Choosing Your Kitchen Appliances

Choosing what appliances you're going to have in your kitchen is an important part of overall kitchen design - a part that is all too often skimmed over and not given enough attention. You need to know what appliances you really want and which additional ones might be nice to have (budget and space permitting) before you design your kitchen.

Whether you have a range cooker like the Britannia shown below left, or a built-in double oven, as shown on the right, could make a big difference to the layout of your kitchen ... you might even prefer a bank of compact ovens/appliances

kitchen appliances

(yes, I know the oven looks curved ... it's the wide angle lens ... but it is a lovely kitchen!)

Many kitchen designers (often those who are primarily kitchen fitters or cabinetmakers, or small kitchen suppliers) don't bother to keep up-to-date with trends and advances in kitchen appliances and won't be able to discuss your options sensibly. This has been the case for quite a while but the situation has got much worse in the last few years, since internet suppliers of appliances, with low overheads and low prices, have become so popular. Many smaller kitchen suppliers have stopped selling appliances altogether ... and they don't see why they should bother to display them or keep themselves and their staff up-to-date on the latest developments ... if they're not selling them. You can sort of see their point.

Some traditional retailers feel quite miltant about it and say that they will refuse to fit appliances that they don't supply ... but I don't know of any who have actually carried out this threat. The appliance manufacturers are, in any case, beginning to be a bit more sympathetic and have brought out special brands especially for showrooms (like Atag, Kuppersbusch and Teka) where higher margins can be maintained.

I don't have anything against internet suppliers of appliances, except that customers really need to see and feel the appliances - in the flesh (so to speak) - before buying them. The best place to buy appliances is probably an internet supplier that also has a physical showroom, where you can go and see the different models ... open the doors, feel the strength of the hinges, see the thickness of the fascias and decide if you like the overall look. It's not quite the same as seeing an appliance in situ, in a nicely designed kitchen display ... since the appliance showrooms tend to pack them all in, side by side ... but it's better than nothing; and the staff in such showrooms are often trained on the appliances they sell. Some manufacturers like Miele and Neff will now only deal with this type of internet supplier - not the ones who are basically operating out of their back bedroom or garage!

If you want to consider the different brands, types and models of appliances available, then one of Majjie's Kitchen Design Guides is devoted to kitchen appliances. If you want expert advice on how the different makes compare ... and what the spares position is ... take a trip over to the UK Whitegoods website. It's run by service engineers who - as you might expect - know a thing or two about the reliability of different appliances. Majjie has also listed appliances that she particularly likes - or which are suitable for particular design "challenges" - in the appliances section of Majjie's Shop.

It's also worth keeping an eye on the glossy magazines which feature kitchens ... and indeed on our Kitchen Design Newsletters, Kitchen Design News section and on Majjie's Blogs ... for what's new in appliances. You may not get many comments or reviews in some of the glossy magazines - they're just churning out press releases - but we're more opinionated here!

Here are some of Majjie's previous blogs and articles about kitchen appliances that might be of interest to you. Many of them are from Majjie's Kitchen Corner, over on Yell.com's Know How section - where Majjie is a guest writer, so there may be some overlap in subject material (but they're never direct duplicates):

The New Aga is ... the Aga Total Control

APPLIANCES: For the Kitchen that Has Everything: CoolDrawers

APPLIANCES: Keep an Eye Out for the Krushr

Kitchen Waste Disposal Units versus Composting - an Update

APPLIANCES: Should You Have a Waste Disposal Unit

Four Range Cookers for Serious Cooks

What to Look For in a Basic Range Cooker

Heat Storage Range Cookers

APPLIANCES: New Cooker Hoods 2011 (One)

Marc Newson Designs for Smeg

Scholtes Aims at High End UK Kitchen Market

How Far Would You Go for a Retro Look?