We haven't remodeled the kitchen yet, but these are the things that I'm looking forward to the most:
1) cabinets to the ceiling (no more gunk to scrub off)
2) vented range hood
3) gas or induction range or cooktop
4) big single sink
5) fixing the layout so the island is more functional and less of an obstruction.

Ummm, Mtnredux - why haven't I seen the pewter countertops???? You can't drop that one without posting a picture!

1. Drawers instead of cabinets for dishware and pots and pans.
2. Dimmable under cab lighting.
3. Toe-kick drawer for storing pizza stone, cookie sheets and fold-up step stool.

Extra credit: :-) Love my Impala Black granite so, so much.

Jodi-

Yes, THIS! -----> "Ummm, Mtnredux - why haven't I seen the pewter countertops???? You can't drop that one without posting a picture!"

Mtnrdredux posted pics of her pewter counters on this thread below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pewter lovelies

Besides drawers,

- walnut cabinets
- fridge (gaggenau)
- induction (miele)

My current favorites, before our kitchen update:

1. Good organization, including a wide drawer just to organize storage wraps with open countertop space above it, refrigerator next to it, cooktop & ovens on the other side.

2. Corian countertops; bullet-proof, great for pastry/dough.

3. Six burner cooktop.

(4. Pull out table that can be used as an extension of the cooktop up to 5'. Used this more when kids were little and our kitchen was smaller, and when we entertained large groups more often.)

What I hope will be my new favorites, after our kitchen update:

1. Induction cooktop (only 5 hobs, though :( ).

2. Two completely separate full size sinks.

3. Granite countertops, for beauty, though I realize function may not equal my Corian.

(4. Furniture style custom cabinets in dining area of kitchen.)

Love it all...
Special favourites:
1) Kohler Karbon faucet
2) two sinks
3) two ovens
4) my counters..
5) all those drawers

Oh ...and my huge windows Love love love.

We are almost finished with our kitchen remodel but I know for certain that I am thrilled with the following:

1. Drawers!!!! LOVE THEM!!!!
2. My island! It's not large, but we all gravitate there, 3 of us can prep and I'm not stuck in a corner, facing a wall. It's so much more 'friendly'.
3. My granite, Colonial Cream. I almost ordered marble, and at the eleventh hour changed my mind. I love it.

Can I add a 4th?

4. The fact that after the remodel, I have a place for everything! It's so much easier to keep the kitchen tidy.

Functionally:

A great floor plan, influenced heavily by the "zones" concept here on Kitchens and the mise-en-place advice on http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/kitchen.commercial.htm. Yes, you CAN have measuring spoons in more than one place!

Our island, which allows my husband and I to face each other while prepping. It doesn't seem like a "barrier" island to me, and it has lots of great storage.

All of the lighting, including UCL, over the island, over the peninsula, over the sink, and pretty much everywhere in between - all dimmable except the UCL.

Drawers. Drawers. Drawers. As most others have said. We got ours sized to our pots/pans, our spices, etc. Love the soft-close, so much more than I expected.

Deeper countertops. Even a few inches makes a lot of difference.

Aesthetically:

Cherry cabinets

The wham-pow stone we used for our island, and stovetop backsplash.

Capital Culinarian 48" range top.

Shiny chrome Brizo Belo faucet.

Twingle,

I am just curious. What did you learn/conclude from reading these (mine amongst them) many responses?

How were they helpful to you?

We have a smallish kitchen so in order of importance for function and why I am a happy camper-- :)
1. Storage! Especially the full-extension drawers in lieu of regular base cabinets, the banquette with drawers, "lockers" which hide coats, shoes, and backpacks, as we don't [yet] have a mudroom, and the stairwell broom/cleaning supplies cabinet. (Yes, I kinda cheated by getting 4 things under one banner. :p)

2. The Peninsula with copper sink. Seems to be a very popular place to sit as well.

3. Large single bowl farm sink-- love having enough room to hide dirty dishes, while waiting for the DW cycle to finish AND it fits cookie sheets, large roasters, griddles, cooktop grates, etc.

