Kitchen Happies

ElleBeeDub

Ok y'all, we're in the planning phase of remodelling our kitchen. J wants it to have a "wow" factor for potential buyers (we're most likely selling in about four years). Our style is pretty traditional (think cherry cabinets, black granite, ceramic tile floor, glass tile back splash). My question for all of you is... What are some small details that you would LOVE to have in your kitchen (built-in message board on the side of a cabinet, built-in wine racks, outlets in drawers, etc...)? I've been scouring pinterest, but I'd like some real-world opinions

kmc84

Soft closing drawers
Outlet in center island
Large sink (no divided sink nonsense)
Swing out shelf that stand mixer can stay on-with outlet
Pull out pantry shelves
Pull out spice shelf

TJ1979

Everything kmc said!

Also a pantry, and some beautiful glass front cabinets. Not all of them, but some.

ElleBeeDub

Thanks Ladies! We've talked about all these things, so I'll definitely keep them on the ideas list Follow-up question: We currently have a built-in desk (maybe 2'x3.5') and a small pantry (2'x2'?). J really wants to convert the desk into a large pantry and convert the pantry into a broom/cleaning closet (we don't currently have on, so all our cleaning supplies are kept in the laundry room). I'd rather keep the small pantry and convert the desk to a coffee/wine nook (I'm thinking like a built-in hutch) with an appliance cupboard (with outlets) as well as wine glass storage and wine storage. Which would you rather see in your kitchen?

TJ1979

Originally I was gonna say pantry all te way. But we looked at a house last week with what we refer to as a butlers pantry... It had a coffeemaker and coffee supplies, and also wine and liquor and their accessories storage. It was dry (no running water/faucet) and located between the kitchen and dining room. It was pretty awesome.

jess9802

We have a walk-in pantry in our rental house- it's a little over 5'x4'. I love this pantry. It has spoiled me. It's pretty high on my list of must-haves in a future kitchen. We keep all of our non-refrigerated food in there, all of our small appliances (except the microwave and toaster), and all of the Christmas china, platters, etc. If it had custom shelving it would probably be easy to store the mop and broom plus a bucket in there, but as it is we keep those items in the garage, which is about two steps away. I think it's hard to go wrong with a big pantry.

I want a double wall oven in a future kitchen. Had one growing up, miss it every time I cook a big meal.

MapleMomma

Large pantry with pull out shelves
Lots of outlets (our kitchen has 16 plugs and I adore it)
Under cabinet lighting
Soft closing drawers
Quality wood cabinets
I bake/cook a lot so a rotating drawer with large containers for sugar, flour, etc
Adjustable built in speakers (connected to main music and /or tv source)
Garbage disposal

freezorburn

We just did our kitchen a couple of years ago.

I loved having our ambient lighting on a dimmer switch ... just really nice to be able to control the amount of lighting, especially when we were doing around the clock feeds. We just left the lighting on low all night, so I didn't need to mess with switches as I moved around the house.

Our electrician installed cables and an outlet for a TV to be mounted on one wall. We have a picture mounted in that space, but that was probably the one thing we put in that we thought would be attractive for selling in the future. Because we otherwise don't plan to have a TV in the kitchen.

Also, since I'm petite we lowered the clearance between counter and bottom of cabinets to 14" from the standard 18" along one wall. We still have enough space for all but our tallest appliances on the countertop, and I can reach the first two rows of shelves without a step stool.

We put in a recycling center under one of our counters, so it's nice to not have that kicking around in a corner like we used to have.

Heated tile floors. Love them.

Ventahood, because DH generates lots of smoke when he cooks steak.

Lots of wall outlets. And outlets under the countertop of our island.

freezorburn

Forgot to mention, I also really like having 2 sinks.

And if you have hard water, look for a dishwasher that has a salt dispenser.

