New kitchen advice please anyone.

I would add most of the above but also an integrated waste disposal. Mine does cooked chicken bones the smaller ones at least amongst a lot of other stuff and it is one of the 5hings I’d rather not be without. The only thing I can’t comment on is the boiling water tap. Everything else is a yes from me, and certainly granite if you can afford it, it’s timeless.

Think about your own physical limitations and future-proof the kitchen. Appliance doors at waist height or above, swing out shelves etc. - things to avoid you having to bend.

Get a sink where the bottom is rounded - I have the latest rectangular sink and it is the devil's own job to get bits out from the edges, which are at right angles.

I have a deep cupboard with a double socket inside, I leave my food processor plugged in and just pull it out to use it.
In my last house I had a butchers block with lockable wheels custom made, it butted straight up to the sink and was great to use in the garden when BBQ ing, it had a knife drawer and 3 racks underneath, I miss it so much.

Here is the shock horror announcement. Laminate worktops. I wouldn't have anything else. Easy to clean, easy to shape and if you drop something fragile on them they do not break.

Whenever we have had a new kitchen i have toyed with alternative surfaces, usuall hhg maintenance, high cost and them I have returned to laminate and never regretted it.

I opted for the Neff double oven with ordinary doors, as there was a 5 month delivery on the slide away door version when we had the kitchen extension done. It’s fine, I have long arms anyway, so cleaning not a problem and the door being there if you take something out and the oven glove hold is not quite right is extremely useful and has saved things being dropped on the floor!

The quooker was a non started for me, the version I looked at took a lot of room underneath and (seemed to me) just another motor to go wrong in due course! Don’t we all love it when a kitchen appliance needs a call out from an engineer! Also concerned that I (or others) would turn it the wrong way and get scalded.

Love my rubbish bins in a floor unit, 2 large bins for recycling and black bin stuff, a decent size one with lid for compost and a small one, useful for bin liners storage.

Love my deep 2 and a half bowl sink. The draining items, usually saucepans, baking trays, can’t be seen at worktop level and don’t slide off the draining board.

Love my Neff extractor hood, the angled one, not enclosed in a unit, over the induction hob. So easy to keep clean and very quiet. When installed, I thought it was too low and I would catch my head on it, but I don’t, the builder was right!

I love my plate rack, all the deep drawers, my island and the granite worktops, polished to a sheen, the vaulted ceiling and the bifolds. It’s now 7 years since installation and can honestly say I still would not change anything about it.

Good luck with all the planning and choosing kitty and then the installation!

kittylester

Thank you everyone. We have some cupboards and deep drawers currently and I'm aiming to have all drawers.

That would have been my tip. I wanted all drawers but they are very expensive, so we had to swap a couple back to ordinary cupboards. It you have standard size cupboards you can get drawers to fit in later.

And don't put the rubbish bin unit under the sink. It is so annoying when people start fiddling round your knees when you are up to your elbows in suds.

Have you considered Corian worktops? I have them and am delighted. They sweep up the wall , this is particularly useful behind the sink ! So sensible and avoids the division between end of worktop and beginning of the wall . The Corian worktops goes up the wall to meet the tiles - amazing ! So glad I chose it, reasonably heat proof too although I do take great care with saucepans. Does'nt have the high gloss of quartz but that is of no concern to me.

We’ve just put in the kitchen for our new build. It’s in an open plan room but we do have a separate room akin to a utility room.
I wanted no reaching into cupboards and a worktop at our height. So there are lots of drawers and pull out bits. Love the tall pull out larder. Only 30cm wide but holds loads. We have a vaulted ceiling so no wall cupboards. I’m having 2 thick oak shelves made to go along two walls. There’ll be recessed LED lights under the bottom shelf.

No gas where we live so electric AEG built in double oven and AEG induction hob which is really energy efficient. ?. I was recommended AEG or NEF. AEG are just as good as NEF but cheaper. Great warranty. Drop down doors as I like to put trays and dishes on them. Had enough of carrying food over to the worktop to do things before returning it to the oven.

Points to think about: weight the drawers and pull out units will take. Some are very flimsy.

Use a local fitter to tailor it to your needs. Look at trade companies in your area. We saved 1/3 of the cost from the big kitchen companies.

Look at the difference between granite and quartz. Both almost equal each other in durability but quartz is cheaper and easier to cut and repair. Granite can split. We had two awkward pieces made and the fitters were thankful we’d chosen quartz.

Find a company prepared to listen to you. I changed my mind 6 times - possibly more ☺️ Get lots of samples and try them out in your home. Lighting makes a huge difference. I wanted light grey doors. Two choices but one looked green in our kitchen as it has so much natural light coming in.

Best of wishes for you kitty and your new kitchen.

As many have advised,
drawers, handle less gloss finish, pullout corner cupboard on rails , matching worktops and splashbacks ( no tiles ), boiling water tap,
and my special treat was my wine chiller!!

? Enjoy, Kitty!

Drawers, deep and strong enough to take crockery, pans etc.
A walk-in larder if you have room
If you have a utility room keep all laundry out of the kitchen, if not, put it in a separate area away from food preparation, dishwashing etc.
Cupboards that go right up to the ceiling - even just a false cupboard front so that there are no cupboard tops to get dirty or to attract grease.
Lighting under the wall cupboards.

