What couldn't you live without in your kitchen? Post Reply

[fionapm]

A full size fridge, freezer and wine fridge. We had 14 for Christmas and totally needed the space.

A dishwasher with two zones, so you don't have to turn the whole thing on, you can just wash half of it.

A larder, so you have all of your food ingredients in one place.

Two ovens, and at least 6 burners.

Underfloor heating - most floors that are easy to keep clean are also cold.

We don't use our insinkerator or our water filter tap.

Think carefully about your lighting, we have 5 light switches with dimmers and different zones, so it means the place can be lit up like a surgical theatre when I'm cooking, but then we can make it cosy and romantic, or normal or whatever.

[Writerlady]

As the last post on this fabulously useful thread was made well over a year ago i thought i would just see if anyone has anything else to add! We are planning our new kitchen now and any tips about anything at all from layout to appliances gratefully received!

Thank you!

[Writerlady]

Wow Petal! Thanks for such a useful post. My children are older now (almost 12 and 10) so thinking about seating and sockets and accessible fridge!

[peasepudding]

We desperately need a new kitchen so I'm following all of this and adding to the plans in my head! My biggest issue with our current kitchen is lack of food storage space. This being London, unless you have a cat, mice are always a potential issue so I use upper cupboards a lot more. Our current cupboards are far too shallow and there just aren't enough of them. I also really want one of those cupboards you can pull out with shelves all the way up for tins, jars and spices, such a great space saver. Because all of our limited number of cupboards are full we have so much crap dumped on counters which I hate but can do nothing about, there's nowhere for it to go! I would say look at the storage space you're creating, designate them all and if you have some spare, you'll probably have enough!

[Bush Girl]

All fabulous ideas. I don't really have more to add but just wanted to recommend the company I used. I love my kitchen! When we moved into our house, there were just four bare walls. West London Kitchens advised on design, units, worktops, accessories. They took all the hard work out of fitting a new kitchen. They were fast, pleasant and professional - a joy to work with. I now have a beautiful kitchen that everyone admires.

[MumOfTeens]

How about a wine fridge? My husband loved it and felt he got his say and didn't mind what I did with the rest of the design.

[magnificentseven]

Just been into DTL kitchens as asked politely about economically priced kitchens. I was politely told they start at £35,000!!!!! I'm off to look at Howdens & Magnet - can anyone recommend anyone for the modern sleek look ?

[Bush Girl]

As mentioned above, I love my Schuller kitchen from West London Kitchens. Sleek, modern, crisp, and MUCH cheaper than 35K!!

[Writerlady]

Ha Ha Magnificentseven!! I didn't actually ring but peered into their shop to look for evidence of cheaper kitchens and looked online and came to the conclusion nothing looked v cheap! Just been to Neptune on Wandsworth Bridge Road. Very nice. Pricey but not that pricey . . . I hope! Got a Howdens brochure too.

[magnificentseven]

Oh ...wineys will come up with all sorts of reasons - I will wait for one to reply - here the cellar is a pretty good place ... just as long as you are not my hubby who keeps putting any white liquid including champagne into the freezer because he's forgotten to cool it .....yes - you have guessed - he forgets and it freezes .....yuck...and he presumes its my job to clean it up !

I'm off the Howdens and Magnet and to see whether I can remove any trace of their name on the kitchen when its finished ....snobby or what ???!!

[Elizabeth24]

Thank you, Bush Girl, for your very kind recommendation; we enjoyed working with you, too.

Hello everyone, we're West London Kitchens and we supply family kitchens at very friendly prices as we don't run traditional showrooms. Instead, you can see our kitchens in our studio office plus we take you to see kitchens we've installed so you can see real kitchens working in real homes.

We design German, Italian and traditional English kitchens in a huge variety of colours and finishes. We're a small company and pay huge attention to customer service. Find out more at http://www.westlondonkitchens.com

Please give us a ring to have a chat about what you're looking for. Our design and quotation process is free.

Keith Patterson 020 8741 1981 or 07904 374 319

[LP73]

I've just gone through the same thing and been very lucky to have ours done by http://www.mowlemandco.com

A decent sized fridge/freezer - whilst expensive Sub Zero is amazing.

Hob with four inductions and two gas - makes life so easy cooking in induction especially if little fingers wander.

Underfloor heating which works really well with stone, otherwise the stone is cold/cool.

A larder hidden away and when you open it everything is there that you need such as herbs in nice shelving, treats, sauces.

A wine/champagne cooler - a one to store red wine in too.

Two ovens at chest height - so much easier than bending down all of the time and again much safer with little ones around.

Steam ovens are great but you will find that you won't use it much. The size inside the steam ovens is really small for the size of the unit. Have you seen a demo? Even if you don't want Subzero/Wolff stuff poop into their store in Knightsbridge to see how it all works. You far better have a microwave built in.

Hot/cold water tap.

Built in bins x 2 (one for recycling)

Best of luck with it all - very exciting

Hard water softener

Great lighting

I could go on and on really. Loved every minute of doing the kitchen design.

[wayne118]

Hard to say for me but it would have to be the Kettle

[Alexis_Rowland]

my toaster and waffle iron!!

[maryd]

Hidden bins, granite worktops and induction hob - all great!