Integrated or stand alone fridge??

marge_simpson

In planning my new kitchen I'm unsure which kind of fridge to go for. I definitely want a tall fridge (freezer will be in utility room), and have planned for an integrated one, but now I've started looking into it they are a LOT more expensive than free standing ones. But they do look nicer!

Does anyone have any advice to help me make up my mind?

jennifernil

As you have found out, they are much more expensive, plus you have to buy a housing unit for it. Also for the same 600mm wide space in your kitchen you will get more space inside a freestanding one.
It all depends on how you want your kitchen to look, and also on the layout. If you want the fridge in the middle of a run of units then an integrated one will look better. But most people have the fridge at one end of a run if it is tall, so if that is the case then a freestanding one is probably just as good.
Personally I would not spend the extra on an integrated one, I would rather spend less, or use the same amount to get a better quality, bigger fridge with more features.

tawnyowls

If you want the look of an integrated FF, you could get a slightly wider unit and just house a freestanding fridge within it. It'll mean 2 doors to open, but it's not exactly a huge chore, and it does make it look nicer.

Peartree

Integrated appliances do look so much nicer but are ridiculously expensive to replace - considering many of them are an 'unfinished' version of the cheaper, unintegrated appliance.

I moved into a house with a very good quality fitted kitchen which had all integrated appliances. This has proved a problem on two counts:

1 The doors were not to my taste and I decided to replace them. Unfortunately the new range, despite the display having exactly the same brand and model of fridge and freezer that I have, put them in a different arrangement of housing with different size doors. Luckily I have a 'can do' amateur woodworker on hand who sorted this out for me.
2 If you buy all new integrated appliances for a new kitchen at the same time, they are all prone to start playing up and requiring replacing at the same time! Bear in mind that this is much more hassle in an integrated kitchen due to the door fixings, you have far less choice and it is therefore more expensive.

If I was doing it from scratch, I'd probably go with tawnyowls' suggestion myself.

You can find seconds or wholesale outlets that do the integrated appliances cheaper - until recently I had a good one near me that sold the ones usually retailed at MFI cheaply (anyone know what has happened to Thursdays?). If you look in the back of your local paper you might find somewhere listed. If the appliance is stuck behind a cupboard door, a little dint somewhere doesn't really matter. If you have a large company manufacturing or fitting kitchens nearby it's worth looking in to.

Bear_family

If you're looking for a branded name fridge try the prices on trade-appliances.co.uk or biasco.com

Leeds_Fan_2

If you can stretch to it go and have the space go for a side by side. Can get a Samsung with ice and water filter with a nice metal finish for £700. They look cool, the ice is a brilliant feature and its about the same price as an intergrated one.

nearlyrich

We went for an integrated Bosch larder fridge, we found a supplier that charged a lot less than retail and got all our appliances from them. In our kitchen it had to be integrated or it would not have looked right.

marge_simpson

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've given lots of consideration to all the comments and looked again at my layout, and my kitchen! Its kind of against my better judgement, but I think I have to go with integrated: so much for all the money-saving principles I've applied to other aspeccts of my re-do!

It is just going to look so much better that way, so I will check out trade-appliances.co.uk and biasco.com to see if they have the ones recommended by Which?
(Have signed up for the free 30 day trial to check out all the info on appliances, then will cancel membership before the d/d payment is due)

There is also a Comet 2nds shop near me, so I'll take a look there.
Thanks all

girlsmum

i have an intergrated FF, i dont like it its narrower than a normal fridge so not only is it unfunished it is smaller...and yes you pay so much more for them.
far to small for a familly

I wish i could have a freestanding tall one (been looking) but they are all too deep, and will hang over my door frame :-(
So i have been looking for an intergrated tall one and they are so expensive.

kittiwoz

tawnyowls wrote:

If you want the look of an integrated FF, you could get a slightly wider unit and just house a freestanding fridge within it. It'll mean 2 doors to open, but it's not exactly a huge chore, and it does make it look nicer.

If you were going to do that you'd have to drill some holes in the top of the unit or cut out a section and fit a mesh to provide ventillation. The heat produced at the back of the fridge needs to be able to be transfered away for the fridge to work efficiently. I'd think it would also be a bit of a fire hazard otherwise as well.

irnbru_2

marge_simpson wrote:

they are a LOT more expensive than free standing ones.

If the cost is an issue and since it's integrated why not see if you can get a shop-soiled one. No-one's going to see it if it's covered by kitchen-unit doors.