New kitchen advice please

Howdens

These are the things I love in my kitchen.

The induction hob that is flex surface so you can put any size pan on and the hob senses what surface to heat.
The open shelves for glass storage jars.
The corner cupboards that open with two doors so you don’t get that irritating half a cupboard up a corner that you can’t get to.
The Karndean flooring
And surprisingly the silly little six inch pull out shelves in the bottom cupboards that I resisted and the designer insisted on that now hold all my spices, sauces, little jars etc, Definitely one of the best features.

The very expensive under cabinet lighting I hardly ever use.

I have pull out shelves in all my cupboards enabling me to get things from the back.
I love my induction top - very quick and easy to clean.
The corner cupboards have pull out shelves.
I have one long drawer for kitchen utensils under which are two deep drawers for pans and casseroles etc.
I also have a floor to ceiling fridge and a floor to ceiling freezer so things are easy to find.

When we had a new kitchen fitted 5 years ago, I really wanted a large range-like cooker (gas top, electric ovens) but the kitchen designer very diplomatically asked me if I really wanted to be crouching down to take things out of the oven in years to come. Good point! So I decided on two eye-level ovens, side by side and a hob. Àfter helping to cook a meal on my son's range stove, I am so glad I didn't get one. Another God send is the bin store! It's in a kitchen base unit, and houses 2 large bins. Also I have a narrow base unit next to the sink which has a telescopic towel rail inside. Simple things, but they make such a difference.

Under cabinet strip lighting can be very noisy. We hardly ever use ours for that reason. It was fitted before we came here.

Definitely pan drawers.

And I also use the warming drawer every day; I wasn't bothered about it but DH wanted one and now I find it really useful.

Yes Baggs, I meant the under cabinet lighting was a waste of money. Not that I loved it.

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As dragonfly said, very wide cutlery and pan drawers. They hold so much. We have two sets - one either side of the range. The second cutlery drawer is great for bits and bobs, like keys, phone chargers, hairbrushes etc.

Also a pull out set of waste bins is great too and keeps them out of sight.

Howdens supplied ours.

Magnet. No fuss, they don't over sell gadgets that you don't need but do have all the ones you might!

Found them very good, no complaints.

We had a bespoke solid wood kitchen designed made and fitted for less than a Wren or Howdens kitchen.

In a previous home I had a butchers block on lockable wheels made specifically for me and my knives.
It was wonderful, it butted up to the sink and was so handy when entertaining outdoors.

In my current kitchen the “ star of the show” is my Lacanche range, it’s so beautifully made, looks great and cooks perfectly.

I wish I had pan drawers made, otherwise I’m very happy.

I have two dishwashers, same make and model side by side near the sinks. As the dishes are used one dishwasher fills up and is run to clean them, and dirty dishes then go in the second dishwasher. The china never goes into a china cupboard just goes from one washer to the other.

When I bought the two washers the staff said you cannot buy 2 appliances on the same credit card. Easy I bought one washer on my credit card and DH used his credit card for the second one.

We built our own home. It's a shame you can't go to the building shows, but you can (and I assume you have) bought the self-build magazines to get lots of ideas.
In your current kitchen, tack large pieces of blank paper to the walls, with easy markers nearby. Dob when you go to those places, and make notes 'drawer could be deeper'; work surface higher etc. That will help get a feel for things you like or not about your current kitchen and layout.
It is also a shame that you can't do 'experience days' but if you contact the main appliance suppliers, you can often get a discount for buying a number of appliances from them, and their advisors can talk to you on the phone or video.
I am not sure why you have decided on a 'kitchen furniture supplier' but I would recommend looking at everything for yourselves to see what you can do, or get a local craftsperson to do, so you are not locked in to one supplier.
My personal recommendations, the products we researched carefully and remain very pleased with, are:
Granite worktops that have 'imperfections' making them both more interesting and cheaper: www.cglgranitesales.com/
taps: www.hansgrohe.co.uk/kitchen/products/kitchen-taps
sinks: www.franke.com/gb/en/hs/products/kitchen-sink.html
Fittings: www.hafele.co.uk/en/

Ovens are so personal, but I remain delighted with my Miele steam combination oven, warming drawer and induction hob. We also have one of their excellent cooker hoods.

