New kitchen, intergrate or not?

crockpot

I need a new kitchen, worksurface and units are disintergrating!

The appliances i have are all a few years old, all white, but have a few years left in them.

We might move in a few years but not sure.

Should I intergrate or not?

I live in a `normal` 4 bed semi, rest of house is `normal` if you know what I mean!

I know that not intergrating will save me money.

david29dpo

I have gone for integrated, but it down to personal taste. If you ever sell, i think it will be expected on a four bed house.

Doozergirl

My personal opinion is that integrated = smaller. Especially with fridges and washing machines. Dishwashers not so much.

You can get such good looking freestanding stuff in stainless steel or even black now which I think breaks things up, otherwise you're just looking at huge bank/wall of cupboards. A decent kitchen designer will help keep things symmetrical and balanced for you.

never_enough

It's a personal thing. I'm sure either will please as many people as not! I prefer the freestanding look myself, but I have a large kitchen that's used for living as well as cooking. Freestanding just feels much more comfortable to me.
Have to agree with Doozergirl too. My friend had a hugely expensive kitchen refit & has ended up keeping a seperate fridge/freezer elsewhere as the integrated ones are too small. That may just be because they're under the counter ones but that's still crazy.

TimBuckTeeth

I would go for freestanding as they are cheaper and there is greater choice. You can use your existing appliances and replace/upgrade later, and you can take the appliances with you if you move.
With integrated appliances it can be more difficult to get access for repair or replacement.
I personally don't see the point of paying a premium for integrated, also I like the controls of a washing machine etc. to be accessible.
If appliances are included with a new kitchen package then they are usually budget ones and the quality can be mediocre.
If moving into a new house I would like to have the choice of appliances (and use my existing ones) rather than be stuck with the fitted integrated ones.

fairylights_2

It's very definitely a personal thing. We currently have freestanding appliances and I would dearly love to rip them all out and integrate them. We have two small children and every single appliance has dents and marks on the fronts from playing too close, they are mostly white so show up every mark and drip. The white of the appliances does not match the white of the units so everything is slightly different shades of white.

I know that integrated machines are dearer, but when fit properly can be easily removed to work on. Very few of them are smaller than standard size internally, unless you want a big statement fridge freezer, and then you'd have to buy a freestanding one. If you shop around you can get near full height fridges and freezers to integrate if you'd prefer.

I think if you're planning on moving, a kitchen will look cleaner with integrated - one less thing to have to buy when you move in!

Liz1966

On my new kitchen I used a freestanding cooker & fridge freezer because they are cheaper & you get so much choice. This was particularly important with the fridge freezer because the proportion of fridge area to freezer area affects how useful it is to me.

I choose an integrated washing machine because to get one in anything other than ugly white was very expensive. However, if you're not too bothered by the look than free standing machines are so much cheaper. I still feel a little guilty at paying so much more just for the look!