Anonymous wrote:I think the classic perspective of trying for a reasonable distance between refrigerator, stove and sink and main work space makes sense. Huge kitchens are not really better.

I have a very functional but not as beautiful kitchen and I'm glad to have it rather than an enormous kitchen that doesn't work well.

I still have a gas stove top. But I'm worried about the emissions so I have a strong fan attached to an outside wall. I also have an electric toaster / convection oven so that if I'm heating up one serving of something (or the kids are) then they don't have to use gas.

So true. We are in the process of moving and while the new house has a large kitchen, it is not really functional. For example, the sink is pretty much by itself across the island (by the window), away from the prep areas, breakfast bar, fridge, stove, etc. Of course, everything can be fixed, but fixing the new kitchen will require a lot of money, so we'll probably just live with it. It is big and probably considered beautiful, but so dysfunctional.

I think the classic perspective of trying for a reasonable distance between refrigerator, stove and sink and main work space makes sense. Huge kitchens are not really better.

I have a very functional but not as beautiful kitchen and I'm glad to have it rather than an enormous kitchen that doesn't work well.

I still have a gas stove top. But I'm worried about the emissions so I have a strong fan attached to an outside wall. I also have an electric toaster / convection oven so that if I'm heating up one serving of something (or the kids are) then they don't have to use gas.

— I have mostly drawers, and agree they’re great, but I have a couple of cabinets for cookie sheets, extra large pots, etc, and I’m glad. I have also had the vertical dividers for cookie sheets &cutting boards and they are nice.

— I have a Broan vent hood and I love it. I can sauté onions and not smell it a foot away from the stove.

— if I was building a new kitchen, I would build in a shelf for a Breville Combo convection/toaster oven microwave. I have a Breville oven on my counter and I use it virtually every day.

— unless space is an issue, get the biggest fridge you can find.

Anonymous wrote:We just renovated our kitchen. Some things I love:

- Our Kraus Workstation sink - https://www.amazon.com/KWU120-45-Workstation-Undermount-Integrated-Accessories/dp/B07T5JJGR9?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

- We switched from gas to induction and love it. We splurged on an ILVE

- A beverage fridge

- Three Appliance Cabinets: 1. Microwave (we prefer this to a drawer) 2. Toaster and blender, and 3. Coffee station

- I agree with drawers over cabinets. There are so many inserts options, but I especially love our tiered spice drawer and the narrow pull out next to the range for oils and vinegars.

- Hardwood floors

- We upgraded our dishwasher too. It's so nice to have one that works well.

How do you use the 45 inch Kraus? Do you always have a drain piece out? I was looking at a wide sink that is tiered https://www.ferguson.com/product/rohl-culinario-37-78-x-18-x-10-in-no-hole-stainless-steel-single-bowl-drop-in-and-undermount-kitchen-sink-in-brushed-stainless-steel-rruwkit36162sb/_/R-7525997

By appliance cabinet, do you mean something like this?

https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/1d31d2b8047a6b69_4-3869/home-design.jpg

PP here: one more thing I loved that our architect added...

We have a combo wall microwave oven/oven. In the cabinet above they put in vertical dividers, and that is where we store cookie sheets, cutting boards, muffin pans, cooling racks, etc. I LOVE having that space, as those things aren't heavy so easy to put up. Below the oven is a drawer where we keep the heavy casserole dishes and such. I would have never thought of the vertical dividers before our architect suggested them.

We recently renovated our kitchen. My husband is the cook so he took the lead on appliances and general design.

I agree with PP on the large stainless steel sink (and I'm the one who does most of the cleaning lol). Our old kitchen had a small stainless sink. I liked it except for the fact it was small...this large one is AMAZING and I can soak things on one side while washing on the other. It also has a rack on the bottom which I was meh about at first but I like that too. My MIL has a split sink and I hate it. Also make sure there is a light right above the sink, prior to renovation the lights were to the side, so at night I would miss dirt I'd see in the morning.

The cabinet drawers are nice, especially for pots and pans. We have sliding shelves everywhere else below the countertops.

We have quartz white countertops and they have been great. My H cooks often with spices that stain and it's wiped off easily. We have a friend who ended up getting the same countertop as us, and she said they've been able to wipe off Sharpie even.

We have a 36" gas cooktop and my H is very happy with it. There is a hood above which we run during cooking. My H does watch a lot of Kenji and we talked about induction but he wanted to stick with what he was comfortable with. Maybe next time.

