New kitchen - fitting appliances into cupboards - who?

sanfrancisco

Hi all,

We have a builder sorted and are now trying to sort kitchen... We have perfectly good appliances and would really like a company that provides big cupboards to put them in so we don't have to buy fitted in ones (£££). Wren said no, who might we go to?

Thanks
Jo

Avoriaz

You don't want cupboards, you want spaces or gaps.

We had a new kitchen fitted in 1993 and wanted it designed so that we could use normal appliances rather than the far more expensive fitted type.

The kitchen was designed with 60 cm gaps or spaces in the appropriate places for a washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer. The worktop continued over the top of the spaces.

We were supplied with 3 decor doors that matched the rest of the kitchen unit decor doors. The doors attached to the appliance by magnetic brackets. We were also supplied with three sections of plinth to match the plinth under the normal cupboards.

It all worked very well. It took a bit of care to position the appliance so that its magnetically attached decor door was in line with the doors either side.

It looked so much neater than being able to see the appliances. All you could see was a neat row of matching doors. A stranger would not know if it was a cupboard or an appliance behind the doors.

The only very slight downside is that you had to open two doors rather than just one to use the appliances but that is trivial.

Occasionally we might have to adjust the position of the washing machine as it might have moved slightly due to vibrations during spinning but that didn't happen very often.

We could change an appliance easily provided we bought one that wasn't deeper than the recess as that would make the door protrude.

Have a google for similar magnetic brackets and talk to kitchen companies.

CKdesigner

Hi

Integrated is integrated and free standing is free standing.

If you try to fit doors in front of free standing appliances, or do anything to hide them then it always looks like a compromise.

The only exception would be that we often build a tall laundry cupboard, where we stack a free standing dryer and washing machine in a 700 or 800mm wide tall unit.

Best advice is to always do it properly. If you want the appliances to be hidden then buy built in appliances, that is what they are designed for and free standing are not.

CK

jhe

i have my boiler fit in a larder unit.
my separate washer and dryer are fit into spaces with cupboard doors in front, i have kick boards that clip off to allow me to remove replace the appliances.
dishwasher i have integrated and my larder fridgefreezer is free standing
the only problem i have had is that my kitchen was fit around 15 years ago. i can only fit an average size washer into the cupboard, the new larger size washers wont fit depth wise

Avoriaz

CKdesigner wrote: »

...If you try to fit doors in front of free standing appliances, or do anything to hide them then it always looks like a compromise...

Not in my experience as detailed above.

DirectDebacle

CKdesigner wrote: »

Best advice is to always do it properly. If you want the appliances to be hidden then buy built in appliances, that is what they are designed for and free standing are not.

CK

Agree with this (and not often I agree with CK:D). Also as this is a money saving site why waste money on unnecessary and unsuitable cabinets/doors?

jhe

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Agree with this (and not often I agree with CK:D). Also as this is a money saving site why waste money on unnecessary and unsuitable cabinets/doors?

i don't understand why you say it is unsuitable to put appliances behind doors? (i understand a fridge/freezer needs space around to operate)
for me it was necessary because i wanted the doors in front of the appliances. thats the way i wanted my then new kitchen to look
i chose not to have fully integrated appliances 15 year back partly because they were a lot more expensive and partly because i knew people who had problems and regretted their integrated appliances

DirectDebacle

i don't understand why you say it is unsuitable to put appliances behind
doors?

I didn't say that. I said the cabinets/doors are unsuitable. I am referring to mass produced off the shelf kitchens e.g. Wren, which the OP referred to.

Nothing wrong with custom made cabinets to enclose appliances if required.

jhe

DirectDebacle wrote: »

I didn't say that. I said the cabinets/doors are unsuitable. I am referring to mass produced off the shelf kitchens e.g. Wren, which the OP referred to.

Nothing wrong with custom made cabinets to enclose appliances if required.

apologies i misunderdstood.
i have a fully fitted kitchen, i just told the kitchen planners what i wanted and were.
they drew up a plan that fit everything in place to my spec,
I went round all the local kitchen suppliers/fitters they all gave me a price on what i wanted.

evokit

You can fit standard appliances behind doors with out it looking out of place.
you either have a 700 wide base unit (backless) with 2 x doors or use end panels with doors
By the time you have purchased the unit and doors and then the extra deep worktop to accommodate (depending on worktop material) and the loss of space, 10cms per appliance.
The cost can bounce around the same as going fully integrated.
Again this will depend on your level of appliance.
Its all doable and wont look wrong, its just weighing up what will suit your space

Wesley_Lorn

I have lot of appliances to be hidden. Lot of garage needed