If you’re planning to have your kitchen renovated or expanded, there are some design considerations you should follow. One of them involves your kitchen appliance. Choosing kitchen appliances might be tricky, but we will help to give you bright idea about it.Which should you have built-in to decrease preparation time? Which kitchen appliance works best as a countertop appliance? This guide should help you decide:
The BIG Non-negotiable Ones
All functional kitchens have the following large appliances:
1. Stove
Decide whether you want an electric or gas model since you’d have to run the gas line properly during renovation. Having your stove built into your kitchen walls also creates more space and gives a uniform look to your entire kitchen design.
2. Oven
One way to make your kitchen look bigger is to opt for built-in kitchen appliances. Of course, the installation of these devices is more complicated than their countertop versions. But if you’re a baker or want to explore more baked dishes, adding an oven to your kitchen renovation is necessary.
3. Refrigerator
The refrigerator is another bulky kitchen appliance that can easily cramp your kitchen. While you can skip ovens and range hoods during your initial kitchen renovation planning, a ref is something you can’t gloss over. This is especially true if you’re interested in adding four-door refrigerators and separate freezers into your kitchen.
4. Range hood
Not all kitchens have this, but installing range hoods before you build your kitchen is always ideal. This improves the air quality of your kitchen after cooking, so no grease, smoke, food odors, and fumes produced while cooking on your stove lingers in the kitchen. You have to plan this ahead because some range hoods require ductwork. You can add range hood in your list when choosing kitchen appliances.
5. Dishwasher
You’ll need a water supply and electric source to use a dishwasher. Depending on how big yours is, it is best to fit the device near your sink. Measure it so that there wouldn’t be any unsightly space by the sink.
6. Microwave
A microwave doesn’t necessarily have to be built into your walls, but because it is still a big appliance that can eat up space, it’s always good to have a space ready for your microwave. A cabinet or storage space would do (if you don’t plan on using it often), or wall brackets that would keep the microwave above ground.
Must-Have Kitchen Appliance Countertops
Even if they’re called countertop kitchen appliances, it doesn’t mean you place them all on your kitchen countertop. For example:
Stand mixer
When it comes to countertop kitchen appliances like a stand mixer, you have to ask yourself how often you plan on using the device. Do you bake every day? Every week? Once a month? Your answer would give you an idea that putting it on the countertop (or giving it its own storage space) is ideal.
Food processor
Most food processors can be bulky as well. Most households use them once a week for preparing make-ahead meals, while others use them on a daily basis. If you’re positive that you need a food processor for your kitchen prep, also keep this device in mind when drawing your kitchen renovation designs.
Coffee maker
This is often placed on the countertop because there’s a good chance you’ll use it at least once a day. If you’re planning to buy an espresso machine instead, which is a LOT bigger than a standard coffee maker, you have to leave more space for your coffee corner.
Blender
Like the food processor and stand mixer, blenders are rarely used daily (unless you’re on a liquid diet made of shakes), so prepare cabinet space for this as well.
Toaster
This depends largely on the type of toaster you have. Some are small and can be placed on the countertop without any issue, while others are as big as
Can opener –
Electric can openers are extremely useful, but not many households have them. You don’t really need to store this away since it’s likely you’d use it more regularly than your ice cream maker, air fryer, or electric grill.
Breadmaker –
For fans of homemade bread, the breadmaker is a must-have. If you plan on making bread daily, keep it on your countertop. If not, give space in your storage cabinets for this useful device.
Airfryer
As one of the newest viral kitchen appliances, the air fryer is a fan favorite, but as you can see from those who own them, it’s now slowly getting dusty by their countertops. I love our air fryer, but it’s now used rarely than we first bought it, so it’s stored for now. If you plan to add an air fryer to your kitchen, I recommend you leave a space in the cabinet for this device.
Knowing the appliance and devices you want in your kitchen is essential to keeping everything nice and organized. These gadgets, especially the countertop ones, do add up, especially if you keep up with newer and better versions whenever they’re released. Don’t get worried when choosing kitchen appliances if you’re in a big budget.
When you renovate or design a new kitchen, you’ll be able to assign spaces for big kitchen appliances and build cabinets or other storage areas for smaller kitchen devices (designed for countertops).