Kitchen appliances & positioning

[Sunisshining12]

Hi all, after your opinions please:

Option 1: 2 ovens + microwave + coffee machine in a grid/quad with full height larders either side.

Option 2: 1 oven + 1 oven/microwave combi (side by side), full height larders either side & coffee machine elsewhere.

I feel like the coffee machine gets a bit ‘lost’ in a grid & want it to be a bit of a feature.

But then I’m not sure what an oven/microwave combi is like in reality. Can’t get my head around it having no turntable. Are they as easy & quick to use as standard microwaves?

I have small kids & do an average amount of cooking I guess. Have family over weekends.

Warming drawers: good or never use?

Dishwasher - 1 or 2?! Does anyone have 2 & regret it?

Hose tap or standard tap?

AEG, Neff or Siemens? Or Miele if budget allows?

Opinions & advice welcome :)

But i would have two dishwashers if poss
Warming drawer is only ever full of baking dishes etc.
Two sinks definitely
Miele has always been the best
Like the look of hose tap but not tried one.
Kwooker tap might be very useful

@Thesuzle

Have i read it correctly You are thinking about having larder cupboards both sides of the cooker etc arrangement ? Where are you going to put a hot oven dish if not straight onto a work surface next to the oven ? Or are you going to turn around completely and put it down behind you ? Just thinking of small people whom lurk behind you, and the dangers of carrying hot oven trays and pans any further than you have to .

That’s right, was thinking ovens appliances & 2 slim larders either side (300mm). Then there’s an island directly behind to turn to put the hot trays on. I know what you’re saying & ideally I’d have worktop but then I have to sacrifice the larders & I presumed most people had that set up nowadays, may be wrong!

Added the quooker to my list!

I really wouldn’t have two thin larder units. I think one larder cupboard is a lot better. It’s neater and everything is in one place. It’s messy having two larders.

Unless you have a large family, 2 dishwashers is overkill. I have a smaller stainless steel veg prep sink and a very big double ceramic butler sink. There’s quite a bit that doesn’t go into a DW so having a big sink (s) is vital. More pan or crockery drawers is better than 2 dishwashers.

I sacraficed this streamline gorgeous kitchen for a normal one as I was losing almost 75% of my worktop space and I didn't want an island. It doesn't look as streamlined but much more practical.

@My0My

We have a built in coffee machine but be warned, it goes wrong a lot. It has the most used manual in the house - the fault finder page. It’s a Miele Nespresso. It’s positioned between my 2 fridges and above my freezer. It has 2 drawers below it for storing the coffee and cups etc.

Other things that are vital in a big kitchen: two sinks. One for veg prep, another double for everything else near the dishwasher. At least two built in bins for separating recycling/waste. An induction hob and two ovens. My new one is a Miele and my older one is a Kuppersbusch but that’s now the equivalent of an antique!

My wine fridge (Leibherr) is in the laundry room. I’m not a fan of looking at it all the time. It’s wonderful though and it’s built under only.

My big tip is two fridges. Also a larder unit with shelves where you just have standard cupboard doors to access it. Mine is around 900 wide. Don’t have a pull out one. I have crockery draws below it. It looks attractive and I’ve had a pull out one I ditched.

I have a combi microwave. Yes they are as good as a turntable one. Way easier to clean a flat bed. Mine is a Neff and its 1000 power is great. Goes down to 90 for defrosting. Yes, they are hot after being an oven but that’s to be expected. It’s built in and it’s excellent. I don’t generally need it as a microwave after cooking in it.

Can I ask why do you suggest not having any pull-outs?

I am designing my kitchen at the moment and umming between having a few pull outs (for a bit of variety) or sticking with normal cupboards throughout (for costs sake)

Warming drawer - I use it as a slow cooker, using a normal casserole pot.

Why no pull outs? I thought 2 x full height would be ideal for sauces, packets & condiments?

If I ditch them & add a standard pantry style the ovens are no longer centre to the wall. The wall is 2.4m

@Sunisshining12

Why no pull outs? I thought 2 x full height would be ideal for sauces, packets & condiments?

If I ditch them & add a standard pantry style the ovens are no longer centre to the wall. The wall is 2.4m

I would agree with you OP.

