Kitchen must haves? Must not haves?

[Anonymous]

For those debating the exhaust fan and food smells, we have a Dyson air filter that we keep in the family room/kitchen area. It wipes out any of those smells very quickly. I do let the bacon smell linger a while though!

One thing I'd say definitely no -- those dumb built-in wine racks in the cabinet. DOn't know if anyone still does that, but it just collects loads of dust and is impossible to clean. I think the kids hide stuff in there too. It's gross.

I don't think I'm up for a full kitchen reno, but am considering some small tweaks.
First, for those with the farm sink, do you still have a garbage disposal in the sink?
Second, has anyone put in the toe kick shelving with existing cabinetry? How much does that run and are there any issues with it generally? I guess it means that you can't stand as close to the cabinet when cooking, at a minimum, right?

[Anonymous]

Wine cooler / beverage center.

[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.

My parents have had a pot filler for 20 years and never used it, and they cook all their foods including soups or whatever else you use pot fillers for.

[Anonymous]

You still have to empty the pot so the pot filler makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Pot fillers seem unnecessary and even dated to me but I don’t have a 400 sq ft kitchen

[Anonymous]

Lots of things already mentioned but only saw induction cook top mentioned once. Life. Changing. Don't understand why more people don't do it.

Also think pot filler is kind of a waste of time and generally ugly. Had one in an old house.

[Anonymous]

Ideally I’d have both gas and induction cooktops. And a second dishwasher is amazing. I don’t care for the pot filler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

My parents have had a pot filler for 20 years and never used it, and they cook all their foods including soups or whatever else you use pot fillers for.[/quote]

+1

Looks silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pot fillers seem unnecessary and even dated to me but I don’t have a 400 sq ft kitchen

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You still have to empty the pot so the pot filler makes no sense.

+1

We had one in our original plan/budget but when it came time to put it in we decided to skip it. You still need to empty the pot.

And the water just sits in that pipe until you use it. Unlikely to flush it like a regular faucet.

[Anonymous]

I have a microwave oven that is also a convection oven. It is great when I need a third oven!!!

I also have an automatic faucet and love it. Would never go back.

For those with young kids, we also put in during our kitchen remodel a giant magnetic white board from floor to ceiling for a little area that was essentially wasted space. If we didn't do that there, it would only have been a blank wall due to location and dimensions.

[Anonymous]

Outlets! More outlets than you would ever think you need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love having an in-cabinet garbage can for both trash and recycling. I know that this is banal in the grand land of DCUM kitchens, but it's the first time I've ever had it, and I love not having to look at a trash can.

The thing I love and expected to hate when we bought a house with one is a trash compactor. Keeps the trash out of the way and in place and reduces volume and frequency of emptying. Our builder looked at us like we have 3 heads when we asked for one to be added in the house we are building. Other things that we like/don't like and are incorporating:

Wall oven/microwave/convection combo thing
Large island with no sink or cooktop -- for seating and prep, will be nice to actually have room for baking and prep
Deeper cabinets
"Counter-Garage" for mixer/etc.
Walk-in pantry
Gas range
Full depth fridge -- hate counterdepth -- waste of space

I will miss my nice galley kitchen, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love having an in-cabinet garbage can for both trash and recycling. I know that this is banal in the grand land of DCUM kitchens, but it's the first time I've ever had it, and I love not having to look at a trash can.

I got rid of ours. They always got nasty, and I was sick of cleaning the drawer.

Really? I have one and clean it about once per year. It's not appreciably dirtier than a normal cabinet.

Have no issues with mine -- ask the maid if it is hard to clean.

[Anonymous]

Agree about the microwave/convection oven. It never hurts to have an extra oven for those 2-3 times a year you need it!