Plan for appliances
How we use our kitchen is personal and varies with each person and family. In my case all I need is a fridge and a microwave. Some people love to spend all day trying out recipes and cooking for their family.
What ever you value most in your kitchen, it is important to incorporate your needs and not just copy a picture in a magazine. This is especially true with kitchen appliance planning.
When it comes to selecting appliances you can really go wild. There are so many bells and whistles that just add to the price and make you forget what purpose the appliance is serving.
Before starting to plan your new kitchen visit an appliance store to learn what new products are available and which type of appliances you want to include in your plan. Don’t; worry about the exact model or type at this stage, just the general idea of what you want i.e. slide in stove or built in oven.
You need to know this so you can include the kitchen appliance planning in the overall kitchen design.
Before the kitchen is ordered you will need the exact dimensions of the appliances you have chosen so the cabinets can be customized for the appliances. This will give you a more professional looking kitchen installation.
People always ask me which is better: a gas stove or electric stove. I tell them if you don’t know the answer, stick with electric. Gas is a different way of cooking than electric. It makes sense for some and not for others. In my home I have gas stove inherited from the previous owner. However it doesn’t work for me since I like to cook things slowly and find the gas does work better for fast, hot cooking. Also I hate cleaning the gas stove; I would rather have a flat electric stove top that wipes clean. My daughter loves the gas stove and would never go back to an electric stove. So it really is a personal thing. I think if you don’t do much cooking an electric stove is easier to maintain.
♦ In my experience a slide in stove is so much better than a standard stove. If you do not know what a slide in stove is take a look at an appliance store for an education on what’s new in stoves. With a slide in you do not have the gap where crumbs or worse can accumulate. There is also no gap in the front between the cabinet doors and the stove. This makes for a built in look without the built in cost. It is very important to decide on the stove type before you plan the kitchen cabinets and counter top as the slide in stove requires a narrower width and the counter is cut out of one piece. So do your homework.
♦ If you currently have an electric stove and would like to change to gas make sure this can be done. Call in a gas fitter to confirm that he will be able to make all the connections required to accommodate your gas stove. You don’t want to be disappointed at the time of installation.
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♦ To me a dishwasher has to clean the dishes and not be too noisy. I have found that even an inexpensive dishwasher can give a great result if you use the rinse agents that are available. Without the rinse aid my glasses never came clean and I though it was the cheap dishwasher. But after I realized and added the stuff my glasses are always clean. So spend money if you want a quiet dishwasher but otherwise I would not advise spending too much on this appliance.
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♦ A microwave vent combination can be a real space saver in a small kitchen. Even a large kitchen sometimes does not have a convenient place to store a counter microwave. You also have to consider that all microwave doors swing the same way. You might have the perfect spot but not be able to access it because of the door swing. The over the range units come able to vent to the outside or with a re-circulating fan. They are all about 30 inches wide and 16 inches high so you don’t need to purchase it until your cabinets are installed. If you are just using a very small microwave and you have a good spot for it then you can use the space over the stove for a nice stainless steel hood or a matching cabinet hood.
♦ If you don’t want the microwave on the upper part of your kitchen consider an under counter unit. Sharp make a great microwave drawer unit that makes a lot of sense if you don’t want it over the stove or on the counter. It is a bit more expensive but I am certainly considering it for my next kitchen.
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♦ The fridge is there to keep your food cold and/or frozen. Anything over that is not really a necessity. It pays to have an energy saving appliance and to make sure you have the size that works for your family. If you live alone you don’t need a fridge wider than 30 inches, however if you have teenagers you might want the biggest fridge you can get.
♦ If a stainless fridge is your choice consider one with matching color sides so it does not look unfinished if the sides show when it is in place. Imagine a white kitchen, stainless appliances with the dark black sides of the fridge in view. It takes away from your carefully designed kitchen look. Even the less expensive fridges offer at least a gray paint finish on the side; it does not have to be the same stainless as the front of the fridge.
♦ When deciding whether to purchase a fridge with an ice and water dispenser in the door, or even just an ice maker, keep in mind that you need to run a water line to the back of the fridge to supply water. It is possible to run this through the base cabinets if you have a direct cabinet route from sink to fridge. Otherwise it has to come from the basement or through the walls. Work this out before you buy that fantastic fridge!
♦ Consider the height of the fridge and the space available in the cabinets you are planning. If your upper cabinet over the fridge comes in only one or two sizes purchase a fridge that will give you at least one inch extra or one to two inches if it opens against a wall. That way you don’t have to worry about a large filler piece against the upper cabinet.
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I urge you to take the time to do your kitchen appliance planning so you can enjoy your new appliances and your kitchen for many years.
When it comes to searching for appliances you want to look at many different options. If you find an item you like the look and design of chances are it comes with different options. You might like the shape of a gas stove but need an electric stove. Find out if this is an option.
This site has great prices and wants you to let them know if you have seen your favorite appliance for less so they can investigate. That means they really want you as a customer. I think it is great that they let the customer know their business is important. It doesn’t take much to change to another website if you think the company does not care about you as a customer.
Have fun looking!
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