If you’re looking to revamp your kitchen, you’re probably going to want a brand new suite of white goods to go with your fancy new-look units. It is, however, easy to overlook just how much of impact appliances can have on kitchen design.
If you’re not careful, you can end up wasting a lot of time and money planning a kitchen refit, only to realise the washing machine and fridge freezer you’ve just paid a deposit on don’t fit where you wanted them.
How to decide on your kitchen appliances
So before you get ahead of yourself, here are a few important things to consider when buying new hardware for your kitchen.
1. Location, location, location
You may not like the layout of your kitchen. You may have a burning desire to have the cooker in a completely different place and move the washing machine and dishwasher to the opposite side of the room. But there are often very good reasons why appliances are located where they are in your kitchen, i.e. for convenient connection to external amenities like water and gas.
If you really want to move your cooker, for example, relocating the mains gas supply could end up being a major job. You might have to consider switching to an electric hob and oven instead. The same applies to white goods that require plumbing in - they are usually near the sink for simplicity’s sake, and while it is possible to run piping elsewhere, it becomes a much messier and more expensive job.
2. Watch this space
It is elementary that you need to choose appliances that will fit into the spaces you have allowed for them. But still, there are three very common mistakes people make when it comes to measuring up.
One is not allowing for any space between the appliance and the surrounding unit. Even if you do manage to squeeze it in, it will become next to impossible to take out again without dismantling everything. The second is measuring height and width but not depth - many a kitchen ends up suffering from one appliance or another that sticks out an ungainly distance.
Third, and this is arguably the most common - people have a habit of completely forgetting about doors when visualising space in their kitchen. This applies to both units and appliances, with the unfortunate consequence of only being able to open the freezer door halfway because there’s a fixed shelf unit in the way, or forever risking scorch marks on adjacent cupboard doors if they are ever opened at the same time as the oven.
3. Test of time
You may be really tempted to go for the budget options for your appliances so you can really splash out on that luxury made-to-measure suite that caught your eye. But stop a moment and ask if this makes sound financial sense. Appliances are working machines, with lots of components and moving parts, that do a lot more labour in their lifetime than your cupboard doors ever will. Does it really make sense to scrimp on these?
The cheaper the appliances you buy, the more problems you can expect with faults, breakdowns and repair costs. It is, of course, entirely your choice - and if you do decide to put your cash into those bespoke walnut units, we’re always here to do you a good fixed price deal on your appliance repairs.
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