Love4Science

*Vented stove hood. A must have. I won't buy another house without one.
*Gas stove
*Pantry
*Garbage disposal
*Foot pedal on the kitchen sink so I wouldn't have to touch the faucet when my hands are icky or full. Or one of those newer Delta tap to turn on faucets.

freezorburn

Those no-touch faucets were on my wish list but it was just too expensive. I think a few manufacturers have them now, so maybe competition will bring the cost down.

unaveragejane

I love having power to the island. We're not big wine drinkers, so I don't really like having dedicated wine storage in a kitchen. I like the space to be more flexible. The appliance pantry sounds nice. We also have in-ceiling speakers and an iPad dock that controls the music and lights. When DH gets some more programming done, it will also pull up the security cameras. (We don't live in a particularly high-crime area, but it's nice to know who's at the door just in case.)

stoneycakes

I would choose a larger pantry over a coffee nook every day of the week and I think it's more impressive to potential buyers.  I agree about the ambient lighting on a dimmer.  It makes the kitchen feel so homey at night.  I've had lighting like this in a couple of kitchens and people always comment on it.

RachelCA29

We have a bar dink on our island and I love it, having the extra sink away from the tradiaitonal kitchen sink area is so convenient. Our pot lights are on dimmers which is nice when we are entertaining, it's nice to have the kitchen dimmed a bit during dinner.

I really want to extend out island counter a bit so we can put stools at it, like a breakfast bar. Also, out kitchen has lots of natural lighting which just makes it seem big and open, even though it's not (we don't have an open concept house or anything).

Our kitchen is why we bought our house, it was upgraded really nicely by the previous owners. If I had an unlimited budget to add anything to is, I would love a pot-filler above the stove and a built-in filteted water tap.

stoneycakes

^^^I totally pine for a pot filler.  And a prep sink.  They make sinks that you can operate with a foot pedal and I think that's totally cool, too.

Amores0121

TJ1979 said:

Everything kmc said! Also a pantry, and some beautiful glass front cabinets. Not all of them, but some.

I have both of these in our rental house and I love it. The pantry is so big. Every woman that comes over loves it. I also have 4 cabinets that have glass doors and that's where I have my wine glasses and barware. They have lights in them too.

ElleBeeDub

Great suggestions!! We talked about a foot pedal sink, but I think it's cost-prohibitive. If it helps, here are some photos of what we currently have. Ignore the appalling mess, please. Also, you can't tell in these shots because it was night, but there's a TON of natural light due to a sliding glass door.the white bi-fold door is our current pantry. The desk next the doors is what we're talking about converting to a bigger pantry. I think we'll also take out the microwave and put a legit vent hood in there.

stoneycakes

It doesn't look like you're going to gain a whole lot of space converting that area into a pantry.  What about just updating the door on the existing one? 

stoneycakes

Or, as Maple said, you could merge them both into one pantry and create a space in the pantry to store brooms, too.

I also agree about the bigger stove.  If you're looking for a wow factor, professional appliances make a big difference.  You can get them used and save a lot of money, too.

ElleBeeDub

Our current thoughts are basically to merge the two spaces and leave an appliance shelf (or at least price that out). There's not really space for hideaway doors, but we'll definitely put in nicer looking ones. We're not updating the appliances because money (and ours are really fine), but the stove is already gas. Currently the plan is to put in a real vent hood. We don't actually use our microwave, so we'd probably just take it out instead of sacrificing cabinet space to do another built-in somewhere else.

CLLDLL

Something to think about is running water lines for in-fridge ice maker (if you don't already have) and for something like a Bunn coffee pot. FIL put one in last year and DH won't stop talking about getting one.

sasq09

I pine for a pot filler and instant hot water! Also lighting is a big deal for me since my kitchen has awful lighting. Its so hard to cook food or wash dishes when you can barely see. Thankfully we are rebuilding our kitchen and we will have lots of light (both natural and can lights)

freezorburn

It's so worth getting professional help with lighting. We replaced our crappy cans with recessed halogens, added accent lighting over our dining table and breakfast bar, and task lighting under the cabinets. Couldn't be more pleased with the fixtures our designer selected for us, and how they are placed. We also put a solar tube over our island to help bring a little more natural light into the room.