We have a 36" french door fridge and also a 24" beverage fridge. I do like having both as we can keep beer/wine/soda in the beverage fridge, opening up space in the regular fridge.

We considered a small sink for our island but decided against it. My H likes having the large space for prep (our old kitchen was minuscule) and it's nice to sit at the island with him while he cooks. Plus we eat there too. And when people are visiting, the big island has been great for hanging out.

We just renovated our kitchen. Some things I love:

- Our Kraus Workstation sink - https://www.amazon.com/KWU120-45-Workstation-Undermount-Integrated-Accessories/dp/B07T5JJGR9?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

- We switched from gas to induction and love it. We splurged on an ILVE

- A beverage fridge

- Three Appliance Cabinets: 1. Microwave (we prefer this to a drawer) 2. Toaster and blender, and 3. Coffee station

- I agree with drawers over cabinets. There are so many inserts options, but I especially love our tiered spice drawer and the narrow pull out next to the range for oils and vinegars.

- Hardwood floors

- We upgraded our dishwasher too. It's so nice to have one that works well.

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone go with concrete countertops? I was leaning against quartz because of the worker hazards. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/24/1189745247/silicosis-young-workers-kitchen-countertops-lung-damage-california. We have granite now and it's fine, the color just looks dated.

We had concrete countertops when we lived in CA. They were very cool looking, warm and practical. You really need to find someone who does this well, as in, all day as their full-time job. My guess is it's more popular on the west coast but use the concrete network to source/vet. https://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/countertops/

Don't buy La Cornue if you actually want to cook. They're totally impractical. They're meant to be admired, not used.

Did anyone go with concrete countertops? I was leaning against quartz because of the worker hazards. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/24/1189745247/silicosis-young-workers-kitchen-countertops-lung-damage-california. We have granite now and it's fine, the color just looks dated.

1) Stainless steel sink--we have a large one with a low divider. It is the best of both worlds. Large enough to wash baking sheets and yet we are able to have two sections.
2) Cork or linoleum (Marmoleum) floors are superior to hardwood. Easy on the knees and back, naturally antimircobial (Marmoleum is the flooring used in operating rooms and on many hospital floors), and great if you have dogs--claw marks don't show up and spilled water won't ruin the floors.
3) We have never had problems with granite countertops. We will probably get the marble like quartz for our next reno. I've heard that soapstone and marble are hard to maintain unless you like the lived-in look.
4) Drawers, drawers, drawers.
5) Although, consider a shallow cabinet with doors for storing canned goods, mugs, etc.
6) Don't get open shelving unless all your everyday dishes match and are worthy of display.
7) Never store oils or herbs in a pull out drawer right next to the oven. I don't know why people do this. There is no faster way to make your oils turn rancid and spices to spoil than to expose them to the residual heat of an oven.
8) Drawer with knife block insert tray instead of display.
9) If you have a window in front of the sink, consider a casement that opens at the bottom, rather than from the side. You can have the window open even when it rains.
10) I'm going to look into the drawer dishwashers for our next reno. You can run a small load.
11) Toe kick drawers to store cookie sheets.
12) Kitchen soap pump dispenser in the counter that attaches via a long tube to a large Costco-size jug of dish detergent under the sink.
13) Love our Wolf range, but will probably switch out to an induction range.
14) Would rather have an induction range in the island than a sink. It's safe because it doesn't get hot and can be used as a prep space.
15) Extra fridge in the basement filled with drinks for the kids when then hang out there.

Someone posted this site on Reddit and I've found it very helpful. They also have a section on the benefits of wardrobe walls (vs. reach in closets).
http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/kitchen.design.rules.htm

Lots of great tips. I think kitchen design is really personal, based on families and their usage. Here are 2 things we found work best for our family.

Fridge - Through many years of trial and error, we now have 2 side-by-side counter depth fridges (2- 25" Liebherr with bottom freezer and ice maker in each). We are an ADHD family and the single french door fridge was always a disaster (even when I labeled where things should go). With the side by side, DH and DCs know the left side by the stove is fresh whole foods, right side is prepared food, drinks and condiments. Saves me a lot of headaches.

