kitchen done about two years ago, and the only design issue that we have come across is the cutlery drawer is underneath the induction plate, so when you are finishing up the cooking and somebody else is trying to set the table, it's not great.
We also wanted the washing machine and dryer behind doors, but not integrated. The worktop ended up a few inches wider than regular, but as it was a 6 meter run, the extra cost was huge. We also realised that the worktop coming over the top of the washer makes it quite difficult to add powder and softener into the drawer, but all in one tablets are an easy way around this.
That said, these are the only few issues we encountered.
Avoid integrated appliances, they are more expensive, there is less choice and when they go wrong they are a PITA.
Avoid real wood work tops, see the other thread on here.
Avoid bold, modern designs, it will look out of date in no time. Try not to make it look like a Frankfurt airport lounge.
Avoid real wood work tops, see the other thread on here.
Avoid bold, modern designs, it will look out of date in no time. Try not to make it look like a Frankfurt airport lounge.
Solid wood worktops are getting some bad press on here at the moment!
There's nothing wrong with them if you use a good product to finish them. Avoid oil, use Sadolin PV67 in a satin finish and they'll great for years, maintenance free.
Laminate work tops look a bit naff, and Corian/Hi-Macs/Granite etc. are very expensive. Solid wood are a nice middle ground, IMO.
There's nothing wrong with them if you use a good product to finish them. Avoid oil, use Sadolin PV67 in a satin finish and they'll great for years, maintenance free.
Laminate work tops look a bit naff, and Corian/Hi-Macs/Granite etc. are very expensive. Solid wood are a nice middle ground, IMO.
Not a regret, but maybe advice.
If you're buying an oven from Currys, do go for the £2 per month added warranty.
Not only will they repair any issues you also get a free 'oven valet' once a year which brings it up looking like new. Oven cleaning is a chore and a professional clean normally costs £40+ so £24 per year for the warranty is a bargain.
If you're buying an oven from Currys, do go for the £2 per month added warranty.
Not only will they repair any issues you also get a free 'oven valet' once a year which brings it up looking like new. Oven cleaning is a chore and a professional clean normally costs £40+ so £24 per year for the warranty is a bargain.
Extract rather than recirculate if at all possible.
Fit two standard ovens (or one standard one steam) rather than one double. Mount in tall larder rather than base units.
Fit two dishwashers if you have the space/budget.
Fit a warming drawer.
Think about your lighting. Fit under cabinet lighting for ambient light when not cooking.
LED spots in the ceiling for task light. Careful not to position behind you when facing worktop.
Avoid really bold cabinet colours. You can alter your room quickly and cheaply with paint when fashions change.
Avoid crazy contemporary, it will date quickly.
Leave space for a rad or install underfloor heating.
Leave space for a bin (or incorporate into a base unit).
Make sure a couple of your new sockets have USB charging ports.
Fit two standard ovens (or one standard one steam) rather than one double. Mount in tall larder rather than base units.
Fit two dishwashers if you have the space/budget.
Fit a warming drawer.
Think about your lighting. Fit under cabinet lighting for ambient light when not cooking.
LED spots in the ceiling for task light. Careful not to position behind you when facing worktop.
Avoid really bold cabinet colours. You can alter your room quickly and cheaply with paint when fashions change.
Avoid crazy contemporary, it will date quickly.
Leave space for a rad or install underfloor heating.
Leave space for a bin (or incorporate into a base unit).
Make sure a couple of your new sockets have USB charging ports.
Consider buying from a well established supplier who offers a well thought out, long-term 'system'. We went for some vaguely unusual doors and weren't 100% sure we'd like them but the fact that the manufacturer will be supplying other styles of interchangeable doors/drawer fronts for many years to come means we can easily swap them if we want a change.
Don't get carried away and cram every available space with wall units, you can always add more later if need be. We liked the look of these kitchens that consist mainly of base units & tall units, with few/no wall units. We were happy with the result and didn't have the expense or hassle of fitting lots of wall units that were unnecessary and made the room feel smaller and cluttered. If ever we want to add some, we can.