Good luck!

We’ve recently had a Howdens kitchen installed and their kitchen designer was utterly brilliant, the fitter too. Best bits, deep drawers for pans and casserole dishes, an eye level double oven, no more bending, lots of preparation space. We didn’t have under unit lighting either, but use the hob hood light regularly. Best of luck with yours.

chocolatepudding why couldn’t you buy two appliances on one credit card ?

Susiewong65 - it was a small chain of appliance retailers in East Anglia and as it was a big sale time on Fathers' Day the staff said only one appliance per credit card!

We visited MFI when it was closing down, just for a look around as we had started building our new house. I bought a Neff steam oven, a Neff fan oven and a cooker hood all at bargain prices. The only problem was we had gone out in our 2 seater sports car...I had to stand and wait with the goods whilst DH went home and collected the estate car to pack everything into.

Very informative so far everyone, thank you.

I had a new kitchen just before Christmas. We bought our units, ready built froma caompany called DIY Kitchens based on the outskirts of Doncaster. They have a factory and big showroom there. They are highly rated by Which.

What do I love about it? I love the pan drawers. I have 3 x 900cm units and have all my pans, casseroles and serving dishes in them and they are a joy, just pull a drawer out survey my full range of dishes and choose the one most suitable. I am using all kinds of pans and containers I had almost forgotten I had and no more kneeling on the floor trying to get something off the back of a shelf.

The other feature I love is my pull-out waste bins. 4 of them in one unit in two different sizes, so my rubbish and recycling all go in the same unit. I use one for waste vegetable material for compost, one for the green bin, one for the blackbin and I collect soft plastic, before bagging it up for recycling.

I have recently bought a kitchen from Diy kitchens.
I used a local installer and it was a lot cheaper than the main suppliers. The quality is excellent you can order sample doors and virtual visit the store. I was very nervous about doing it this way but it all looks amazing. I had a big pantry so all the food is in one place. My oven is worktop height which is great but I wish I had bought one that folds the door under it as cleaning the back is awkward.

Yes, DIY Kitchens do not have their own installers. We got a local fitter to do it and he is as good as the kitchen, so we are happy all round.

I've had a number of Howdens kitchens (I've moved a lot) and can honestly say I wouldn't go elsewhere. Excellent quality and service. They do an online brochure so you can get an idea.

Thanks chocolatepudding that makes sense.
Gosh, yes MFI forgot all about them, it’s been quite a few years since they disappeared.
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My kitchen essentials . Kitchen fitted 13 years ago.

Lots of deep pan drawers for pans and casserole dishes , baking bowls etc

Bins in cupboards - one by the big sink and one in the island.

2 sinks on different sides of the kitchen. Small one near the range and the other one described as ‘ baby bath sized ‘ on the other side of the kitchen .

Under cabinet lights for soft evening lighting . ( Walking through to other rooms )

No tiles! Upstands and bespoke glass splash backs.

American style fridge freezer with ice maker / chilled water which is essential as my family are big water drinkers .

Lots of power points . If doing now I would include USB charging points too .

Like M0nica says, have pull out waste bins. Site them one side of the sink and the dishwasher the other side. Then you can scrape, rinse and stack the dishwasher in one easy operation. Never put the waste bin under the sink, it's so inconvenient.

I love my kitchen and have 2 eye level ovens with a built in microwave in between. One of my ovens is self clean which I tend to use for roasting etc. It is worth its weight in gold.

With hindsight I wouldn’t have tiles as no matter how careful you are they always end up a bit grubby. The other mistake we made was having solid wood worktops and breakfast bar. It is walnut and looks beautiful when it has been varnished etc but it is not practical as you have to extremely careful with water, hot pans etc. It is high maintenance but can’t justify changing it yet.
One of my friends has recently had a kitchen fitted and she made a mistake with her hob. She had it fitted right between 2 kitchen cupboards and consequently she can’t use all 4 hot plates at one as there is no where for the pan handles to go.I hope I’ve explained myself there.