Kitchens for Sale - NOW!

A lot of changes occurring within the Needs Empire so we are looking to sell some of our displays to make room.

If you are up for a serious bargain on a display kitchen, click the link below and look at pictures 7 and 8 and then give Nick or Jane a call on 0117 968 0800.

http://www.theusedkitchencompany.com/kitchens-for-sale/page:5?prod_sort=ldesc

Cookers. What sort do I need??

With 2 types of oven on the market (gas and electric), as a customer, we are not spoilt for choice. In fact, many manufacturers don't actually make the gas oven plumbing for the more popular electric version.

If however, gas is your oven of choice, the majority of them are under mount. This means that they fit underneath the worktop and are available in either single or double oven configuration. The double oven is in fact a small top oven, more grill than oven and then a full size oven below. As mentioned the choice is limited as the number a manufactures making this type of appliance is very small.

There are two main types of electric oven; built under in double oven configuration or built in, which can either be single or double ovens. If you want a single oven built under, then this is a standard built in appliance and you would need housing for this. The built in double ovens are much larger that the built under double ovens.

All electric ovens come with a grill and an oven cavity. With the more competitively priced appliances the number of cooking functions are limited, but usually include a “fan oven” setting and a “hot air setting and have a basic timer on them. As you proceed up the range then the number of functions and features increases. At the top end of the market the ovens will come with up to 17 different types of cooking methods and a whole host of timer/delay functions and memory functions for your favourite dishes.

One of the most useful features that is appearing in the middle of the market is Pyroklean. Now this has been around for a number of years, but is becoming more and more common and it is the one feature that I shout about.

It is a process where by the oven cleans it’s self and is done by the oven heating up to some 500 degrees C and burns off all the cooking residue on the inside of the oven. The oven door is locked and can not be opened during this cycle. When the process is finished and this usually takes about 2 to 3 hours, all you do is wipe out the inside with a damp cloth. No more marigolds and nasty oven cleaner fluid .On the range of ovens that I sell which is Gaggenau and Siemens the cost of running this process is some £0.25 to £0.30pence per cycle.

The type of oven that you choose will depend on your budget, what sort of cook you are and the look that you are after in your new kitchen. If you are an accomplished cook, then some of the features will be very useful, for example, the feature that is bottom heat only, is very useful for cakes and quiches as you do not need to blind bake your pastry.

Have a chat with your design studio; there are a mind of information and the type of appliances available and their range of functions.

Hobs; which should I choose?

The choice in the market place for hobs is varied and there are lots to choose from. The main types on the market at the moment are Gas, either bottled or Mains, Ceramic and Induction, which are both electric.

Gas Hobs - Your location will denote weather you are on mains gas or if you use bottled gas, a lot of rural locations will use bottled gas. When deciding on your new kitchen appliances, one of the statements that I hear is that we have to have bottled or mains gas is because we get many power cuts and we still want to be able to cook food. The problem with the majority of new hobs is that they need the main electricity to work; these are safety features that are built in to the hob, so that if the gas gets blown out, it turns off automatically. Some of the cheaper models, use a battery to power the spark ignition, these will usually work when the power fails as they are not connected to the mains electricity. Some will come with a Wok burner, especially the larger size ones, if so, look at the power rating of the wok burner, you want if possible at least 5Kws and also the wok burner to be placed to one side, so that you can use other zones at the same time.

Ceramic Hobs -These types of hobs use an electrical element behind the glass top to heat up and consequently heat up the pan. These have become better and better over the years, and by better I mean heat up more quickly, and direct their heat to the pan more efficiently .When in use, they usually glow red to indicate that they are hot and in use.

Induction Hobs - This type o0f hob is the “new kid on the block” so to speak. Due to economy off scale in manufacturing, the price of these hobs have come down dramatically in the last 4 or 5 years, and still dropping now. This type of hob uses magnetisium to agitate the molecules in the pan causing friction and therefore heat. All the energy that the hob uses goes into heating up the pan, not the appliance, therefore none is wasted. Your pans have to have a ferrous metal core in them or they won’t work. If you’re considering Induction and want to know if your favourite pan works on it, then see if a magnet will stick to the base of the pan, if it does, then it will work on induction.

As technology moves on so does the features that these hobs have. Just coming on to the market are what is called “flexi plus” induction hobs, this is where there are no specific zones, you just place the pan on the hob and turn the controls and it works. It allows for great flexibility, your fish kettle will work perfectly (as long as it has ferrous metal base).

If you’re in any doubt about induction, ask your kitchen studio to give you a demonstration, I have given many and every time I do, the customers are very surprised at the speed of the induction. It will boil water faster than any other type of hob; also if, you boil say milk over, because the hob itself is not hot, you just wipe it up, simples Yes!

Hob Size - The standard size for a hob of what ever type is 60cm, and will usually have 4 zones. If space permits, go for a larger size as this gives you more flexibility and the larger the hob the more cooking zones it will have and the choices will usually be a 70, 80 and even a 90cm option.

Interior Design

Just thought we would give you a sneak preview of the exclusive furniture Kitchen Needs Design Studio are now offering.

With an exclusive arrangement with Italian furniture designer, doimo international, we know that we can compliment your beautiful kitchen, bedroom and bathroom with the ultimate in luxury when it comes to furniture.

Our website will very shortly be updated to include a dedicated gallery where you can see more examples of what we can do so will keep you posted.....

Our new edition....

After the passing of our previous dog at the end of 2010, Kitchen Needs thought long and hard about getting another one.......and have finally given in!

His name is Alfie and he was born in October of last year. He didn’t wake us up last night at all. He’s so good!

Come into our studio in Druids Hill to see Alfie. We have some pretty gorgeous displays there too!

My own wet room!

Sometimes it is nice to get the chance to use the design skills and installation capabilities that we have at Kitchen Needs for ourselves so please see a couple of shots of a wet room we did at home!

Never under-estimate the importance of extraction

One aspect of the whole kitchen purchase that is never given true consideration is extraction. It has never been more important than in todays market when many clients are looking to knock two rooms into one to make a large kitchen/dinner/living room.

There is nothing worse than one having the room full of smoke (when something goes wrong) or being able to smell what’s been cooking two days later days.

Most modern extractors will give some 600 to 800 meter per hour extraction (well this is what the manufactures say!) and in test conditions they do. But when they are installed they don’t perform anything like that.

The main secret of extraction is the size of the duct that the appliance can blow through, 125mm is the very smallest that you can use, 150mm is by far the better option, or bigger, but the amount of bends that the duct has in it will influence it’s performance and how well it will breath. So bigger is better, and I’m sure most women will agree.

There are many different types on the market and your choice will depend on the look you are after. One style that is becoming more and more popular is a ceiling mounted extractor system. This means that you don’t even see the extractor as it fits flush to the ceiling, operated by remote control (nice toy) and very efficient. There are also ones that sit in the worktop behind the hob and rise out of it when in use and sink back down when not required. These are also very efficient and worth a look.

With the more sophisticated extractors you can have the choice motors, either these can be built in to the appliance itself, or you can have an “in-line” which as it says is placed between the appliance and the external outlet, which does give some options of where to place it for convenience, and then you have the external motor which is mounted on an external wall, these are very good as the noise of the motor (and they all make noise, but some more than others) is out side and it means that all you will hear inside is the air being drawn into the appliance which is minimal.

I must say that these nice looking glittery chandelier types are nothing more than good to look at and give a nice light, but that is it, oh and quite a dent in your budget.

More to follow...................