Honorable mention:
4. The warming drawer. I sometimes wonder how I went all these years without one. We use it several times a week. It may be DH's favorite thing.

Aesthetically, my favorite things would have to be the Blue Pearl granite countertops--it's pretty and blingy and so... me. ;), my "creamy white" cabinets--they just make me smile every day, and the backsplash that I designed and DH installed. It is rather unique and quite charming.

Truthfully, right now my favorite item is a working dishwasher, as our (discontinued, naturally) DW died in late July, and it took us months trying to find a control panel for the danged thing. I struck GOLD when I found that exact part listed on ebay one afternoon and was the only bidder. DH got it working again just in time for Thanksgiving. Hooray! Now it works better than it ever did! Thank you, God!

Recently moved into our new one and will add (though echoing a lot of the above here and SO hard to narrow down!):

Function-wise:
1) two sinks, esp love my single bowl Rohl apronfront - it holds so much! And a great faucet (love my Rohl country kitchen 2 leg bridge and single handle prep) is essential - one thing you use a thousand times a day!!
2) my in door compost bucket under prep sink (see link) and having compost and garbage pullouts AWAY from main sink
3) storage, storage, storage in pantry with pull out shelves and love drawers on almost all my lowers

Aesthetically:
1) windows in a room with view - love my light! And agree with cearbhaill, looking outside and being in a room filled with light makes me happy!
2) my huge walnut topped island with "table" for seating at end opposite work zone - it's where we eat every meal and where my kids pretty much live and I love that they are with me while I work
3) my Mexican tile accents in backsplash make me smile

Here is a link that might be useful: Swing out compost bucket

I will stick to three four, but it won't be easy:

1) antique pine island counter
2) double plate rack with copper piping instead of wooden dowels
3) chicken wire in stained pine hutch and black painted hutch
4) mixed finishes - 1 stain, 3 paint colors, 3 counter materials

Like mtnrdredux, these are all aesthetic, but I am a visual person. My functional bonus love is the walk-in pantry (no food storage in the kitchen area) that has the toaster and microwave on a built-in table.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen

1) 180-degree east-facing view of the East Bay hills. Sunsets are glorious and then the moon rises over the hills, so beautiful. Our entire back wall has double-level picture windows that go up to a vaulted ceiling. The old kitchen had one tiny, narrow window behind the door going downstairs - which always stood open so nobody ever even realized the window was there!

2) frameless cabs. The best invention since peanut butter and jelly. So much more storage space with frameless. And all the debate people do nowadays about "will they last?" and "plywood vs particleboard?" - our cabs are Kraftmaid laminate-veneered particleboard from 1989 and solid as a rock. I've abused them shamefully and they still clean up like a dream. I put dishes away wet and never have to think about it. The shelves are all infinite adjustment, and all the cabs came with finished sides and (on the uppers) finished bottoms, soft-close drawers, and 120-degree swing doors. I didn't learn until just a few years ago, on this forum, that those features are often extra-cost options now.

3) Tie between the pull-out base spice rack beside the stove, and the lazy susan corner cabs. I guess I'll pick the corner cabs. I'd had nothing but framed cabs with blind corners for thirty-five years until we remodeled this kitchen, and having those lazy susans is just....well, fabulous. No more kitchen stuff lost in those 'black hole' corners!

That said, I agree with the others that layout is everything. If I had money to burn I might replace my cabs with something more au courant and I'd certainly plan for a pro-style stove. But the placement of everything is perfect; I wouldn't change that at all. The layout has worked beautifully since 1989, and every time I walk into my kitchen, I smile. It is the one thing I truly love about our home. It's both beautiful and functional, which is why all of us have or are remodeling.

Taggie,
Tell me more about your island niches for storing iPad/laptop cords. Is there shelving for charging stations? Is it cumbersome to reach under the counter? Please show us photos!

Thanks, MJM

Taggie,
Tell me more about your island niches for storing iPad/laptop cords. Is there shelving for charging stations? Is it cumbersome to reach under the counter? Please show us photos!

