It's for food scraps and waste disposal, I quite often leave bigger things upturned over it to drain too! I agree whole heartedly about the light grout for the tiles too! The kitchen we just replaced had it, we put the last kitchen in 23yrs ago and the grout was gross! Didin't matter what I did, couldn't keep it clean!
cmw1983,
Apr 14, 3:33am
Apparently epoxy grout solves the staining issue. I haven't seen it up, though, so don't know how attractive it is.
Wow, it's stunning! Just lovely. I've never seen anything quite like it, thanks for sharing the images. Your kitchen looks great, bet you're loving it :-)
shazzie10,
Apr 23, 11:37pm
We are just going through the design phase at the moment. Are you having an open kitchen/lounge/dining area? We took a wall out to open our area up and one of the key things is to put all your oven/microwave below bench. Obviously can't do this with the fridge or stove top. Also, we are having one and half sink (no drainage) and possibly set below the bench top. We are having a water filter installed. Drawers rather than cupboards. Lots of great advice here.
cmw1983,
Apr 24, 4:17am
Hi Shazzie10. Sadly I wasn't able to convince the boss that removing a wall was a good idea :-). I agree - lots of great advice here, which we've really appreciated. May I ask your reasons for the 1 1/2 sink? I have strongly wanted one big sink and until recently I would have sworn I never used our 1/2 sink except as an extension of the waste disposal, but recently I've tried to be very conscious of how I'm using the current kitchen, just to reinforce what I like and what I don't. I now realise that I also use the half sink for rinsing newly washed dishes without adding water to the full sink and also for disposing of water/initial 'bits" (eg from soaking a lasagne pan or mashed spud pot - quick scrub, tip down the half sink then wash properly). So now I'm wavering on that.
samanya,
Apr 25, 4:56am
That is lovely. I've seen some tacky custom made splash backs over time, with all sorts of weird designs & I could easily live with what you have chosen . well done. Is the 'smooth side' out for easy cleaning?
ruby19,
Apr 25, 5:52am
I can vouch for the in the wall extractor fan, we've had ours for 15 yrs and love it, ours was Parmco, may be other brands available now. When we purchased you could also get so they would rise out of the bench top. we were tight for space so chose the wall option.
Well, a couple of weeks on and we're getting very close to our final design. It's very exciting. We have had visits from three designers and the one that made the best impression at the very first meeting at their showroom has shone the whole way through every step and stage. We have been put in touch with a benchtop provider who gave us big samples to take home for the weekend - so helpful. We've pushed the budget out a bit, but the end result is looking to be so, so much more than we expected. Shame about the cost of appliances. but worth it in the end. Thanks to everyone for the input and especially for the pictures :-)
buzzy110,
May 13, 7:49pm
I am so glad you love your glass splashback. I noticed a poster on here reject them out of hand and gave no reason but to my way of thinking they are the best. They are easy to keep clean and allow the homeowner to really push the boat out in terms of creating a unique individual design to suit their particular tastes which no other medium can achieve.
buzzy110,
May 13, 7:50pm
We're all looking forward to seeing the finished kitchen.
autumnwinds,
May 25, 8:40am
The one thing I'd like in a new kitchen (well, apart from all the wonderful ideas presented so far) is an idea I've seen only a couple of times before, and thought - how great a use of "useless space"!