Not sure if this is relevant for you but when I did my last kitchen we got the carcasses and then purchased the pantry shelves and runners from ebay and fitted them ourselves. Much cheaper.

I’m not a fan because they are narrow and not a good look.

Why not have the ovens above each other and get some work surface? Why not have larder storage on another wall? I don’t think it’s useful either side of ovens. Look at Houzz or high end kitchen manufacturers to see how they position cupboards and larder storage and ovens. They are rarely next to each other.

Most kitchens are zoned into storage, cooking and sink areas. I would think having dry ingredient storage near the fridge would make more sense. In the cooking zone you want pots and pans and equipment. Handy should be food storage but near prep area and hob.

Just because you have a wall you don’t have to fill it up with narrow units. I think they are old fashioned. Have a look at Neptune kitchens. They give you great ideas for wall use if you want to fill it up.

My solid wall has two fridges, freezer and coffee machine and storage. Larder unit it handy for hob.

I didn’t even know you could do this! Brilliant!

I'm not keen on the pull-out things that have a door fixed to the front. The rattle noisily and seem to go wrong more often.

I prefer the swing-out/pull forward accessory like Hafele or a wide door on wide-opening hinges and big drawers or racks inside like Blum Tandembox. You can have shallow or deep, and they are very strong.

When you have pull-out storage, it's important to have the top of the cabinet securely fixed to the wall so it can't topple forward.

There are a few versions of swing-out, some have door-mounted storage racks as well as the swing-out ones. I'm told the version sold at B&Q is not as good as the branded Hafele but I don't remember what the difference is.

That’s useful to know. To be honest, I’ve been so fixated on the units, worktop & flooring I’ve not given much thought to internal storage. What would you are your top recommendations for internal storage?

I agree with Piglet, the pull out larders are really rattly and you can only see into them from the side. We got a big larder cupboard with the individual drawers inside - amazing!

Here are some ideas.

And some more.

We decided to have a coffee station - a complete cupboard/shelves dedicated to all things hot drink related. Much more of a feature than an integrated coffee machine.

When considering appliances side by side in a larder unit it's worth finding out the sizes.we were going to have a double oven next to a single oven with microwave on top but the sizes didn't match and it looked really odd

Or would have done if we hadn't of changed it

Issue I have is the wall is 2.4m. I want 2 ovens & a microwave so side by side they takes up 1.8m. Leaving only 60cm for a pantry or something similar. I think it looks odd to have the microwave on top of 1 oven. The other wall is fridge & freezer. Then a 2m run of worktop & standard units, with sink in the middle.

Is there another way to position these integrated appliances?

If you have a larder cupboard like My0My’s pictures, you can have a microwave hidden inside it. We do. You could have two ovens side by side, then a 120 cm larder with microwave inside, then fridge?

Or in some other order

You can have a 600mm swing-out or internal drawers.

i wouldn't put a microwave in a pantry unit because it throws out heat.

A large combi microwave is very useful and can be used as an extra oven, or for plate warming.

I would swap out the integrated coffee machine for a freestanding one. All the integrated ones I have come across get very poor reviews both for the quaility of coffee and the reliabilty.

The neff warming drawers also get very poor reviews. If you are having multiple ovens you can use one as a warming drawer instead.

i wouldn't put a microwave in a pantry unit because it throws out heat.

Yes, our larder has a slide and hide door so we leave it open when using the microwave. Should have mentioned that.

For the 2.4m wall, I'd have:

60cm pantry cupboard (not pull outs)
180cm worktop with 1 oven + 1 combi microwave/oven underneath + 1 big cupboard for pans / dishes

above the worktop, have open / decorative shelves for things you use often.

where is your hob? is that near the sink?

I wouldn’t go for built under single ovens with a wall available for full height. I assume you do have a work surface nearby?

With 2.4m you could match up the ovens side by side and possibly have the built in microwave oven above one of them. The microwave will not be the same height as a conventional oven. When places above a single oven it forms a double oven look.

Or - put the microwave oven below your hob. Then put the two identical looking ovens side by side. This takes 1200mm.

With the remaining 1200 you could have a very big larder arrangement or standard work surface with cupboards or a full height built in drinks station and larder. But I don’t see why you need 3 x600mm ovens side by side.