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?

Two questions.

1. Are the doors on the beast equal sizes?

If not, I'd be marking out measurements using boxes, newspaper, cushions etc on the floor and working out just how much clearance I've got.

1. How much traffic do you expect through kitchen, past the breakfast bar, around the fridge, and out of the back door?

@FanSpamTastic

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!

That’s a good price.

You can go even slimmer if they’re integrated - mine is 54 cm in depth, but packs in a huge amount.

Oh @KitchenLayoutHelp I feel for you.

We lost our America FD when we moved (it was tough to get out so we threw it in as part of the deal).

Three years on, I do miss the space of an American fridge freezer, but I have realised that even with a now bigger family the reason it's full is because we don't meal plan properly. When we do storage is fine.

I do however hugely miss the ice and cold water dispenser. We will therefore change (we can fit it in but previous owners left us there's) or get a hot/ cold water tap. Is that a possibility for you, even if not something you do immediately ?

Failing that, could you build cabinets this side of the picture (ie coming towards where you stood to take the photo) and next to the AFF? That would make it feel more integrated and the areas tide together ? Or if you have a side board could you put it there ?

I would keep to your original plan with the American fridge. We are also a family of 5 and couldn't live without it.

You can always add something (a cabinet, plant, etc) to "diguise" the big fridge, but you can't manufacture enough room for all of your food in an integrated unit.

Once everything is in place, it'll look much better than how you're picturing it... or photoshopping it :)

@KitchenLayoutHelp how's it gone? Which way did you jump?

I took my integrated fridge freezer out in favour or an American style one, and uninstalled pull out baskets for food storage. Best decision ever. The kitchen space is smaller, but we can store more food and appliances.

What did you decide @KitchenLayoutHelp? Post a photo!

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread- only the first 15 or so replies, so apologies if this has been mentioned by a pp. go on to www.kitchenplanner.net and plan out your kitchen and then you can go 3D and walk around it. I reckon if you do that you will actually think it's ok- the perspective of that photo isn't helpful but this should put your mind at rest

Gosh I just realised this is an oooold thread! Would love to know whether the OP thought it worked in the end!

Can it not go in the utility room? That's where ours is- it is a side off the kitchen. I love it- has really made the kitchen look open.