Choosing kitchen appliances
Whether you are starting from scratch, renovating, or refurbishing a kitchen, it can be quite a lengthy and stressful project. Finally, the time has arrived to start selecting your new appliances, the part of the process you have been looking forward to. Then the reality hits. Buying appliances can be complicated too – pro-style gadgets with bells and whistles, appliances focused on good looks, reliable mid-range brands, brands you’ve never heard of … it can all be a bit of a minefield!
Here are some general hints and tips to help you along the way when thinking about, selecting, and purchasing kitchen appliances.
1. Do as much research as you can early on before making any investment. Take into consideration what you truly need your appliance for when it comes to your style of cooking. Think through the big questions. Do you prefer gas, electric or induction? Do you need a fridge-freezer, a standalone fridge with a separate freezer in the utility or garage or a larger fridge with small freezer compartment?
2. Budget as much as you can to get good quality appliances without having to necessarily go the top of the range. Think through some of the more detailed questions to avoid buying appliances that have features that you may not even need. Do I often wash delicate items of clothing? Do we want crushed ice as well as cubed? Do I really need 8 different types of cycle on a dishwasher?
3. Look carefully right across the whole range of appliances such as a fridge-freezer. A lot of mid-range ones almost do as much as the high-end ones. For this reason, it is not always necessary to go for the biggest and the one with the most features to achieve maximum efficiency that suits your personal lifestyle.
4. For a uniform look in your kitchen select appliances that match in terms of height and decide whether your want to group them in a horizontal or vertical bank. A bank of built-in appliances makes it easier to create zones whilst allowing for flexibility. Do you want your fridge on show or built-in? Do you want ovens integrated at a height to suit? Create your wish list early on and share your thoughts with your designer to see if they can fit your requests into your scheme.
5. Don’t overlook the extraction hood. Most homeowners consider priority appliances to be cookers, hobs, fridge-freezers, dishwashers and washing machines with extractor hoods often being an after-thought. However, extraction is important and should be considered at the early stage of your kitchen planning to ensure that efficient ducting is allowed for.
6. Be aware of increased technology surrounding kitchen appliances before making a final decision. Smart home integration has become a key trend in recent years allowing you to control and manage your appliances via an app on your smartphone or tablet and many brands offer this function across a wide range of items. While it all sounds attractive, think carefully as to whether you need it as it most certainly comes at a price
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