A cupboard in a slightly deeper kickboard (great for taller people!) under the cupboard base than usual, that drops down, and supplies storage under cupboards for all those large platters and items you only use a few times a year, are hard to store (often glass. ), but just can't live without when entertaining. Sheer bliss, and you'd never guess, either!
cmw1983,
Jun 2, 8:51am
Yes! I know what you mean and I asked one of the prospective designers about this. He said they're wonderful in rooms where storage space is at a premium, but we should be aware that there are feet underneath cabinets, so we would get a "drawer" between the feet and under the cabinet, ie a narrow, shallow space with the constricts of our plan. Our kitchen isn't huge but it's not bad and we will have quite a bit of storage space. Plus our toe kicks aren't too deep, so we decided not to do it. But definitely a cool idea! :-)
Our plan is signed off, our appliances are ordered, we have been to Auckland to look at the granite (definite recommend doing that if putting in natural stone). Just experiencing a bit of a communication blackout with the recommended tradies. I'm sure they are both awesome and in great demand, so are quite busy and pushed for time. A month out from installation, I need to get something firmed up or I will get stressy. Some phone calls tomorrow I think :-)
buzzy110,
Jun 4, 5:33am
The countdown has almost begun. Good luck with your tradies.
cmw1983,
Jun 5, 9:28am
Thanks buzzy :-).
deb1110,
Jun 10, 9:53am
1. Glass splash back - easy to clean, reflects light 2. shadowline under 20mm caesarstone benchtop - looks classy 3. lots of large drawers, preferably soft close 4. rangehood integrated into bulkhead cupboards - hidden, efficient & quiet Blanco brand 5. at least 75cm wide hob - need space for 2 pots or wok and pot 6. pantry with open shelves, dishwasher and a single sink - black Blanco eco granite 7. sink large enough to take roasting tray, no drainer - black Blanco eco granite 8. large island with no sink - great for entertaining, serving meals, homework, breakfast, laptop
cmw1983,
Jul 2, 7:41am
Well there's no turning back now! The old kitchen is gone and the new one goes in this coming week. Many thanks to all the posters, your thoughts have been so helpful - and not just to us, I'm sure :-). It will be a few weeks until the benchtop goes in and we've decided to wait until then to make decisions on wall tiles and vinyl flooring, so we're a wee way off being able to share a photo, but just wanted to update and say thanks :-)
dollmakernz,
Jul 2, 8:04am
WOO HOO! You won't know yourself. Look forward to seeing your beautiful new kitchen :)
buzzy110,
Jul 3, 12:52am
Camping now, eh? Are you cooking in the laundry or lounge?
cmw1983,
Jul 3, 5:39am
Yep! - Dining room. Microwave, electric frypan, toasted sandwich maker, toaster and jug. Finding it veeerrrrry challenging.
Oh well, only three weeks until the benchtop goes in (argh!). The redec is done though and everything is looking amazing! (Except the dining room table lol).
jennie5963,
Jul 5, 12:57am
You spelt wine wrong! I would happily replicate Anna Olsons kitchen Food TV Sundays 4pm. She has pull out drawers solely for ingrediements - drawer of flour, drawer of sugar etc. And her ovens are 2 die for - probably only sensible if baking is your career but *sigh* anyway. I renovated my kitchen last year - larger bench space, double oven, platter shelves. Love my favourite space even more.
cmw1983,
Jul 17, 10:09am
So where can I find that wine tap, please? :-)
Getting a bit tired, I must admit. We've been without an oven and hob for just over 2 weeks and a few days to go yet. It's been okay until I started feeling a bit over it in the last day or two. We have a couple of friends who have spoiled us with meals, we've done ok with BBQ, a few meals out and creative thinking with minimal appliances but just over the last couple of days I've found myself really longing to cook something I can't. It will all be worth it though :-).
We are getting closer and omg am I loving the cabinets! The designer has done an amazing job and it's been fun shopping for spice inserts, drawer liners and dividers etc and figuring out where to put things and how it all works (far better than it did before).
Loving the drawers! Bench and appliances go in this week, flooring and backsplash a bit further away. We left flooring and backsplash decisions until we could see the cabinets in place against the new paint. A good decision, it just means a bit longer until we're finished - local tradies are pretty busy.
buzzy110,
Jul 28, 2:06am
Me too. Camping can be trying at the best of times but camping in your own house over winter does have special challenges. For me it would be the challenge of working out how to produce slow cooked comfort food.
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