We are looking at replacing the furniture in both our kitchen and utility room. This will be only my second installation so am a little green around the ears.
The choice is almost limitless and there is so much info on the web. So instead of asking people what they'd recommend I thought it would be more interesting and revealing to ask what they'd do differently next time around. In other words what went wrong for you or didn't live up to expectations.
Not technicaly differently, it's what we did in the last place, and miss in the new place: Get units that go right back to the wall. Losing 2" off the back of each unit for pipes/cables that only run behind a couple of units is a complete waste of space, and often doesn't work anyway - to reach wehere they need to got the pipes must still come into the cupboard which defeats the object.
Fit plinth drawers - originally only ikea ones but i think they're available elsewhere now - they add quite a lot of extra storage.
Consider putting the worktops the right height for you especially if you're tall.
Spend a bit more time planning the kitchen layout, even if that means spending time with the annoying sales staff in the sheds whilst they mock up the fourth variant for you their 3D software - at least it's a free service and you get to walk off with the colour print outs.
And don't get the 40mm think ones, unless you are built like Arnie or the worktops are not too large.
One thing I did differently from normal was mounting the tap for an inset sink. I positioned the sink as far forward as I could, and mounted the tap in the worktop in the gap created at the back. This avoided the problem I've seen in a few other kitchens where the tap wobbles around on the rather thin stainless steel sink.
If you have any, Lego is good for this, you can make up standard size units, and then move them around the scale model of your kitchen until you get something that works well. Then you can go and annoy the sales droids.
I did a 2 x 3.6m galley style kitchen with a 900mm cut out in the centre of one worktop for a stainless hob and a standard sink cutout on the other worktop. both 40mm thick, cut down from 4.1m
get three different companies in to produce the plans. don't use any of the companies, just use their plans. try to get ready built nylon welded units, built to tight spec. reject anything you don't like for whatever reason. don't start the job until you have all tools and all materials on site. allow
20% more £ for fuckups. buy the best jigsaw you can afford.
Thanks everone for your replies, some good ideas to follow up on. We've already got the 3 different sets of plans as someone has suggested and there are some interesting ideas amongst them. I'm happy to do most of the work myself but am not so sure about the worktops - you only get one shot.
Speaking of worktops what are peoples views about the premium surfaces, acrylic, quartz granite etc. They look nice but are they worth the expense?
Also what are the "nylon welded units" that were mentioned in the previous post? I've not heard of that before.
Finally Ikea units have been well spoken of in the past. Is this praise still valid?
The one thing I'd say is stay away from laminated chipboard. You end up paying for a ktichen fit several times per life that way, when you could pay just once and have it in a quality material.
Id not bother asking SWMBO what she wanted, for a start. Given the amount of gadgets she uses to make a boiled egg, i'd probably put in full height cupboards with shelves in the doors, and at the back..thousands of them. I wouldn't bother with a picture book butlers sink and wooden tops, with someone who was really only used to stainless steel and formica either. Probably have to rip it all out and redo it. ;-) I'd put a 13A mains socket every 3 inches, so that whatever layout she finally came up with every time she changed her mind wouldn't have been all wrong. I wouldn't install a microwave with a grill part, that could be left on 'grill' randomly to melt the plastic container of the things I wanted to microwave.. I probably wouldn't install a very expensive slate floor, to have it covered in cheap rugs.. I wouldn't bother with a dishwasher either..washing up takes longer than when the last one was permanently broken. And the thing I always want to use is never washed up when I want it. I'd insist on it being painted the same color as the mud that the wet dogs tails slap on it, and probably recognize that a dirt floor of hardened mud and sawdust was more practical - just change the sawdust once a week. I would install an even bigger TV. I would however keep the Aga. And its attendant electric part..that actually makes a very good kitchen heater. It an be used to cook as well. I'd put in more bookshelves for the cookery books, and a letter rack for the post, and somewhere to put the magazines and newspapers that are always lying around on the expensive worktops, so you can't actually use them to cook. But I doubt that any of this would work: It seems to be that women will acquire stuff and leave it lying around on every horizontal surface irrespective of whether it has any use or functionality. The only solution seems to be to remove all horizontal surfaces.
Whereas a man tends to say 'what can I do without, to save finding somewhere to put it' a woman says 'what can I buy and HE will make a place to put it'
If you are buying from somewhere like B&Q then only buy units from the ranges that they have in stock. When B&Q delivered our stuff we had something like a 60% return rate due to damage. The only solution is to pop round to your local store and keep opening up boxes until you find undamaged stuff.
Don't buy too cheap. I have had to replace some of our B&Q doors 3 times within 18 months of fitting due to the chipboard absorbing moisture and swelling up. Not fit for purpose, it's a kitchen and will get damp in use!
When choosing worktop materials ask this simple question. If I knock over an expensive crystal wine glass onto the worktop will it smash? Granite, probably. Veneered wood chip, probably not.
Mixer taps are a waste of water and unhygienic. Want cold water? Then run the tap until the hot has been flushed away. Want hot water? Run the tap until the cold has been flushed away. Want hot water again? Run the tap........... etc. Any nasty crap from the hot water tank ( you wouldn't drink form it normally would you?) will get trapped buy the filter/water homogenizer on the end of your mixer tap and stay there causing nasty looking biofilms to develop and contaminating your drinking water.
Make quite sure the appliances can go where you plan them to. Things like washing machines and dishwashers have very little space to run services behind.
I would concur with a lot of this - the mixer tap stuff is a bit arbitrary - when I want cold I run the tap anyway until it really is cold and when I want hot likewise - the little but of run off in the mixer tap itself is irrelevant to what I flush out through the pipework. He has a thing about biofilms, I wouldn't worry! That's for the kitchen of course, in the utility I would avoid normal sinks. You can buy "laundry room" sinks - these are deeper. Here I would put separate taps for flow rate and convenience. The combination of deep sink and slightly high rise single taps makes filling buckets and other large containers easier, handwashing clothes easier, cleaning football boots easier etc., etc. These sinks are pricier but well worth it. THINK about the lighting in total - combination of ceiling mounted flood lighting and under cupboard lighting for example - don't create dark areas where you will be working because you are between the work and the light - it's very irritating! The "kitchen triangle" is a cliche but for a good reason (arrange sink, cooker fridge in a triangle). Maximise work surface - does food processor have to live on work surface, likewise microwave. Where's the phone going?
Following on from Rob's points about granite w/s, think about the floor. Yes it must be easily cleanable but some ceramic tiles become lethal skid areas when wet - do you really want that? and anything breakable dropped WILL break. /ducks/ I think you can do worse than patterned vinyl and putting up with changing it, although tiles do look nicer. Slate etc not so slippy but stuff still smashes. Flotex lovely in a couple of respects and pants otherwise (I know).
Is there room to hang one of those let-downable clothes dryer frames from the utility ceiling? They are very useful.
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