I'd contradict previous posters and say do go for integrated appliances. Yes, integrated costs more and the choice isn't quite as extensive but personally I think a nicely designed kitchen looks a bit of a mess if neat, uniform runs of units are interrupted by big white appliances.
Explore graded (new but returned/rejected for some reason) appliances. There are many places that sell graded dishwashers, ovens, hobs, etc, e.g. here. They generally offer worthwhile discounts on new appliances that often have nothing wrong with them and simply have tatty packaging or a cosmetic scratch or dent. Manufacturer guarantees are still valid, etc so no worries there. Another advantage of integrated appliances is that you will never see any dent or scratch when installed.
Try to extract to the outside rather than filter the air going into the extractor.
Shallow base units can be useful, e.g. a simple way to create a breakfast bar with storage underneath without the need for custom worktop is to use a run of shallow base units and top with standard depth worktop.
Don't get carried away and cram every available space with wall units, you can always add more later if need be. We liked the look of these kitchens that consist mainly of base units & tall units, with few/no wall units. We were happy with the result and didn't have the expense or hassle of fitting lots of wall units that were unnecessary and made the room feel smaller and cluttered. If ever we want to add some, we can.
I'd contradict previous posters and say do go for integrated appliances. Yes, integrated costs more and the choice isn't quite as extensive but personally I think a nicely designed kitchen looks a bit of a mess if neat, uniform runs of units are interrupted by big white appliances.
Explore graded (new but returned/rejected for some reason) appliances. There are many places that sell graded dishwashers, ovens, hobs, etc, e.g. here. They generally offer worthwhile discounts on new appliances that often have nothing wrong with them and simply have tatty packaging or a cosmetic scratch or dent. Manufacturer guarantees are still valid, etc so no worries there. Another advantage of integrated appliances is that you will never see any dent or scratch when installed.
Try to extract to the outside rather than filter the air going into the extractor.
Shallow base units can be useful, e.g. a simple way to create a breakfast bar with storage underneath without the need for custom worktop is to use a run of shallow base units and top with standard depth worktop.
Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 6th September 12:57
mirror what others have said
We wanted to keep stuff off the worktop, so have an integrated microwave and the toaster goes in a larder unit.
We also have integrated everything as wanted a cleaner look. If I had a an utility room though I wouldn't have integrated though I don't think.
Went for shaker style in the hope it won't date too fast.
Use decent tradesmen! not point scrimping on a few quid, which will in turn result in loads of annoying little faults.
Have a sonos attached to the wall and hard wired to a fused socket. I really like this, understand not everyone likes sonos.
We wanted to keep stuff off the worktop, so have an integrated microwave and the toaster goes in a larder unit.
We also have integrated everything as wanted a cleaner look. If I had a an utility room though I wouldn't have integrated though I don't think.
Went for shaker style in the hope it won't date too fast.
Use decent tradesmen! not point scrimping on a few quid, which will in turn result in loads of annoying little faults.
Have a sonos attached to the wall and hard wired to a fused socket. I really like this, understand not everyone likes sonos.
richatnort said:
Don't have those stupid pull out pan draws they are utterly useless and you can't fit anything on them so just get a normal corner cupboard.
Do not follow this advice. Corner cupboards are for storing rubbish you never ever ever use. I cleaned mine out and found stuff I have never used since moving in 7 years ago. Corner cupboards are hateful things. I don't know a single person apart from this poster who likes them. Get properly designed quality drawers so you can see your pans properly. And have the lids stored elsewhere, not in the pan drawer, it just makes life difficult.Newbespoke kitchen going in 3 weeks time from independent kitchen designer.
t within an hour and the fittings are a pita
vxsmithers said:
In order:
cupboard door for the food bin opens the wrong way.
God above, I recall spending an entire evening checking & rechecking which side the doors open when I was ordering my kitchen. I shudder at the recollection. My tuppence hapenny, it'll be in a long time, so make sure you're getting what you want. You'll remember the quality long after you've forgotten the price. I went as far as building mine so I could afford the granite worktops, so that might be a bit extreme, but I finished it a couple of weeks ago & remember thinking I couldn't remember when I wasn't doing this stuff, so there's certainly one choice for you.cupboard door for the food bin opens the wrong way.
