Integrated appliances - do's and don'ts?

[homeappliances]

We've just ordered our kitchen from DIY kitchens and, following lots of discussion, decided to go for integrated units/ appliances. We thought it would make our smallish kitchen look more sleek.

We need an integrated fridge/ freezer (50/50), dishwasher, induction hob and combi oven.

A quick search shows that most of the threads on integrated appliances are a little old, so please could you give me any current advice on buying these integrated appliances e.g what to avoid? What would you do differently? Good places to buy from etc...

Thank you!

Watching as I'd like to know this too!

I haven’t bought integrated appliances from them but AO were brilliant for the bits we bought for our kitchen. Good prices, great delivery, and give the kids a teddy bear each.

I also bought a new Bosch integrated dishwasher off eBay with no problems.

In our last house we got integrated appliance in our kitchen as I preferred the look of it all being behind doors. Personally I wouldn’t get an integrated fridge/freezer again, because they’re so much smaller (unless you can get a double or extra large somehow). A standard size fridge fits so much more than a standard size integrated fridge.

I loved not seeing the washing machine etc.

We didn't want integrated, but got ours from Boots Appliances. They're the same company as ao.com, but the added bonus is you get boots advantage points too.

Yeah, no to integrated fridge/freezer - tiny!

No to any of them, as it's much more expensive and time-consuming to replace them!

I'm doing the same as you. Re-doing a small kitchen and having all integrated appliances for the look. And probably no wall fitted cupboards. I'll have 2 integrated under counter fridges, one with an ice box.

When we are doing our kitchen we were advised:

Dishwasher - fine, easy to install and replace, just a case of bolting a door onto it.

Washing machine - not so easy to install. Hard to pull out for maintenance. Restricted choice.

Fridge-freezer - don't do it, if it needs replacing you will have to find one with the exact same dimensions and ratio of fridge to freezer which really cuts down the choice. Again harder if it needs maintenance, can't guarantee doors won't get damaged etc.

Another no to an integrated fridge from me. We have integrated dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. I bought a spare door for the dishwasher as we kept our old one and it is semi integrated but they're not easy to find so I bought a fully integrated spare door.
I was worried about the washing machine being smaller but it's perfect.
We bought all ours from AO apart from combi microwave from JohnLewis.

We just moved from a small house to a big house and I will happily never go integrated again.

However, in our old house, I did try everything integrated because I felt like our small kitchen was just dominated by appliances.

I would recommend integrated dishwasher. I would not recommend integrated fridge.

I'm 50/50 on the washing machine.

Integrated undercounter fridges are tiny and a total pita to access and they have zero capacity. Integrated dishwashers leak, need moving and then your kitchen looks crap because nothing quite lines up anymore. You may be able to tell I don't think integrated appliances are a good idea........

We have integrated everything - personally hate the look of stand alone applicances, think it really undermines the look of a kitchen. If you have a small kitchen and have a dishwasher / washing machine / FF etc on display, it would just look very disjointed in my view.

Another recommendation for Boots.com. We bought FF from them, used John Lewis for induction hob, ovens (all Neff but at the low end of their range - have been brilliant). FF is 60/40 Fridge / Freezer - we're a family of 5 and more than big enough for us. Just make sure you choose the split which aligns with the doors if you've already ordered your kitchen.

We have all integrated appliances and it works well for us as I hate clutter. I do agree that fridges and freezers are on the small side if they are integrated as they are narrower. However we had the space to have them separate and both tall. If you really want a 50:50 integrated fridge freezer for the look I would think about an overflow fridge/freezer in a utility room or garage if you have space. If your family is small you may not need this but we have 2 teenage boys and get through lots of food!

Another pro integrated dishwasher, they are so common there is lots of choice, and as PP says it's easy to maintain them as the door just bolts on.

FF - we had integrated in old kitchen, have just upgraded to an 85cm wide free-standing and the capacity difference is incredible. However if we'd had room I'd have had a tall integrated fridge and freezer next to each other. Baffles me why it's not easier to get integrated American-style ones, the only one I could find was a Fisher Paykel and cost £3k!! I really prefer the look of integrated.

Microwave is in a wall cupboard, we don't use it often and just keep the cupboard door open when we do

Washing machine and dryer are not integrated but live in a cupboard (stacked) so not on view

I'm a John Lewis girl and v happy with everything from there; only exception is the FF which is Ikea (Vinterkall) and (despite some delivery hassles) I LOVE it.

Only an integrated dishwasher here. Freestanding fridge and separate freestanding freezer, freestanding washing machine and tumble dryer which will be hidden behind doors.

Hi, just wondered what you decided in the end?
Our intergrated Neff dishwasher 10+ finally packed up and it has is expensive to get the matching door to our existing kitchen. These appliance do wear down eventually even with good care. I don't want to rebuild the kitchen again.

All integrated here as hate dust! Fridge freezer is fine because we have a second fridge, plus a floor/ceiling wine fridge and a chest freezer in the garage. But if you only have room for one then I would go as large a free standing one as you can get! Just be aware that if you go for Neff there is currently a delay in getting some products because of microchips needed. AEG are very good - we have them in our work kitchen.