Chicken bald back

[CatieB]

I know that there has been talk about kitchens on here before and forum members have had theirs done recently so I was looking for any valuable tips please. Big or little, not who to get it from really. I say this because a few years ago now we got our bathroom done and there are lots of things now that I wish I had known then...the most important to me never to get real stone!!!! Yes it looks beautiful but it is too difficult to clean and every cleaning product I find is not suitable for natural stone. As a clean freak I like a good bleach and limescale remover - very hard water here.

 

With the above in mind I have therefore ruled out granite worktops. I have a friend who says the same about wood too, hard to look after and she is married to a carpenter.

 

Generally speaking I like an easy life. Things to make it simpler.

 

Any tips and advice? Im sure other people must think I wish I had done this or Im glad of this. Thanks

[Olly]

Three things I would avoid (they were all chosen by the previous owners of my house) - wooden work tops, a ceramic sink and floor tiles. If I ever redo this I'll have a softer floor, easy-clean work tops and a composite sink. The floor has been the nemesis of many a wine glass!

 

Take your time planning it, and don't be scared of moving things to suit - we tend to stick with the status quo but sometimes things like moving an internal door or having the cooker in a different place can make a big difference and in the scheme of things they don't cost a lot more.

 

Work out how many electrical sockets you think you'll need, and then add another 50% it's easier to get them put in now than later! I'm a big fan of IKEA kitchens, all those lovely pull-out racks and drawers let you make really good use of space. I think the main thing is to really think about what you use the kitchen for. Do you do lots of baking, would a larger fridge be more useful, is a wine cooler something you've always longed for, do you want to be able to chat to friends while you're preparing dinner and so want a breakfast bar ... take a look at some friends' kitchens and work out what you love or hate about them.

[Cat tails]

I absolutely love my floor tiles! Yes I have dropped a few things, that have broken, but it's so easy to clean! My garden hose decided to remove itself from the tap last week, while I was cleaning the Eglu. With wooden floor this wood have been disaster! My mom has a wooden floor and it's not practical at all.

 

I rent so my kitchen unit is nothing fancy and has a wood composite worktop with a granite look. It works fine, but if I would/could choose myself, I would get a stone composite top from Ikea.

 

Never ever ever get a white kitchen top! Horrible! You see every single speck, nick, scratch etc!

[Beantree]

We have a composite sink unit, a Carron Pheonix in green. Doesn't smash your plates if one is dropped (like a ceramic unit does) and retains the heat far better than a stainless unit. But there are some cheap copy units that chip very easily and composite does seem to attract limescale and scratches. But I still think of the three alternatives it is the most practical.

 

I still like lino on a floor. Feels warm and doesn't break everything dropped on it. If you choose tiles get them laid over the whole floor first so the units and appliances sit on top.

 

Small changes to the layout can make a big difference to the movements, so worth planning carefully. Certainly avoid the fridge next to the cooker! Worth also considering the radiator position. Under-unit fan heaters need expert fitting to ensure they work properly and can be noisy.

[CatieB]

Thank you. These are exactly the sort of tips I meant.

 

You have sold me on a composite sink given that I am so accident prone, anything to minimise the breakages. Are they easy to clean the limescale off? Can you use chemicals on them?

 

No radiators or heat to consider, we have a solid fuel Rayburn which I love and is staying. As is the floor which is tiles, had to be after dropping one too many hot embers on the previous floor! See I told you accident prone!! The ash and dust does mean that you are right about not having a white work top too. This is something I had considered as my kitchen is quite dark so I need to keep light anyway I can.

 

I'm interested in feedback about composite work tops. I wanted these for the ease of cleaning but one of the fitters we have spoken too says he really doesn't recommend them as they scratch too easily. Does anyone have experience of this, he said cheaper laminate is far more hard wearing. This seems a suggestion I should take on board as he doesn't appear to be suggesting I spend more. Anyone have a view on this?

 

Although I've heard only good stuff about ikea it isn't really an option for us. The nearest one is two and a half hours away. We may use someone local, we like the idea and have had a recommendation but early days.

[Beantree]

You can use limescale removing chemicals on the composite sinks, but avoid bleach as it will remove the surface colour. They are a mix of glass fibres and resin. The same sort of stuff used for filling dents in cars, but a lot harder. They are about 12mm thick so quite heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as ceramic. I think ours was well over £200 and that was 10 years ago. Don't get a ceramic mixer tap with the swivelling spout at the base. They stick on the 'O' ring seals and come loose constantly. The ceramic inserts leak due to water born debris and are invariably s"Ooops, word censored!"ped. Gold finishes are very delicate and rub off so I would advise chrome. We eventually got a Bristan '1901 model' with two traditional taps and with proper rubber washers!

 

The key to a good kitchen lies in the fitting. Even expensive units badly aligned and assembled will eventually distort giving rise to sticking doors and drawers.

[Chickendoodle]

We used a small local independent shop when we had our kitchen done. They came round and did a complete suggested layout with a plan free of charge which was brilliant.