On the plus side -
separate 1.8M tall fridge and 1.8M tall freezer are brilliant - with internal led lights so you can see everything
Wipe clean induction hob a vast improvement from attempting to clean a gas hob, and ovens at eye level so you can actually see what's happening
another pan drawer fan here too!
separate 1.8M tall fridge and 1.8M tall freezer are brilliant - with internal led lights so you can see everything
Wipe clean induction hob a vast improvement from attempting to clean a gas hob, and ovens at eye level so you can actually see what's happening
another pan drawer fan here too!
Eddie Strohacker said:
vxsmithers said:
In order:
cupboard door for the food bin opens the wrong way.
God above, I recall spending an entire evening checking & rechecking which side the doors open when I was ordering my kitchen. I shudder at the recollection. My tuppence hapenny, it'll be in a long time, so make sure you're getting what you want. You'll remember the quality long after you've forgotten the price. I went as far as building mine so I could afford the granite worktops, so that might be a bit extreme, but I finished it a couple of weeks ago & remember thinking I couldn't remember when I wasn't doing this stuff, so there's certainly one choice for you.cupboard door for the food bin opens the wrong way.
I don't even know if you can get solid or protected edge shelves but what's going on ours and wish we'd put more thought into, is shelf edges where people hit or catch the facing edge as they put stuff away. In our case particularly on an open shelf where the tea and sugar containers live - I feel like putting a rubber bumper on it.
We bought Riven tiles, which look great...but the Plinths (?) obviously don't sit flat on them so we have several gaps between tiles - plinths. Most don't notice, makes me twitch though. !?@#! 
Invest in a good work surface, stretch to Quartz if you can. All the benefits of granite, but with less downsides. You touch it, use it, clean it everyday... spend the extra on it!
Don't spend £100+ on custom splashbacks (glass, quartz etc), we had our local Glazing place knock up a ''fitted'' one that follows the contours of the Extractor for 1/3 of the price after we cocked up the measurements for the Kitchen splashback. Worked out well in the end.
Neff make some cracking ovens, sleek, smart and work well. No buttons, or big dials. They are 'slide & hide' on the door and self cleaning. Self cleaning is awesome. - you pay for it though!
Invest in a good work surface, stretch to Quartz if you can. All the benefits of granite, but with less downsides. You touch it, use it, clean it everyday... spend the extra on it!
Don't spend £100+ on custom splashbacks (glass, quartz etc), we had our local Glazing place knock up a ''fitted'' one that follows the contours of the Extractor for 1/3 of the price after we cocked up the measurements for the Kitchen splashback. Worked out well in the end.
Neff make some cracking ovens, sleek, smart and work well. No buttons, or big dials. They are 'slide & hide' on the door and self cleaning. Self cleaning is awesome. - you pay for it though!
Edited by Andehh on Wednesday 6th September 13:13
As mentioned above - base units and full sized - I don't have a photo to hand, but the wall opposite the window has fridge freezer, side by side ovens, and full height larder. Drawers are under the eye-level ovens. The warming drawer does get used, but don't try to prove dough in it... very messy to clean it!
Drawers are much more practical than cupboards, and using dividers and split level "drawer within drawer" makes full use of the space.
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|https://thumbsnap.com/1yp63yXk[/url]
Also, consider an Insinkerator or other waste disposal system, especially if you have kids. Bigger bins means they are emptied less often, and with the amount of wasted food from fussy eaters, the smells soon start. Waste disposal keeps the bins cleaner.
Drawers are much more practical than cupboards, and using dividers and split level "drawer within drawer" makes full use of the space.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/1yp63yXk[/url]Also, consider an Insinkerator or other waste disposal system, especially if you have kids. Bigger bins means they are emptied less often, and with the amount of wasted food from fussy eaters, the smells soon start. Waste disposal keeps the bins cleaner.
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