Thanks, MJM

1) bigger kitchen with a mini family room (in house tha previously had no family room)
2) island
3) drawers

Also love the high celing and exposed beams (even though some are faux) and once my banquette is finished, I'm hoping that will make it onto my top 5 list. For my top ten list I would have to include prep sink, mw drawer, island pendant lights and moldings. Its the combination of function and aesthics that makes it just perfect.

The top two best things by far are the induction cooktop and the gray slate-look porcelain tile floor, which never looks dirty. I love lots of other things, but they are all tied for third, and you only wanted three.

1. Induction range, every time the water boils while I walk over to the pantry to get the pasta I want to dance.
2. Quartz countertops that hide all the crumbs until I have time to clean them (with two toddlers time is tight in our home).
3. New fridge.

Lighting that works for all tasks (including some dimmable)
Drawers, drawers and more drawers
Large, deep sink plus the prep sink in island (notice how I worked in 2-in-1 here)

Other stuff too, and my kitchen is 16 years old. I guess I did pretty good considering GW wasn't on my radar at the time.

1. My "split line" zone layout. I have prep/cooking with a pretty window view. I like this because cooking calms me. My clean up zone faces the family room, because I hate handling the drudge of clean up without being social. We have a center work table for extra "shared" prep space and there's fridge access and water access for either person.

2. Having a vented hood again! Man, did I miss that as I am a big seafood and curry cooker. That evening it smells like heaven; four days later, not so much.

3. Being able to restore the 1920's era charm to my kitchen. It was destroyed in the 1990's by bad remuddling, but we were able to add back in some details that I think really make the space feel like it belongs (and therefore, it will be a great "forever" kitchen for this house).

BONUS: How many of the things I purchased that were Made in America. It was a challenge I made with myself when I started the renovation. I did pretty well, I think!

Drawers, (and full-extension--would NEVER do any other kind, EVER!) for sure. So much so, that we hired a carpenter to retrofit two cupboards that our kitchen company mistakenly didn't supply with drawers (long story and looong process...sigh) eg. I have all my baking supplies in one drawer, and can just take flour/sugar etc. straight out...

Trash/recyling pullout- no more piling up of empty bottles on counter...

Deep, vertical storage over fridge for baking pans/trays, etc. Again, a very long process having this retrofit by carpenter due to kitchen company error, but so totally worth it!

Goose-neck type faucet with pull-out in a deep sink, great for filling vases, conditioning flowers etc.

Greenhouse windows

38" wide peninsula, makes baking so much easier, lots of room for working, cooling racks, etc. great craft area too...

Love my granite, and after taking three years to finally pick one, my backsplash...:>)

1. The wall o' windows. I am so happy that I sacrificed the cabinets for the bay window over the kitchen sink and the adjacent windows.

2. Flagstone floors. Easy care.

3. Tie: butcherblock countertops, 1940s O'Keefe and Merrit stove.

function: all my appliances - miele induction, speed
oven & DW, leibherr frig, wolf oven
dish drawers - the best
faber exhaust, loud but great

asthetics: my granite - sedna/magma supreme, think
poohpup"s,
ucl, use all the time
hubbardton forge fixtures-made in usa !!!
granite B/S, best decision, pricey but so
worth it!!!!

one other thing, our pot filler. i know it gets slammed on here from time to time as being a waste - "you still have to empty the pot", but its so much more that just a pot filler. we use it fill our tea pot, for anything you make that needs water, for measuring.... ours has a filter attached to it, so we have filtered water and use this to fill our water jugs for the frig. so it has many uses:)

1. A real exhaust fan

2. Door-less upper cabinets.(It's only because I haven't made them yet, but we like them this way.)

3. 42" bar/peninsula

There are several things I love about our kitchen remodel and several things I don't love. Won't get into the don't-loves here but would love to see a thread on that too.

Okay my top three favorite things:
1. Samsung counter-deep fridge - love it not sticking way into kitchen
2. DEEP drawers - had two deep drawers made - great for tall pitchers, vases, etc
3. My travertine backsplash - it's so beautiful; makes me happy when I look at it.