 

I went for glossy cream units which I love, ceramic floor tiles which I also love, black worktops, sink and taps, which were a mistake. Black worktops look lovely but show every speck, similarly the sink and taps.

 

I would recommend a double sink so that you have somewhere to empty liquids when your main sink is being used.

 

We have a very small kitchen so not really an issue for us but remember your work triangle - cooker, fridge, sink - don't make them too far apart.

 

As everything is in our kitchen - washing machine, dishwasher etc, the units had to be at the standard height to fit over them. I am short and they are really a bit too high for comfort (when kneading or pastry rolling). My OH recently built me a pull up worktop hinged to the wall which is lower and is a brilliant solution as I just set it up when I need it. If I had the space I would have a table or island at a lower height.

[JellyBean2605]

I'm getting my kitchen done next week so i'll let you know how that goes

As for worktops all .i know is avoid granite and real wood, both look great but are hard work. If granite chips its almost impossible to repair (and it does chip as its very brittle ) and mind bogglingly expensive to replace.

My FIL had a wood worktop in his last house and while it looked stunning they didn't dare put anything on it! Anything hot would burn and anything wet or greasy would stain. Plus it needed regular oiling to keep it in good nick as they had built the house to sell so it was like a showhome.

I'm going for wood effect laminate, can't go wrong

[Space Chick]

Another vote for a double sink.... great for pouring liquids down the middle.

 

I'd say consider draws instead of cupboards, easier access to thinks rather than reaching to the back of a cupboard.

 

For corner units, have one big folding door (or two doors) as otherwise accessing stuff can be troublesome.

 

I have ceramic floor tiles, and I am a fan of them as they are easy to keep clean!

 

I have a black service but with a white fleck, I find it does look clean most of the time.

 

My two favourite things about my kitchen though are my range cooker and my American fridge freezer which is plumbed in with an ice machine and filtered water.

[JellyBean2605]

Out of interest what suppliers/ fitters have people been using? We are using Homebase simply because the price is right and they have a good finance deal. Has anyone else tried them?

[Cat tails]

I have a simple budget wood composite worktop and it's fine. Looks like a stone composite one. Easy to clean, but you can't put a hot pan down on it and using a knife without a cutting board is a no-no.

We used to have a stone composite top, which was slightly more difficult to clean, because it wasn't a smooth surface. But the upside of that is, that you hardly see any crumbs and such lying around.

 

If you don't like cleaning smudges and fingers don't get:

High gloss finish

Glass doors to cabinets

Stainless steel doors

Cabinet doors without handles (look fancy, but just mean smudges everywhere)

 

I really like the drawer type cabinets of Ikea. Great for storing and nothing get's lost in the back of your cupboards.

[Grandmashazzie]

We have just got new kitchen as just moved.I got granite work tops ,exactly same as last house, I adore them.I find them extremely easy to clean and we had them for 10 years in last house and no chipping.I love that you can lift stuff out of oven and set directly on to it.For flooring we got ceramic tiles which look like pale wood.I just Hoover and steam clean every day they look great.We got an independent one man to do kitchen and it has been good.It is solid wood,painted and he pops along to sort out any snags.I would look at a lot of designs online and plan carefully.I echo what has been said about plugs.I thought I was being generous,but could have done with more.

[Space Chick]

I forget to mention earlier..... My colour changing tap! It was pricey but I count it as a health and safety feature! It's blue when water is cold, turning to purple when warm, turning to red when too hot!

[Willow]

Love the sound of colour changing tap.

 

For budget I would look at people like Howdens as well. And I agree quality of fitting will make a huge difference in how well it wears

 

Another vote for deep drawers for saucepans.

 

I love my little wine cooler, I had to push for it as OH wasn't convinced and opted for a basic one that we got carcass built around rather than one designed to be kitchen unit so it was quite a bit cheaper. I also went for a double door fridge with ice maker chosing a standard size but bought most basic model so I could easily upgrade when the fridge goes.

 

Kitchen designers were generally poor, I did better by getting friends to review the design. I should have torn up the whole design as the part I didn't redo wouldn't work when my fitters came to start work so they corrected what remained of the designers work as they went.

 

I have slim pull out cupboards either side of the range, one stores chopping boards standing upright and the other stores cooking oils. These are brilliant - so convenient

[CatieB]

This really is helping and giving me ideas.

 

Saucepan drawers, would they be suitable for cast iron pans though. I have a whole set of le creuset including very big ones and they are really heavy.

 

Granmashazzie what do you clean your granite with? Or how?

[helenc]

I also have Le Creuset pans but have them in a corner unit with a door that has hinges in the middle so the door gives access to the whole corner unit ( hope that makes sense)

 

I have a granite worktop in star galaxy - which is black and sparkly, when I first had it fitted a friend recommended a granite cleaner which I used a couple of times then it didn't seem so sparkly so since then I have always used my steam cleaner and an e-cloth the buff it, we have a north facing kitchen but the granite is shiny so helps to make the kitchen look lighter we have had no problems at all with the granite and its was fitted over 10 years ago, we have neutral coloured ceramic floor tiles which also help with the light and are easy to clean.

