Hi everyone! Thanks for all the comments and input, it was great to see so many of you get involved! The competition is now closed, and any winners should have received an email from us confirming their prize so get checking. Happy New Year and here's to the next one!

I bought Brittania, from a shop that was selling one off in clearance, nearly half price. Would not buy again. You have to wait 2 to 3 weeks for a service call (I have had 2 in 6 months), which is a long time without an oven. Be careful of oven sizes - they are much smaller than a normal single oven. The Brittania I got has such a small distance between shelves none of my dishes fit between two shelves. The induction hob in noisy, heats in "bursts" and when one ring is on full power, you cannot use another ring - this might be characteristic of induction in general, but give me gas any day. Looks fantastic though!

We inherited our aga with our house ten years ago, it was I think, built in the 80's and we had it re-conditioned, it was a violent red but I had it re-enamelled in anthracite and it looked lovely. I have to be honest, some years later we put in under floor heating throughout the house and the kitchen suddenly became a furnace! Being of "that age" suddenly hot flushes required me to vacate the kitchen and stand outside even in the middle of a freezing night, so off went the underfloor heating in the kitchen. I initially went to aga classes and I have to say it was really worth learning how to use the thing correctly. Such as never using the hot plates if food could be cooked in the ovens, maintaining the oven temperature for much longer. Methods, such as pouring off the water vegetables were in once boiling was reached, and then putting them in the simmering oven to steam, or using the floor of the roasting oven to fry. I have to say it was an education having one, and yes all the things people love about them are true, BUT having installed a new green heating system it all seemed so wrong, its original purpose was to heat a poorly heated farmhouse with no gas supply, and served a multitude of purposes. I know in its past it has kept lambs warm and hatched chicks, it was great at drying out wet clothes and laundry that wouldn't dry anywhere else. I even managed to save a chicken keeping it warm next to the aga in a box all night. When we have had power cuts the storage system of the aga lets you cook for a few days with the residual heat, though the temperature does drop so you have to be careful. We don't live like that anymore, power cuts thankfully are not as frequent, and although we are a farm we have a well insulated house (finally) a good heating system and I don't want to be dependant on oil, burning it constantly seems rather pointless and wasteful if it isn't serving other purposes, it doesn't really cook evenly (probably due to its age) and then there is the expense of regular servicing. So these are it's last few months. I have now ordered an electric range cooker with an induction hob. I did look at the electric aga dual control and came to these conclusions in my long drawn out considerations whether to have another one or not, I am now amazed I even considered it - I think mainly pressure from grown up children who like to lean over it constantly, they certainly don't cook on it! 1. They are on all the time, if you turn them down to tick over you can't use the hot plate for boiling, they have to be turned on independently and take about 8 minutes to heat up. 2. It is quicker and cheaper to boil water in the electric kettle in that case. 3. I use a toaster as I can cook four slices at once if required. 4. I still have to turn it off in the summer it is way too hot in our kitchen, which means.... 5. We have to have a small oven and two ring induction hob as well to take over - that to me completely defeats the purpose. 6. Keeping it on all the time seems rather like having an electric oven and keeping that running all the time - would I do that? No I think not. 7. I still can't use the underfloor heating put in at great expense! 8. The house is warm enough to dry washing without using the tumble dryer all the time in the winter. The aga was however, magnificent at drying knitwear. I understand the new systems are supposed to be much more economical and I think for people that really love them they do have a place. I also think there is a lot written about aga owners that is unfair and sometimes written by people who may not actually own one or know how to cook on them. That being said everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is just mine. I have also heard that using solar panels can really help contribute to the running of them. Finally a word of warning on inheriting electric agas, my brother brought a house with an electric aga (not the new AIMS or Dual Control system) He nearly passed out after his first electricity bill - needless to say they haven't switched it on since! He said had he known he would have asked the previous owners to remove it at their expense...

It depends on your budget and who your kitchen supplier is. As a totally bespoke kitchen/furniture designer maker I often buy the appliances. At the same time as designing the kitchen the appliances are a very essential part of the kitchen that needs to be picked based what suits you best. Your kitchen designer/maker should guide you through what best suits you and what you may wish to have. Many top end appliances such as Meile or Gaggenau and others cannot be brought cheaply, nor would you wish to buy them from anyone but your kitchen supplier/ designer. Over the years we often buy the appliances at the beginning of the project and have them in the workshop to ensure they fit (unless they are very standard or very large, but still get delivered at the beginning) and are actually delivered at the same time as the kitchen. Part of the service is that I ensure the client is happy with all the appliances they have chosen and they have been informed of all the possible choices. Sometimes I organise demonstrations or more in-depth information to inform on how the appliances work or the diffrences. Boiling water taps often need good ventalation and access for servicing and removal. Steam ovens and coffee makers are often plumbed in with the water supply needing filters which need to be changed every so often, with access taken into account. Good extraction is essential in all kitchens especially where the hob is used often especially for frying or with a Teppanyaki hob below. Some fridges need waste outlets as will as waterfeeds. If you are buying appliances your-self make sure the kitchen designer is fully involved and there are no possible conflicts - such as appliance doors not being able to fully open. Aga - for instance we often have raised to be the same height as the worktops,