Do I have awful taste in kitchens.

Mirren

Whatever the design ,, I would like a nice tidy , clean kitchen.
Sadly, I have a retired husband and the 2 seem to be mutually exclusive.
What should I do ?

Does he cook?

Mine's quite good at clearing up (sort of) but always leaves a bowl of dirty water and a sink which needs a good scrub.
I'm not complaining because he does cook sometimes!

Whatever the design ,, I would like a nice tidy , clean kitchen.
Sadly, I have a retired husband and the 2 seem to be mutually exclusive.
What should I do ?

My kitchen is not huge but is a good size, no Island, just personnel choice. I had the whole kitchen redone as it needed doing including structural repairs.
My kitchen was not eye wateringly expensive, it reflects the 1930's house I live in, it is robust and we use it, my partner makes alot of curries, and cooks everything from scratch. It is cleaned down straight away. It is easy to keep clean. Always looks uncluttered and tidy.The only thing I paid extra for was my black sink, it is lovely it takes more care and a clean with mineral oil but I love it.
When I had the kitchen done I had a good private fitter who got me appliances and units trade. I think these kitchens in glossy magazines that are very expensive do not always reflect a working kitchen.

I’m lucky that my kitchen is tiny but opens onto the conservatory which houses the dining table along with a sitting area.

I do think that a kitchen needs to suit you. Mine is ideal for a prolific cook who loves to potter and entertain occasionally but isn’t so big that it’s a chore to keep in daily order.

I know of people who have vast, posh kitchens and never produce anything other than tea and toast with every meal a ready made or takeaway and then complain about the cleanup of their choice.

Our kitchens, as evrything else, depend on their size and shape and the extent that we can either extend or knock through.

Do I have the perfect kitchen, no I do not, but I probably have the best kitchen possible given the constraints, even after an extension, that had to be fought through theplanning authority because the house is listed.

Our (inherited) island contains a big butler sink, dishwasher, six deep pan drawers, two shallower drawers and the water softener and boiling water tap units, and on the other side it takes four bar stools. It provides a lot of working space. There are further pan and shallow drawers, cupboard and larder units, oven and hob and built in fridge/freezer, microwave and coffee machine along another wall. One glass wall, two sets of double doors and a wall of bifold doors, plus glass dining table, black gloss sideboard and two armchairs. The units are dark grey with granite worktops and splash back, off white walls with pictures and pink blinds. It’s very modern in keeping with the style of the house but also a nice room in which we spend a lot of time. Not at all clinical.

Islands and counter tops can take up a lot of space, but that doesn't mean they aren't functional and are merely a showpiece. How a kitchen is configured is often relevant to the space it is being fitted into. My kitchen, which we inherited, when we moved early last year, comprises very much of a long counter top island unit because the kitchen width runs across the back of the house, in my opinion, the previous owners who designed the kitchen used that space well in creating a fluid family/dining/kitchen area with double foldable doors from the kitchen into a dining room also at the back so in total something in the order of well over 30 feet. Although it is white glossy some may consider it sterile, I beg to differ, firstly when I'm preparing food, I have the pleasure on facing directly into my garden. The whiteness of the units are offset by wooden floors, grey walls and various pictures. It is a very light area, sunshine streams through bifold doors. At one end I have a squashy sofa and bookshelf with my well thumbed cookery books. The end of the counter island unit is a breakfast bar with stools, favourite place for grandchildren to perch doing whatever when they visit. Like others have mentioned my kitchen is also the hub of the house, often strewn with chopping boards and ingredients and an open bottle of wine, it's where we gather, it's where we placed our Christmas tree. I spend a lot of the time at the back of the house rather than in my living room at the front of the house because it gets the sun, like right now

I really dislike breakfast bars and islands. My kitchen here has cream coloured units and click clack flooring. Not to my taste but usable and easy to clean. Last house had white units and dark blue vinyl flooring which we chose.

Beswitched you described my kitchen exactly and no it is not cold and sterile. It is a kitchen full of love and laughter.
Just as well we don't all have the same taste in decor.
Everybody that comes into mine, friends or tradesmen, compliments me on my taste. I have actually had people say that if I was thinking of selling could they be informed first.

Mamma66

I find the enthusiasm for kitchen islands (and open plan for that matter) bewildering. Islands take up SO much space and what purpose do they actually achieve. I have always thought that they can’t be very comfortable to sit at either. Perhaps it’s just me?