 

We don't have any tiles on the walls, we have granite upstands where the granite fits to the walls and we have a sheet of glass as a cooker splash back.

 

One thing I would also pay a lot of attention to is lighting - if you have wall units its good to have lighting under there to see better, we often use them during the day as the kitchen can be dark.

[CatieB]

Helenc your kitchen sounds like what I have in mind. I have come to the conclusion that the corner cupboard with the hinged door is best for this type of pan given how heavy they are. I have two of the big stock pot ones so you can imagine the weight in that cupboard!

 

Perhaps I should change my mind about granite??? We do need to add light to the room. We have dark floor tiles - i call them fake slate so you can imagine what I mean a grey /brown slate effect. We are not likely to chose a white kitchen so need to add light as its the only dark room in the house - although double aspect we look out the back on to a river bank that is higher than our house and at the front we have an over hanging veranda which blocks the light too.

 

I keep picking darker units though and then struggle to find a worktop that isn't also dark. The odd bits I like dont go together!! It seems that all the non white kitchens are matched with darker work tops. Driving hubby mad already LOL

[Cat tails]

I have grey floor tiles, grey stone look flaked worktop and grey door panels with a lighter stripe in them. All sounds rather dark, but does look really nice. I do have white tiles on the wall (no choice there as they were already there and painted the walls a very light bright yellow and one wall lime green.

 

What does make a huge difference is those lighting strips underneath the top cupboards! I just got very simple Ikea ones, but they are great! Love them and use them loads!

 

(if I tidy up my kitchen first, I will take a picture... Might take a while though.... )

[The Dogmother]

I had my kitchen re-done a few years back, and was operating under a tight budget, but wanted to get something that would feel right in my Victorian house. On the recommendation of my carpenter, I got a Wickes kitchen in the sale as he really rated their build quality, he fitted it, did all the tiling etc, and the whole thing came in for under what Wickes wanted to supply and fit the kitchen in the first place.

 

A few pictures of the work in progress...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were taken in the winter, so the lighting isn't good.

[Valkyrie]

Oooh I love my granite. Nothing better than passing your fingers over a beautifully clean and shiny surface. We do have chips from someone dropping something heavy on the edge but it's only a small bit. The only thing I would say is make sure there is a suitable space for your cooker. I found out recently that the builders left a bare minimum and we were lucky that our cooker actually fitted. We also had a Kickspace heater to replace our radiator. That worked well until it's dying tune - so loud and rattly! Although in hindsight I would go for underfloor heating. We have a very cold kitchen as a rule and the Kickspace never really did the business. Neither did the old radiator which was also next to useless! Other than that we love our American fridge freezer. And yes more socket points would be nice. Next house WILL have a Rayburn!

[Grandmashazzie]

Hi CatieB just noticing you asked me a question.I have star galaxy too and love it.I just clean mine with the two pack E cloths.One for washing and one for buffing up.I just realised when I got new pack I had been using the smooth one for washing and the rough one for buffing.It is the other way round.I also have Le Creuset and I got a corner Le Creuset pot stand.

[CatieB]

We love our Rayburn and wouldn't get rid of it despite all the mess from it being solid fuel. With that in mind a question to everyone with shiny black work tops - do you notice the dust and dirt on them. I know someone has mentioned it but is yours totally black without a fleck. Do the patterned or sparkly ones show up the mess as much?

 

I think we have made most decisions. The one we are still struggling with is the work top. To me it seems an important decision as it's what's on show and finishes the kitchen off. I don't want to spend all the money to end up with something that won't stand the test of time. We like the quartz look but it makes our design over budget so don't know if we should cut back on that or make compromises else where.

 

Exciting though. Everyone's comments are really helping so thanks everyone.

[Grandmashazzie]

As said I have the star galaxy ,black with gold flecks.I am not a clean freak and occ notice dust but it's not glaringly obvious and it is soooo easy to just rub round when you do dishes( I never use dishwasher ) and buff up.Then it sparkles beautifully.Prev I had a light laminate and it showed all the dirt.

[Couperwife]

We had a new kitchen about 2 years ago. We went with 2 lots of drawers, one next to the sink like a cuttlery drawer/tea towels, that sort of thing and a large one under the hob - we have a 5 ring hob (I would suggest one ) and double width drawers underneath where we put cooking implements and saucepans

 

we also have high wall units that go right up to the ceiling - we have high celings in here so the wall units a 3 shelvesx high rather than the regulation 2.

 

The only thing is that most "off the shelf" kitchen manufacturers don't make them to measure, they make a standard size and fit it in your kitchen so we had to have ours made to measure, bit more expensive, but we got exactly what we wanted

 

Cathy

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[Couperwife]

For budget I would look at people like Howdens as well.

 

My mum got her kitchen from Howdens. When you ask for a quote they give you a cook book. If you order your kitchen they give you some chicken mugs

 

Cathy

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