Does this ruin my new kitchen?

[KitchenLayoutHelp]

We are moving into a new house, there was an integrated fridge freezer included that was too small for us, we already own an American fridge freezer we wanted to bring with us.

This isn't our kitchen, ours isn't finished yet but this is the same size and lay out. I have (badly) edited the kitchen like ours to show where our American fridge freezer is going and where the breakfast bar is being shortened to to allow extra room to pass by it.

It just looks a bit rubbish. I love how big open and bright the room looks in the first pic. I know we need to prioritise storage over looks but I'm worried it looks really bad and out of place. Does it?

I think even if it's a bit unpretty, after a day or two of living there you'll not notice it.

No way will I convince dh to get rid of breakfast bar. He's argued with the developer to have it included after a mix up so no way will he turn around and scrap it after that. He's been adamant since day one he wants it and that we need the workspace.

The quote they've given is too much for us to add in a new unit.

Realistically we can either afford to stick with our current plan, and try and decorate to tie it in with room

Or we have a full length integrated larder fridge and then an under counter freezer under breakfast bar, just means we lose out on a pan cupboard.

Dh is now getting grumpy at having to pay out to lose his beloved fridge (and ice cube maker) and keeps saying without it there's a big empty pointless space.

I give up

I tried to explain to him that it won't be a big empty space by making another edit. The squiggle is a clock but I've looked at the other one so much that now it does look weirdly empty 😂

I think it will be absolutely fine.

100% keep the bigger fridge. Functionality over looks!!

*Realistically we can either afford to stick with our current plan, and try and decorate to tie it in with room

Or we have a full length integrated larder fridge and then an under counter freezer under breakfast bar, just means we lose out on a pan cupboard*

Definitely Option 2 is thats the only 2 you have. All this because of ice ?! Normal freezers can make ice

It looks like an empty space now (as most kitchens so) when its not filled with a family of 5. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I think the design will work perfectly well OP. The squares in the plan represent 25cm don't they? So you have a 75cm or so gap between the fridge freezer and the island, the doors will open up, what, max 45cm because there are 2 that meet in the middle and width is 90cm and they don't open square onto the island anyway, they're further along a bit.

The only thing that crossed my mind - in the utility, if washer and dryer are on top of each other you may have room for tall fridge freezer there?

@Africa2go

*Realistically we can either afford to stick with our current plan, and try and decorate to tie it in with room

Or we have a full length integrated larder fridge and then an under counter freezer under breakfast bar, just means we lose out on a pan cupboard*

Definitely Option 2 is thats the only 2 you have. All this because of ice ?! Normal freezers can make ice

It looks like an empty space now (as most kitchens so) when its not filled with a family of 5. Good luck with whatever you decide!

It's mainly the extra cost. It's costs us nothing to keep our original plan but several hundred to change to the new plan. We've already gone over budget. Also yes I am sort of clinging on to my ice maker. Maybe it's time to let go

Okay I've made my mind up. Keep the fridge and decorate it. You'll be very grateful of the pan cupboard and fridge space.

@Ithinkim

Okay I've made my mind up. Keep the fridge and decorate it. You'll be very grateful of the pan cupboard and fridge space.

Atleast one of us has made up our mind. Every time I decide I change my mind again

I hate to say it, but unless you choose all your family and friends by looks alone, and pose them all just right, your kitchen might not look perfect. But despite knowing some imperfect humans you can still have a very welcoming (and useful) kitchen. I hope you enjoy your new home!

@Ithinkim

Okay I've made my mind up. Keep the fridge and decorate it. You'll be very grateful of the pan cupboard and fridge space.

And the larder cupboard.

Your husband is very keen on it isn't he OP? In the past when I've felt doubtful about house decisions and a partner has felt very confident on an issue I remind myself that I am only 50% of the equation, I don't get to overule everything because of my uncertainty! (female partners for me so no internalised misogyny at work,thanks ) It helps me to relax into the decision more and think 'well they're very happy about this and that is important.'

I think it looks fine

I’d just stick with the American fridge.

We have an alcove in our dining room either side of the fireplace wall that we have put our fridge in for the same reason. It looks fine, is out the way and works for us. Other people may disagree as it’s slightly outside the kitchen space but I would go with what works for you. Is there any other space you can use?

@KitchenLayoutHelp - your layout shows 1 meter between the fridge (closed) and the breakfast bar. I just measured mine and it's the same. You'll be fine.

I liked the idea upthread of building a 'case' around the fridge to match your kitchen. You could have a wine rack or bookshelf one one side and made the whole set up look more 'integrated'.

Never compromise on fridge size. You'll regret it.

Ooh OP, it's great to have a first world kitchen dilemma for us all to sink our teeth into!

I think stick with your existing American fridge freezer plan. I'm kind of with your DH - the big gap looks a bit empty. You really won't regret bigger refrigeration as your children grow. And you get to keep ice and breakfast bar - wins all round. Plus a bit of compromise.

Also, you most likely will get used to it. And if not, within a year or so you might have found a new first world problem to keep us all busy and distracted.

It would annoy me because it sticks out so much and blocks light but an American style fridge has never appealed to me anyway while it sounds as though you and your dp love that fridge so why not just keep it?

Nah, your new pictures look much better without your big F/F (imo).

I think it looks fine but you need to move an item of furniture behind you to the right distance and practice opening your fridge. We have a normal fridge facing a spot where people keep leaving a laundry basket/box to go to the bin/ pile of school bags etc and I find you can’t open it comfortably and then look at the contents at all if anything is there at all, we’re talking a metre away at least. Moving the breakfast bar further into the dining area seems to solve this well though.

Looking back at the first picture of the blackboard (awesome) you posted, there’s some small high cabinets on top of that fridge. If you got something like that made for yours, it would draw the fridge into the kitchen. I’d go for deeper cupboards than they did though as the shallow ones look odd.

@Wingedharpy

No point having a tiny fridge that looks beautiful, though.

Practicality over aesthetics every time, in this house.

This!!! Especially if it's a family of 5!

Never compromise on fridge size. You'll regret it.

I disagree! We are a family of 5 and didn't buy an American fridge because I felt the space was more important - especially as your children get to be teenagers they just take up so much more space on their own! Our freezer has a pull out drawer for icecubes and that is more than a day's supply - how many ice cubes does your DH need??

I would go for the larger fridge freezer personally.

You can play around on ao.com with dimensions and pick by width and depth.

This seems to be the one that is the least depth - here. I don't have one - ours is probably at the other end of the scale.

I didn't think about depth - assumed they were all the same. When our old one died I bought a different brand - I checked the width would fit but didn't think about height or depth! Managed to fit it in but only by moving the cupboard over the top up about 3 cm! So the top line is not exactly even anymore. And the fridge sticks out by about 10 cm from the units. You soon get used to it!