I can only say that ours is a god send-provides masses of storage & is very comfortable to sit at. It's perfect when you are dishing up dinners or laying out a buffet meal. The gc love sitting on the stools doing projects/homework & having snacks- it utilises what would be a wasted central space. Not for everyone for sure but I am certainly won over

I find the enthusiasm for kitchen islands (and open plan for that matter) bewildering. Islands take up SO much space and what purpose do they actually achieve. I have always thought that they can’t be very comfortable to sit at either. Perhaps it’s just me?

I have a model n kitchen as its a new house. Yes its grey, I chose it no island but a large table and chairmen to the big fold doors. It's lovely to cook in which I do every day from fresh. We eat at the table every day breakfast and dinner, do crosswords and read . I sometimes use it as an office. It's modern but cosy...you can combine the two.

I agree Beswitched. I just bought yellow kettle, toaster ,bowl, fridge stickers trying to cosy up my rented flat's kitchen! It's not easy as everything in the shops/ online seems to be grey ,black or white !

If I had to buy a new kitchen (unlikely as I rent) I would want modern all the way. Don’t like wood or clutter and the laboratory look, I think, is clean and fresh looking. I can dream.

Beswitched, if you have bad tasting kitchens, then so do I. My cabinets are 70 years old and have been painted. I love them! I live in a house that has beams and a brick fireplace can beadboard, and I wouldn't change a thing. As I keep explaining to people who have suggestions about updating this and updating that: this is a cottage style home, it's our little Hobbit House. If we wanted something that was all gray and glass and marble, that's what we would have chosen. A kitchen like that would look utterly ridiculous in this type of home. This home has a charm that will long out last the latest trend in decorating.

My friend had moved 6 times to my one…. she always insists on new houses! Her latest and last move has given her ‘the kitchen of her dreams’ . It’s twice the size of my kitchen …which can only accommodate two people at most. No room for table or even a stool! But….. I have twice the cupboard space she has! She just doesn’t check out the details enough ….. for her , the bigger the kitchen the more storage. She’s annoyed that I’ve got two cupboards that are actually empty. Fashion blinds her and others to utility!

I'd like to completely refigure ours but probably left it too late now for major upheaval.

Calistemon

noni123 yes, my type of kitchen! I especially like the French doors on to the garden.

Ahh thank you

Josieann the fridge is integrated in the end larder. The dog and I spend the day in the kitchen, especially in the summer and then go into the sitting room in the evening. She's only a little dog and doesn't really bother when I'm cooking, etc she's too busy lying on her bed watching the birds in the garden. She's 8 yrs old though, it might be completely different if I had a young puppy.

Sorry that was for Kathy73

Hi glad that was a useful contact. I don't think it would really matter but have a chat with Michael at The Kitchen Sprayer . Ours was already insitu it's just that the painted cabinets we're getting a bit tired but I know they can spray unpainted kitchens as well We changed the colour but only slightly but as I said could have had anything. There are before & after samples on their site. Did'nt even have to clear the cupboards out. The only downside was the smell which hung around for a couple of days but the finished article was great-like I said a new kitchen at a fraction of the cost. Honestly couldn't recommend them enough-ours was done 3 years ago & it's still looking good.

I recently had my original late 50s kitchen replaced, and had a bonus little bit of extra space as a hot water tank was removed from the cupboard under the stairs. I'm really pleased with the outcome, not enough space for an island but room for a dishwasher and a tumble dryer which it didn't have before . It's a simple shaker style one, no built in appliances as I preferred to have a wider choice of what I got. Cream, simple shaker style cupboards with a sort of mottled dark textured counters, and led lights under the wall cupboards. A touch of colour in the tiles, sort of greeny, bluey, greyish, warm pale blue paint. The laminate flooring is pale greyish wood but it looks more silvery than grey. The cupboards remind me of a victorian kitchen in a house I lived in when I was a child, although the colours were slightly different
I'm pleased with it, I'd have b~n happy with wooden doors but to get the sort I'd have liked would have been a lot dearer
We need to be happy with our own kitchen

Sounds lovely

I'm definitely in the "ecletic" camp. I tried to do the minimalist look when we moved in and hated it. Had the fitted kitchen ripped out. Totally understand its not for everyone but it's me .

noni123

Zoejory

noni123, your kitchen is my kind of kitchen!

Thank you x
For anyone that is interested we had the 'Kitchen Sprayer' when we had the units repainted. This was quite inexpensive & we didn't even have to empty the cupboards or scrub them beforehand. We could have had any colour we liked. They were in and out in a day & we had a new kitchen!

Very interested in the Kitchen Sprayer - have messaged them! If you were to replace the worktops and tiles, would you do that before the respray?