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Choosing appliances for the kitchen shouldn’t be an afterthought. The design is as important as function. Here are 7 keys to consider. Read on!
Appliances are possibly the most useful things one might have in their home right now. They’re the focal point of any kitchen, and while their usefulness can’t be denied, the way they look certainly affects how guests perceive your home.
Not only that but the way your appliances complement your home’s interior design also creates a harmony in your own mind. You may not realize it, but having appliances that don’t quite fit the rest of the house might cause you to feel a little uneasy (for lack of a better word).
Moreover, when renovating a kitchen or moving into a new home, people often think about the cabinets and countertops. However, appliances shouldn’t be discarded as an afterthought. For example, a set of inexpensive, white or dull-colored appliances gives out a completely different tone than a high-end, smart appliance range. With all that said and done, here are some tips and handy advice that are sure to come in handy somewhere in the future.
Think of the Overall Design and Aesthetic First
By far the most important aspect, and the one that you should think out before anything else, is the overall design. Aesthetics can make or break just about anything, not just homes. You’ll want your kitchen’s design to be as symmetric as possible.
First off, don’t go combining multiple styles together. That usually just results in a kitsch-en (pun very intended). Instead, focus on just one style and do it well. Do you like modern minimalism? Then go for that. There’s no reason for you to design your kitchen in a minimalist style and get appliances that look like something taken out from the 50s.
As another example, a more modern and minimalist kitchen might not be the best match for a, let’s say, French-country-styled house. However, an industrial-style kitchen might just work if your home has a more contemporary look.
Consider Your Budget
This is the part where many people fail to consider properly. It’s easy to say and relatively hard to do, but you shouldn’t go overboard with your budget (or, even worse, take out loans), and neither should you cheap out on getting inefficient and ugly-looking appliances.
In any case, know your budget beforehand. It will ultimately help you narrow down your choices so you can make a better decision when purchasing appliances.
Don’t Forget About Your Lifestyle
Do you cook often? Then you might want to consider getting a double oven and an oversized dishwasher. Do you like to party at home? then consider getting a drink refrigerator and a spacious table in the kitchen. You get the point, you should adapt your kitchen to how you like to live your life.
How Can You Use Space?
Finally, it’s time to figure out how you will manage the existing space inside your new home. Start by measuring every inch of your kitchen then measure the dimensions of the furniture and appliances that you plan on purchasing.
Next, make a placement plan. Determine how much of the floor and wall each item will occupy. From there, start sketching where to place each item. Of course, it’s not as simple as filling up the plan similarly to a Tetris game. You’ll have to take into account where power sockets are located, where pipes are, and so forth. This is especially important when installing a dishwasher and a garbage disposal system.
And speaking about placement, let’s see what you should consider when choosing certain types of appliances, as there are a few key aspects that you shouldn’t overlook.
How to Choose a Dishwasher
Dishwashers are very complex machines that should accomplish one of the most menial tasks with ease. With that said, it is important to consider the space they will take up as well as their capacity, energy and water consumption, noise level, and installation type.
If you’re working with limited space, a countertop dishwasher might be more suitable for you. However, most of them can only hold around six place settings. On the other hand, you can get a high-end or a smart dishwasher at a premium price. They offer a lot of convenience, but some features set the price very high only for the sake of convenience, not efficiency.
Again, there are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing a dishwasher or even dishwasher detergent. Frankly, there are so many things to take into consideration that we would need a separate article.
How to Choose an Oven
From “fuel” source, to size, to style and functionality, there are loads of things to take into consideration when choosing the right oven. If you have a large family but don’t want to spend a whole lot on power bills, then you might want to consider a double oven that runs on gas instead of electricity.
A double oven, despite taking more place, offers the advantage of cooking multiple meals. If your kids want to eat something else than the adults, for example, you can place one type of food on the left, and another type on the right.
How to Choose a Wine Cooler
Sure, you can keep the wine in the fridge. But what if you’re the party type and want to have a reserve ready? Then you might want to keep the fridge for other stuff and get a wine cooler for your drinks.
The key thing to take into consideration is temperature. The ideal temperature for storing all wines, red or white, is around 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit (7-12 degrees Celsius), and the default temperature for large, standard refrigerators is 37 degrees (2 degrees C), much too cold for any wine’s long-term storage needs.
The Takeaway
These are a few of the larger appliances that we took into consideration when writing this article. Of course, there are smaller appliances, such as toaster and coffee makers, where you’ll have to apply most of the same principles.
It’s up to you to take this information, sift through it, and make what you will out of it. In any case, once you get all the aspects down and figured out, you’ll have a much easier time choosing appliances that match your home’s style. Good luck!
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