Heated drawers may seem like something of a luxury, but they are highly versatile. Not only for warming plates, they can keep cooked food warm, defrost foods, melt chocolate, make yoghurt and prove dough.

They work via a heated glass base plate that is easy to clean, and are usually sized to fit 12 place settings, although some manufacturers also make smaller drawers 14cm (5½in) high to fit 6 place settings.

For the true coffee enthusiast, an integrated coffee machine is the final finishing touch to the kitchen. These machines can grind coffee beans, store water to brew it and have milk steamers to make anything from an espresso to a cappuccino on demand.

Wine kept in the wrong conditions will turn sour, so any decent collection of wines should be stored appropriately. To this end, a number of manufacturers have developed wine cellar units, of various sizes and capacity, that can be integrated into your kitchen.

Capable of keeping wines at multiple temperatures, these appliances keep charcoal-filtered, humidified air flowing through them to keep wine at its optimum.

Kitchen food scraps account for 25% of household waste. A waste disposal unit is easy to install and grinds up soft food scraps into a fine slurry that is expelled via the same effluent pipe running from the kitchen sink. These units can therefore significantly reduce the volume of waste that you create and the number of trips to the dustbin.

Waste disposal units usually fit an 89mm (3½in) sink outlet, to be hidden in the cupboard beneath the sink bowl.