There was a bin in the cupboard when we moved here. Too small, smelly and a real issue to clean around. We went for free standing bins in the utility room
I agree, although it's 'next door' I prefer to have the bins in the utility room.

It is fun kitty but I found also stressful primarily because some kitchen designers, aka sales persons, can be incredibly pushy. I found it helped to have a good idea of the look I wanted (plain and shiny) before talking to them. We had plans from four and then did a mix and match job before asking for a final plan from our chosen supplier.

It seemed to help that the kitchen company arranged fitting and plumbing as coordination just happened. Our kitchen is tiny, it was put in 9 years ago and I’d not change a thing so guess we got it right. Gloss handle less units and what I call a crumb friendly worktop, ie crumbs are very difficult to spot.

Can’t advise on boiling water taps other than to share that a family member with one was away for a few weeks and discovered the under sink part of it had been leaking - new units and a replacement floor followed. They kept the tap as they love it and now turn off the water supply to it when they go away.

We set up an alternative kitchen in the conservatory. Microwave, remoska oven, kettle, toaster, basic cutlery and crockery. The existing fridge freezer too. We had a stock of bottled water as sometimes the water was turned off for a few hours. The rest of the kitchen contents were boxed and stacked.

Make sure you will be able to reach everything. Although we are both tall the even taller kitchen fitter has to be convinced that our necessary top cupboards still needed to be in our reach rather than his. Fitted ovens also need to be the right height for the user for safety. Slide away doors are excellent. Pull out larder type units are wonderful.

Good luck with it. You will enjoy most of if not all the process, it is very satisfying to see something considered and planned being put into action. Have fun .

And avoid handles which can catch in pockets etc!

Has anyone got a steam oven? Is it worth it?

We are in a funny position in that we are mainly just,2 but can be (at Ch*****as) up to 23 and counting!

We have a boiling water tap Kitty. We like it although it’s our third in 3 years. With us it’s limescale why they’ve gone wrong we are in a hard water area. We wouldn’t be without it now.

There was a bin in the cupboard when we moved here. Too small, smelly and a real issue to clean around. We went for free standing bins in the utility room.
We have three sets of wide drawers, opposite the sink and dishwasher island. It’s so easy to empty the dishwasher straight into the drawers.
Glass induction hob - SO easy! It cleans instantly and is quick and responsive. I was a gas girl but no longer!
Enjoy your kitchen Kitty!

Thank you everyone. We have some cupboards and deep drawers currently and I'm aiming to have all drawers.

Definitely the Neff oven, it’s great. We have the microwave oven too.
Have doors that are flat no indents to get dirty or dusty.
Pull out shelves and drawers make good use of space and easier to get into cupboards.
A classic colour that won’t date.
Last of all Have Fun choosing!

And be wary of composite sinks as they stain.

Btw love the Quooker tap.

We have deep drawers and pull out shelves in all our cupboards = invaluable. An induction hob is instant heat like gas and easy cleaning. We chose a microwave built in instead of a double oven. We also got the biggest freezer and fridge - both floor to ceiling so heaps of room.

Oh and I nearly forgot - I’m so glad I decided on an integrated split dual waste bin for separate waste. Hubby disagreed at the time favouring an additional unit but I won ?. So wonderful not to see the bins, they’re hidden away so the dog can’t get at it!

We had our kitchen remodelled a few years ago. It is a fairly small room so space saving was the most important feature. We have long, deep drawers for saucepans and bakery equipment and a corner cupboard with shelves that can slide out.

I' d love a boiling water tap - maybe not if there were small children or absent-minded older people (ie older than me) around. DS2 and his family have one and it's so good to have a cup of tea 'on tap'. One thing they have which I feel simply harbours bacteria and food particles is a sink which is a square box with no curves - more difficult to keep clean. I only have a little kitchen in my little house, but when I had a new kitchen (about 16 years ago!) I had it designed to make the maximum use of wall space. I have a very sturdy step stool, having gone through a rather cheap one!

My best advice is get an installer who can oversee and have on call the trades required. Ours was gutted and re installed (no building work) in 9 days, usable after 6.

So very happy with my hit water tap. I also live in hard water area, but this has its own filter and softener, so no problem,

Yes, lots of drawers instead of cupboards, I really delight in my floor to ceiling pullout larder area. Takes so much and I can see everything. Second small pullout under counter takes all my spices and herbs and also vinegars, oils etc etc.

Lots of choices as to how to treat corner cupboard areas, I have one with two independent pull out kidney shaped type of storage, again I can see everything stored there.

Decide if you want all integrated machines, or some freestanding. I chose to have a free standing fridge/freezer - as small kitchen and the integrated ones have less space inside. Also kept my freestanding washing machine and dish washer.

Think carefully about what sort of extraction fan you have fitted over the hobs - and, of course, what hobs - would strongly recommend induction.

I also chose to have the granite worktops. Very expensive but they look lovely and are so good workhorses. At least a one and half sink, I decided on a black sink to fit in with my black, sparkly worktops. Had some concerns as to how to keep it nice, but is is no problems at all.

Kitchens cost a really obscene amount of money these days. So, it has to be done right. Must say, since mine was finished, never regretted a penny of it. It looks gorgous, is wonderful to work in, and will be a selling point for my flat when that time comes.