New kitchen advice please

Have lots of power points and some with USB sockets for charging phones, tablets etc. Because one kitchen wall has two large windows the space for sockets was limited so we had a pop up in the work top which has four power points, you just pull it up when you want to use it. Another vote for pan drawers, we have two big ones under the hob and three under the cooker. We chose not to have handles on any of the units, it makes cleaning much easier. Because we have patterned tiles and we wanted a splash back above the hob the designer suggested a plain glass splash back which we are happy with.

Heating the kitchen - we have a plinth heater. Basically it's a radiator running off the central heating plus specially designed electric fan. It fits under a kitchen base unit and the heat comes out through a grill fitted into the plinth - no wall space is wasted on a radiator.

Do not light your floor with kick board lights ..every crumb will be magnified!

Have a look at www.devolkitchens.co.uk/kitchens/classic-bespoke-kitchen/cotes-mill-classic-showroom
good for ideas...

Springchicken hear, hear. My bins are under a food preparation worktop and I can just brush compostables and other waste straight off the worktop and into the bin with no spills on the floor.

Luckynan for the reasons you state I always insist on laminate work surfaces. I do have a mat on it beside the cooker to put hot saucepans on, but laminate is just so easy to care for.

I know you asked for kitchen fitting, so have probably already made decisions about heating. But as it was mentioned, and as others may look at this, I recommend:
Underfloor heating (very cosy and efficient)
A mechanical recovery heat ventilation pump (we have Villavent) so you are circulating the heat from your kitchen
Alongside the ventilation pump, you are sometimes offered an integral vacuum system. I love ours, which has a kitchen 'pan' for quickly sweeping crumbs away.

Luckynan Hobs should have a clearance of 300mm each side, for safety. If your friends hob is gas then the clearance is mandatory if the Building Regulations. Your friends fitter should have known this.
Our kitchen was fitted by the previous owners, it is just what we would have done. Except, 300mm base cupboards are useless, unless you can fit pull out racks. Unfortunately the cupboards are built ‘in frame’ so pullouts can’t be added.

In not if.

We recently had a new kitchen fitted and we finally chose one from Benchmarx - they're trade only, so your builder/fitter has to order it for you. The quality is only slightly lower than John Lewis but the price significantly lower.

My absolute BEST tip is to have some deep drawers rather than all cupboards. I have one double unit which has a slimline drawer at the top (used for cutlery, tin foil etc) and two deeper drawers underneath which hold all my saucepans, baking trays etc.

I have two drawers under the sink - it is brilliant to be able to pull out and see what I've got in there! No more getting down on hands and knees or rootle around at the back of the under sink cupboard.