Dishwasher - We once bought a house that had 4 dishwashers (2 stacked drawers by each sink)! I guess the previous owners liked to entertain. We were in heaven! For about six months. Then I realized my family was using every single plate, cup and spoon in the house thus, filling every single dishwasher before running (see prior ADHD disclosure). With our recent remodel, we were firm about just one dishwasher (and we reduced the volume of plates etc we own when we moved). I like that it's a whole lot less stuff to manage, and if we run low on glasses, one of the kids will have to run the dishwasher!

Good luck with remodel. I sounds like you are being very thoughtful about it.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have any small kitchen design tips for homeowners who actually cook? Regrets? Or sources that you found useful? The Mainline Kitchen Design blog had a post about how the most expensive kitchens they design are typically never used, so it seems like I generally can't rely on the design sites for this. And I should avoid some items that are often featured (white fireclay sinks, SubZero appliances, pot fillers, etc).

Here's our list so far:
* Kitchen sink: Wide and deep stainless steel, perhaps this Rohl, or a 32inch ish one. https://www.ferguson.com/product/rohl-culinario-37-78-x-18-in-no-hole-stainless-steel-single-bowl-undermount-kitchen-sink-rruw3616sb/_/R-7525739?fromplp=true&trackSignal=true. This size and material will help with washing lots of big pots, etc. According to Mainline and some other sources, those fireclay ones aren't practical. Don't have windows by sink go all the way down to the sill as those are difficult to clean.

Agreed. I bought stainless steel sinks online in my last 2 houses and they held up very well. I have an on-the-sink cutting board that I use all the time. Also, having a sink grid will extend the longevity of your sink while only adding a few minutes to the daily clean-up.

Anonymous wrote:
* Cooktop: Induction. Don't bother with Wolf.  Kenji seems to think induction is fine for the vast majority of dishes. Also much easier to clean.* NO pot filler, try to find spot for wet bar/ second sink instead. Mainline said they can cause damage. I also put water in hot water boiler first anyway.

Induction in the way to go! Everyone is Europe uses induction and it is amazing (the environmental benefit is just a bonus). I am not familiar with Kenji, but have been happy with all Wolf/Subzero appliances I have bought in the past.

Anonymous wrote:
* Wet bar/ coffee station: Try to find spot for extra sink (if possible), coffee station, and small drink fridge. Helps with foot traffic and incorporating kitchen into open dining space.

Love this idea and will try to do the same in my next kitchen. We are going back-and-forth about whether to add a prep sink to the island. (The island is already plumbed for it.)

Anonymous wrote:
* Hood: Worth getting one according to another thread. Not sure which kind...seems like some are more about show.

I read the hood thread, but we are happy with the downdraft and will probably keep it. This may be form over function though...

Anonymous wrote:
* Oven: Wall oven. Easier to use for heavy items, helps avoid arm burns (I have many). Don't necessarily need to use up space for a double.

We have a wall-oven and convection microwave combo (rather than double-oven) and love it. Most of the time, all we need is the convection microwave.

Anonymous wrote:
* Fridge: 36 inch, counterdepth is big enough. French door. Don't bother with Subzero, probably do Bosch. Our appliance repairperson said to avoid LG and Samsung, and that Subzero compressor is same as cheaper fridges. Think about fridge placement, as we should avoid foot traffic coming through the cooking area; wet bar/ small drink fridge would also help. Wonder whether we should not both with panels as that would limit options.

I've loved all my Subzero appliances, and the Bosh appliances that we have in our current kitchen are just terrible. I will never buy Bosh again. Not having panels definitely gives you more options. We have another fridge in the garage and use it all the time.

Anonymous wrote:
* Countertops: Have at least one area of continuous/ longer counter space. Not sure about material. Seems like granite is the most practical, but are there better materials now? Is butcher block ok for the island?  I don't mind if it looks used, but wasn't sure if there are other downsides.

I would go with quartz over granite. Less hassle and more durable. I have never used butcher block. I would worry about water damage...

Anonymous wrote:
* Storage: Drawers are better than cabinets. Can place pull out drawers for pans under the cooktop, like here https://www.thekitchn.com/cooks-country-editor-eva-katzs-homey-hardworking-kitchen-kitchen-tour-215478?. Ask for toe kick drawers https://www.kraftmaid.com/toe-kick-drawer/. Try to find spot for full length pantry, even if it's in the (casual/ open concept) dining area.

Agreed on drawers. I love having a pantry!

Anonymous wrote:
*Small appliances: Have spot for toaster oven, which we use more than microwave.

If you have space, consider adding a second dishwasher.

PP- I got a "best" range hood. it works well. I use it alot.