Kitchen extension build and questions...

[Hard-Drive]

We’re a couple of weeks into a build to get rid of the comparatively small, badly designed and dark mid 1990’s kitchen in our house, to be replaced with something much more modern with an island and bifolds in a wrap around extension. I can post pics/plans if anyone has any interest, however I want to ask the collective some kitchen planning questions.

1 - Quooker tap. TBH we thought it was a solution looking for a problem, however as we only have a combi boiler in a larger four bedroom house, the fact that it can supplement the “hot” with “boiling” until the hot kicks in seems like a great idea, as our tap takes ages to run hot (McLaren “torque fill” anyone?). Any thoughts here appreciated, or alternative manufacturers if there’s a better option.

2 – Although I was always told “if you have mains gas, buy a gas cooker” I hear nothing but good stuff about modern induction. We’re looking at Neff, any thoughts?

3 – Downdraught extractor…the cooker will be on an island, we are keen on the separate downdraught extractor that “pops up” behind the cooker, however I have heard some people say the hob that has it built in to a “valley” between the induction rings are better. Any thoughts?

4 – Two dishwashers…this makes absolute sense to me in terms of much less unloading (just move stuff from the “clean” dishwasher to the “dirty” one, some redundancy, and more capacity after a party etc). Any real world experiences? We have plenty space.

5 – Microwave…Currently leaning towards just a normal m/w on a worktop…the inside space seems bigger than the built in ones, which often don’t rotate too. And easier to replace if it goes pop.

6 – Hidden pantry…we’ve seen hidden drinks making stations, so when you are done with your tea/coffee you just shut the doors on it. Neat idea, but for me having the doors open whilst you’re using it seems a bit ugly, and I suspect it will end up as a bit of a dumping ground. Any experiences? I think I’d rather have a Quooker tap for tea and a nice bean to cup coffee machine on a worktop as a bit of a “feature”.

7 – Power sockets on the island – the island will be totally clear apart from the hob and downdraught (the sink is elsewhere). It will also double up as a breakfast bar, and we want power sockets, probably more for kitchen utensils (food mixer, air fryer, fondue set etc) so I’m keen to avoid power cables going over the side of the island. We also want it to be easy to clean, mechanically reliable (the really tall ones just seem like a daft idea) and not ruin the aesthetics of the ruinously expensive worktop. This looks favourite…any thoughts? The S-Box

8 – Kitchen supplier – we were looking at the Howdens Chilbomb, (solid doors, MDF carcass) however for only a couple of grand more we could go for one from The White Kitchen Company - Bespoke Kitchens & Cabinetry which would be solid doors/carcasses and dovetail joints. Looks like very good value, has anyone used these guys at all?

Thanks in advance and if people want pics/build progress I’m happy to post.

[mattvanders]

Hard-Drive said:

We re a couple of weeks into a build to get rid of the comparatively small, badly designed and dark mid 1990 s kitchen in our house, to be replaced with something much more modern with an island and bifolds in a wrap around extension. I can post pics/plans if anyone has any interest, however I want to ask the collective some kitchen planning questions.

1 - Quooker tap. TBH we thought it was a solution looking for a problem, however as we only have a combi boiler in a larger four bedroom house, the fact that it can supplement the hot with boiling until the hot kicks in seems like a great idea, as our tap takes ages to run hot (McLaren torque fill anyone?). Any thoughts here appreciated, or alternative manufacturers if there s a better option.

2 Although I was always told if you have mains gas, buy a gas cooker I hear nothing but good stuff about modern induction. We re looking at Neff, any thoughts?

3 Downdraught extractor the cooker will be on an island, we are keen on the separate downdraught extractor that pops up behind the cooker, however I have heard some people say the hob that has it built in to a valley between the induction rings are better. Any thoughts?

4 Two dishwashers this makes absolute sense to me in terms of much less unloading (just move stuff from the clean dishwasher to the dirty one, some redundancy, and more capacity after a party etc). Any real world experiences? We have plenty space.

5 Microwave Currently leaning towards just a normal m/w on a worktop the inside space seems bigger than the built in ones, which often don t rotate too. And easier to replace if it goes pop.

6 Hidden pantry we ve seen hidden drinks making stations, so when you are done with your tea/coffee you just shut the doors on it. Neat idea, but for me having the doors open whilst you re using it seems a bit ugly, and I suspect it will end up as a bit of a dumping ground. Any experiences? I think I d rather have a Quooker tap for tea and a nice bean to cup coffee machine on a worktop as a bit of a feature .

7 Power sockets on the island the island will be totally clear apart from the hob and downdraught (the sink is elsewhere). It will also double up as a breakfast bar, and we want power sockets, probably more for kitchen utensils (food mixer, air fryer, fondue set etc) so I m keen to avoid power cables going over the side of the island. We also want it to be easy to clean, mechanically reliable (the really tall ones just seem like a daft idea) and not ruin the aesthetics of the ruinously expensive worktop. This looks favourite any thoughts? The S-Box

8 Kitchen supplier we were looking at the Howdens Chilbomb, (solid doors, MDF carcass) however for only a couple of grand more we could go for one from The White Kitchen Company - Bespoke Kitchens & Cabinetry which would be solid doors/carcasses and dovetail joints. Looks like very good value, has anyone used these guys at all?

Thanks in advance and if people want pics/build progress I m happy to post.

For our house extension we did over the last few years (look up 1930 s goodlife thread)

1. Didn t get one, sort of wished I did just because I tend to start very early at work and like a cup of tea on the drive in so would save time in the morning over a kettle. The cost for one is very high which was the deciding factor as budget was tight/had to be thought about because it was a full project. Parents have a quooker tap and they really like it, worth getting quicker for ability to get spares.

2. Got a neff induction hob, would not go back to gas now I have got use to it. So much easier to clean.

3. Can t really comment as went for hob against outside wall for extraction set above the hob.

4. We went single but then it’s only me and the wife, friends have a large kitchen and can see that it works very well. One is on and one is getting filled up. If you have the space go for it.

5. Built in all the way, they look ugly as it is. We did a combination micro oven and it s great. We only need the oven part when hosting at Christmas. Built in above the oven so looks smart and integrated.

6. We bought all smeg kettle, toaster and food mixer. Have them on show before they look nice and they get used a lot. I think you will get bored of the cupboard being open and in the way while making tea/coffee and toast. Brother went down the minimalistic with everything hidden away and just plan white and black and its soleless.

7. Can’t comment.

8. After looking at high end and low end went middle of the range independent. Got such a good service on design and understanding our needs - cost savings but not on quality.

Edited by mattvanders on Friday 1st August 15:42

Edited by mattvanders on Friday 1st August 15:47

[OutInTheShed]

A friend has downdraught extraction, it seems to me you need a lot of fan power to persuade steam not to rise, and hence it's noisy when a cooker hood could be turned down to a quiet low setting.

My brother has one of the £250 boiling water taps from Screwfix and it's great. I don't know how much electricity it uses to stay hot though!
We've got used to having a cold filtered tap which is 95% used for filling the kettle but also for drinking water.
So that's a bit of a conflict between a nice simple, good value product that people find easy/intuitive to use, vs wanting another function....