Kitchen must haves? Must not haves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s really no reason to have super powered burners. It’s just a scam on rich people.

Depends on how you cook. If you want restaurant wok flavor (i.e. wok-hay), you do need the ability to blast the heat.
But for cooking eggs or sauces, it doesn't make any difference.

Even the fancy ranges don’t come close to restaurant wok-burner BTUs.

[Anonymous]

I’d echo a lot of what was already said.

I hate our automatic faucet. Don’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one mentioned having a pot filler. If you are going to redo your entire kitchen, I would recommend putting one in. It's not a must have but it's a nice to have when you have to fill a big pot.

+100. I’m not sure how we missed this when we did our kitchen 10 years ago but every time I see a designer include it on HGTV, I feel a pang.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s really no reason to have super powered burners. It’s just a scam on rich people.

Depends on how you cook. If you want restaurant wok flavor (i.e. wok-hay), you do need the ability to blast the heat.
But for cooking eggs or sauces, it doesn't make any difference.

I'm Chinese and the difference between the super expensive and the medium expensive burners just means you should cook in your wok in smaller quantities. I have a medium sized wok and just do smaller portions. For our family of four, I can cook in 2 batches. For parties 4-6 batches. Yes, it takes a little more time, but I don't waste as much energy and it cost a lot less. I don't cook for parties often enough to justify having a huge BTU range.

The trick is to make sure that you are frying the food and not steaming it. Everything should be single layer and you should leave enough room so that you can separate the individual pieces for at least a little while while cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d echo a lot of what was already said.

I hate our automatic faucet. Don’t do it.

Really? Our old faucet had problems a few months ago and we finally got one just before Thanksgiving. We love the automatic faucet. We did have a little problem with it being a little sensitive (the wet sleeves problem), but we now know to turn the faucet head to the left sink when we don't want it to go off unexpectedly (e.g. if you are working in the sink).

[Anonymous]

Avoid Kohler and Delta plumbing and faucets. Our long-time plumber and the local guy at the fixture store agree with me that these brands are junk, break easily and have terrible repair/replacement customer support.

Moen is a good company. Pfister is okay, but replacements can sometimes take a while.

[Anonymous]

I also like my small tv in a dead corner by the sink.

I watch cooking shows or the news while I’m cooking and cleaning.

[Anonymous]

What I like in our kitchen
- pantry with pullouts
- deep drawers for pots and pans with an organizer
- using the narrow drawers near the oven that maybe could have been spices to hold foil, saran wrap, and wax paper
- convenient outlets including usb for a few where we might charge phones
- pullout for garbage
- large farm sink instead of divided sink
- having the French door refrigerator with the flex zone drawer perfect for pizza, small bottled water, yogurts
- tall cabinets with no open shelving
- pull down faucet though that’s probably standard these days
- our pre renovation fridge became our extra fridge in the basement
Wish I had
- counters with less maintenance like quartz instead of granite
- skipped the under cabinet lights - I only use them periodically to make sure the counter looks clean in the corners
- put in a pot filler
- put in a toe kick drawer https://www.nvskitchenbath.com/toe-kick-drawers/
- purchased an extra sink grid for the fireclay farm sink - every few years when we go to replace it, it gets more expensive and harder to find
- been more honest with myself about the desk area actually being used as such

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also like my small tv in a dead corner by the sink.

I watch cooking shows or the news while I’m cooking and cleaning.

DH mounted a flip down screen under a cabinet. It was cheap and I love it.

Plays DVD’s, CDs, and has a radio...plus cable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love my pull out spice rack.

To offer a different perspective... I hate these!!!! You have to label the tops of your spices and I am always bending and squatting to see what I have.

DP -- I bought standardized glass spice jars and preprinted spice labels on Amazon that stick to the top of the jars. I love my pull-out spice rack. I also have a little shallow cabinet in the island across from the cook top that holds larger containers of olive oil, vinegar, salt, etc.

I got a Breville "smart" oven with air fryer/convection/slow cooker/etc., and, in my next kitchen, I would put in a shelf for that vs. a second regular oven (my last kitchen had a GE Advantium, and the Breville is miles better). As it is, I'm threatened to take out my microwave and put the Breville in its place.

A walk-in pantry.

A closet/large cabinet for office/school supplies, kid's books, charging station (definitely a charging station somewhere), shredder, etc.

I mostly agree about a preference for drawers over cabinets, but I do need two cabinets -- one for cookie sheets, cutting boards, etc. and one for very large pots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very powerful burners and powerful range hood to suck away those BTUs (ideally the hood would be wider than the range, although ours is not)

+1. I have an awesome range hood and I love it. My husband does complain that he can't smell what I'm cooking, but I am very happy that the house doesn't smell like food for the rest of the day. It is funny -- I can sauté garlic and onions, and you can't smell it in the kitchen, but it smells great when you walk outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So when we built our house, our builder recommended not using an outside venting system with the cooktop. She said those things suck all the heated/cooled air out of a house. A lot of people on DCUM seem to love their venting system - so, doesn't it suck all the treated air out of your homes?

You only have it on while you're cooking. It's worth it to me to not have the house smell like food. My contractor did tell me that he built a house that was very tightly insulated, and put in a big commercial vent hood, and the hood would suck the smoke out of the fireplace in the adjoining family room.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty basic. My current kitchen has one outlet, no dishwasher, and no pantry. So anything would be an improvement.

Must haves are a lot of counter space (a large island would also work), cabinets, and drawers. Nothing open or glass.

Must not haves - absolutely no range in the middle of the island. Drives me crazy and very unsafe. I also don't like built-in trash but it sounds like most other people do.

I like a kitchen with a compact working area and then more open to a larger room that can be a dining area or living room. My ideal kitchen has the footprint of a basic large galley kitchen, but open. I have cooked for nearly 20 years in tiny kitchens. I don't want to have to go around an entire room collecting stuff. 3 steps between each appliance, counters, and sink, and I am happy. I detest my parents' gorgeous designer kitchen which has the fridge, oven, stove, range, and sink all around the room, and you have to walk around the huge island to get to each one. Incredibly inefficient.

[Anonymous]

Most people have said everything I was thinking. The only thing I would add is go for the extra bucks on the extra large refrigerator (Kitchen Aid makes one that is several thousand less than the Sub Zero). We skimped and I regret it - the one thing I would change from our kitchen reno.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one mentioned having a pot filler. If you are going to redo your entire kitchen, I would recommend putting one in. It's not a must have but it's a nice to have when you have to fill a big pot.

+100. I’m not sure how we missed this when we did our kitchen 10 years ago but every time I see a designer include it on HGTV, I feel a pang.

Eh. I just rented a house that had one, and it just ok. I was glad, because now I don't have to feel bad about not having one.