New Year, New Kitchen

[Morticia]

After all the excitements of Christmas I will be getting a new kitchen in the new year.

I've got some firm ideas on what I want, but I'm also going to be open to suggestion when I go to look. I have a fairly big kitchen but it has restrictions like 2 huge windows, radiator, one free standing unit which i want to keep so I might not get everything I want.

At the moment top of my list are...

Big items

1. A Smeg 1950's style fridge.
2. A duallite range cooker.
3. A kitchen island.
4. Dishwasher.

Small items

1. Breadmaker.
2. Slowcooker.

So what would everyone else have in their kitchen or what can't you live without since you've had it

[RecoveringChocaholic]

Oh i love my granite worktops & couldn't live without a dishwasher

[daisydoll]

Top of the list is my dishwasher!
(i'd love a smeg fridge)

small things...

dolce gusto coffee machine!
slow cooker
magimix food processor

i'd love to redo my kitchen , but its only 5 years old and actually quite nice - but it would be really exciting to have a new one, lol
daisy x

[Morticia]

Mine's is actually 13 years old so it owes me nothing...I got my monies worth out of it. But I did put it in just as we got the keys for the place so I had no time to work out how best to use the space. I have more of an idea on how best to make use of the space now that I've ventured back in there. Hubby has done most of the cooking all our married life and it's only now that I've gone back into the kitchen I realise how poorly designed it was. Poor soul has had to deal with it all this time. I wander back in there a few months ago and decide I can't work in there and have to rip it out...lol....

[Foxtrot]

My kitchen is 1 this week!!

I luuurrvvve my Aga but the kitchen was designed around it. It's wide enough that two can cook at once, but don't shove a biggie in the corner, you need to come at it from an oblique angle if there are two of you. And the extra ovens are a god send!!!

My butchers block is wonderful. It means I can chop and prepare etc whilst facing into the room even if it is only OH stirring at the cooker!!

Bestest gadget... gotta be the hot filter tap. Boiling water on one flip and cool on the other. Who needs a kettle!! Saves waiting for ages whether it's a coffee or water for veg!

Oh, and good flooring. Great for slopping out!

[Morticia]

Oh gosh FT, your kitchen does sound very professional......

[thin_inside]

A new kitchen is on my Christmas list too Morticia! Mine's about 20 years old and the appliances are all original and in desperate need of replacing. We moved in 5 years ago and have only added a big american fridge freezer.

Only thing is... I don't just want a new design, I want to relocate it into a different room (or rather three rooms to be knocked together!) so it's quite a big task.

Need to keep the fridge freezer, but want a dishwasher and range cooker too. Bread maker has been mothballed until I can learn how to control my eating. Slow cooker is fab. I have a 3l one, but want to move up to a 6L one to do bigger batches. A good blender is the other thing I use at the mo. I have a steamer for the hob which is used constantly and I have thought about getting an electric one, but it's all about worktop space.

Choosing is confusing, but allows the imagination to run riot. My new room will be about the same size as the current one which is also the main eating location so has to fit in a decent sized table. Lots of layout options to dither over. Won't be space for an island unfortunately.

Exciting xx

[Foxtrot]

I wouldn't say professional Morticia, it's not quite 12 foot square, has three doors and a wall missing!! But we did live with it for a few years and had a very good designer who listened to everything we needed.

The best thing we did was perhaps one of the most seemingly pointless. We moved one of the three doors into a hall over 8 inches. It just made one wall work so much better and made use of a load of dead space on another!

Also, though 300mm cupboards fill spaces, avoid them as much as possible. There are not that many things you can get in them. If you have 2 on a wall, consider having one larger one instead. And I have pullout larder units each side of the fridge freezer. They hold more than they look but the opposite applies. 2 narrow ones have better access than one wide one.

One thing I wish I could have but never will?? Ceiling height! I'd love to hang the pans above the block!! Still, a small space that works well is better than a vast one that doesn't!

[slendablenda]

I have a range cooker which I adore. It has 6 burner gas hob, including and griddle, plus a wok burer, electric ovens ! fan assisted, 1 not, an electric grill and a warming cupboard. I suppose it's a poor man's Aga - i have had one of those before, but it's practical and good looking.
I ordered a new dishwasher last week and my current one has died today! HELP.
I've got quite large fridge freezer.I'd love an American style one like a wardrobe, but in England the freezer side is usually quite small.
I also have a double butler sink which is great for all sorts of reasons as well as looking homely.
I love my slow cooker and my bread maker. I also rate my microwave highly. I love fish and vegetables cooked in the micro. Fabulous colour and texture and they retain a lot of the nutrients too.
That's me. I'm lucky, my kitchen is in the conservatory so it's lovely and bright and opens onto the garden.
Sometimes I'll sit out there to prepare vegetables or strain jams etc.

[Morticia]

Wow, that sounds fab SB. I would like a belfast sink but have not figured out how to drain dishes without getting a double sink. Although my kitchen is a good size I Don't think I'm going to have enough room fro double sink as well as everything else I want.

TI, gosh I don't envy your job of moving the kitchen, it sounds daunting....exciting but daunting none the less....:O

[LaydeeBug]

I couldn't live without my dishwasher either, I hate washing up.

I live in an open plan apartment, so the kitchen has to be spotless when it is part of the rest of the floor space. So, mine is modern and all appliances are built into the cupboards ~ I'm glad when I had it built that I chose good tiles for the floor ~ it makes a huge difference to the overall effect.
And I love the fact that the fridge freezer is large and I have lots of space in both.

Small items ~ well, obviously my blender at the moment. But also, my steam cooker. Fish, veg, everything in there is lovely. xx