Lower full extension drawers
My backsplash that makes me happy whenever I look at it (echoing Amanda, but it is the truth)
Bosch dishwasher, which could be because my previous DW was such a horror, but this is so quiet and cleans so beautifully

Prep island in the middle of the kitchen, even though it's only 2 x 3 feet.
Wall oven at eye height.
The fact that I can change the colors of my cabinets with a lick of paint. (They have been blue, aqua, black, green, white and faux maple...)

Prep island in the middle of the kitchen, even though it's only 2 x 3 feet.
Wall oven at eye height.
The fact that I can change the colors of my cabinets with a lick of paint. (They have been blue, aqua, black, green, white and faux maple...)

bumping this discussion...would love to hear more.

Deleted

This post was edited by laurainlincoln on Mon, Oct 20, 14 at 9:26

It's REALLY hard to pick three with such different types of things to choose from, so I'm tweaking to suit what I want to say. :)

If I were designing a new kitchen, the three things I'd insist on/plan around are:
1) Frameless cabinets with all the bells and whistles (full extension, soft close, divided storage, trash pullout)
2) Drawers most everywhere with strategic roll outs and lots of extra shelves in cabinets so things don't get stacked on top of each other any more than necessary for organization.
3) Layout with plenty of room for two cooks (with good views as space allows) and socializing.

If I had to rank my appliances in terms of my 'favorites' or what's made the biggest impact in my enjoyment of my new kitchen, it's surprising to me...but keep in mind DH is the primary cook and I'm the primary shop/prep/clean up. I'm sure that DH's list would be in a different order than mine.

Miele Dimension DW - I have not experienced dishes this clean and spot free. Not with a DW, not handwashing.
Sub Zero Integrated 36" fridge - Love the fridge part, the stadium like viewing of the stuff in the fridge. Haven't quite gotten the groove of the freezer drawers yet, but for our limited needs it works (along with extra unit in garage).
Miele Washer/Dryer - Tucking under a standard height counter, since we couldn't get them out of the kitchen, was imperative. And with just the two of us, the size is an improvement over the ginormous ones we came from.
Blue Star 30"RNB - I know this is at the top of DH's list, and I'm super happy with gas and super happy to be rid of our horrid old Jenn-Air Down Draft that was tilted etc. But I'm not used to the power of the front burners. I will give it a bit more time and then see about re-configuring the burners to put the 15k burner in the front and move one of the 22's to the back. I love the broiler and the size of the oven. And I love how new it looks when we clean it, and the fact that it should look like that forever with all the cast iron pieces. And I love that it's cobalt blue.
Miele Speed Oven - I feel bad putting this at the bottom of my list, but it was installed last and I haven't gotten into the groove with it yet. Again, I think DH has used it more than I. My only complaint is switching out racks. I don't dislike it, I'm just over the moon about the other items that it's only at the bottom because the other things are at the top. :)

Besides the DW, the only other thing I'm surprised I love so much is the Silgranite Super Single sink. I thought it would be too big, and it's not. It's perfect.

ETA: I meant to put lighting as number 3. I went from 3 anemic overhead lights to 7 4" LED cans, UCL and soon to be 3 pendants. BIG difference.

This post was edited by cal_quail on Sun, Oct 19, 14 at 17:25

Dodge, I'd say an island done RIGHT is a wonderful thing, but an island done WRONG is one of the worst kitchen sins. Not every kitchen should have an island, yet all too many people will manipulate this and that to fit an island into their space.

This goes along with what so many people are saying: Functional layout, which may well include drawers. And good organization. These are all really just sides of the same coin.

Walk-in pantry, which is THE BEST and cheapest form of storage. A pantry is totally worth giving up some counterspace because the pantry keeps your kitchen clutter-free.

Next, a good sink. I think my opinion matches many people's: Large, one-basin sink, good garbage disposal.

Interesting, isn't it, that so many of us focus "above and beyond" about finishes . . . yet most of these favorites have to do with layout.

Under the cabinet microwave, with drawer underneath (use it for pot holders). This is *so* much better than an over the range microwave.

French door fridge, the largest Lowes had. It's just the two of us, usually. But the 26 cubic feet are still nice.

Glass doors on a few of the uppers. It breaks up the monotony of a long stretch of uppers, and it's a nice place to store my mom's dishes - a way to "keep her" in our kitchen.

It really is too hard to pick just three, so I won't!

Induction cooktop, it amazes me the speed and responsiveness of this cooktop.
Big single sink with pull down faucet
All drawers below, nearly all glass above
Pull out trash (I love this so much more than I anticipated!)
Dual 30" convection ovens
My beautiful quartzite countertops
Under and in cabinet lighting

I was going to say the thing I love most in the kitchen is my wife, but I figured it would be taken the wrong way. I love HER, not the fact that she is in the kitchen!

Our house isn't finished yet, but there are some things I love about the unfinished kitchen.
1) Lots of windows looking out at the woods instead of upper cabs.
2) Tin ceiling. I've always wanted one, and it is even better than I dreamed.
3) Two sinks; two separate work zones for two cooks.

There will be (a lot) more when I get it all done.

Great thread, I have nothing to contribute, yet, but I'm tagging along to see the responses!

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. Mine are:

1) Raised dishwasher. Amazing the difference 6" make!
2) Super White counters. I'm amazed every day at their beauty.
3) Huge island and all the storage it provides.

Instant Hot Water
Glass doors on a few upper cabinets (with lights)
3 Big Drawers for pots, pans baking
Narrow cabinet to slid in cookie sheets & cutting boards

Hate: my $$ Rohl faucet
Counter depth fridge - GE Profile (garbage)

So happy I did not pay more for glazed cabinets

1) larger space
2)Prep sink
3) Proper lighting, venting and electric (no more blowing fuses)
4) Banquette window seat

Two dishwashers

Large single basin sink

9 foot island

Real ventilation over a 6-burner cooktop

Thats five---ish
...:-)

#1- Built in griddle on my 36RNB
#2- Soapstone countertops
#3- Super Single Silgranite sink
...#4 Liebherr integrated refer
... #5 lots of windows, and an opening skylight

All drawers, full extension, soft close.
Counter depth fridge.
Pull out trash.

We did this 7 years ago. It was hard to limit my favs to 3. We took out the dropped ceiling and now have storage above, soapstone, Silgranite, custom cabs that gave us more storage in the same limited space. Overall, it was the drawers. We liked them so much we had a custom cabinet vanity built in our master bathroom that was all drawers. (u-shaped under the sinks). Doors with shelves and pullouts ain't close. Worth every $$$$ spent. I'm in here every day cooking.

-Babka

"the thing I love most in the kitchen is my wife"

awesome that you love her the most!

love the tin ceiling and window views

how much better can it be than when it's done and the 2 of you can work together in your new kitchen!

Our island is 9' so it qualifies as an archipelago. It is the single most distinctive thing about the kitchen. We love it! Islands are not overdone if they provide awesome function. We have seating at ours and it is the best feature when you have parties as people can access food from all sides.

We also have not tired of our Desert Amarillo granite. We love it as much today as when we put it in. The patterns are always interesting to us and people always comment on it.

Our knotty alder cabinets, and we especially love all of the the drawers. Don't forget to put in soft close on the drawers.

Big deep single Kindred SS sink. Best invention ever. Okay that's four but who's counting?

Mine are:

Induction cooktop
Built-in paneled fridge
Pull-out trash and recycling
Condiment pull-out
Really quiet dishwasher
Drawers

OK, that's 6 but as colo_lady said, who's counting.

Here's my LIST:

Thermador Pro Grande Range
To the ceiling cherry full overlay custom cabinets
Big Honkin Island

A kitchen table.
Food.
And me.

Franke Orca sink with grids and cutting board
Caesarstone Piatra Gray counters
GE Profile slide in Induction Range