Sandy Bounnoi
Design Studio Manager
Meet Sandy – our Senior Design Studio Consultant here to help guide you through the world of kitchen appliances. Continue reading as she provides the best tips and tricks for understanding the key factors to consider when selecting the perfect ones for your space.
From refrigerators, ovens and stoves, to range hoods and microwaves, kitchen appliances play a vital role in enhancing both the aesthetics and efficiency of your culinary haven. Our expert team of designers and home enthusiasts will guide you through the process of choosing appliances that blend seamlessly with your kitchen’s style, while also meeting your unique needs and preferences.
Chill in Style: Exploring Trendy Fridge Designs for All Kitchen Aesthetics
A counter-depth fridge is a space-saving and aesthetically appealing appliance that seamlessly integrates with your kitchen cabinetry. Unlike traditional refrigerators, which protrude past the countertop, a counter-depth fridge is designed to align with the surrounding cabinets, creating a streamlined and cohesive look. While these fridges may offer slightly less storage capacity compared to standard models, they make up for it with their sleek and modern appearance, as it blends in with your kitchen better and gives a more integrated look. Plus, it is more shallow, making it easier to clean and reach for food inside.
A regular/standard depth fridge is typically deeper, protruding beyond the kitchen cabinets and countertops. Since standard-depth fridges are deeper, they often have a larger storage capacity. This accommodates larger quantities of food and bulkier items, making them suitable for larger families or households with more extensive storage needs. Plus, due to their popularity, you will find more options on the market with a standard depth fridge.
What fridge style is your must-have?
A Bottom Freezer Fridge: The freezer compartment typically slides out as a drawer or opens with a door. They are popular for their ergonomic design, energy efficiency, and ability to organize frozen items more effectively.
A French Door Fridge: A french door fridge is characterized by its unique double-door design for the refrigerator compartment, with two narrow doors side by side. This style often offers a spacious and wide refrigerator section, making it easy to access and organize food. French door fridges usually feature a bottom freezer drawer, which provides ample storage space for frozen items.
Top Freezer: A classic and timeless look and is a great option when space is limited in your kitchen.
A Large-Sized Fridge: A large-sized fridge refers to a refrigerator that offers an above-average storage capacity. These fridges are ideal for families or individuals who require plenty of space to store food and beverages. Please note that your Design Consultant can work with you to make the opening dimension larger and there are different capacity of fridges depending on your family’s needs.
Panel Ready Fridge: A panel ready fridge is designed to blend seamlessly with your kitchen cabinetry by allowing you to install custom panels that match your cabinet doors. This design choice creates a built-in and integrated look, making the fridge practically invisible from the outside.
Ice Maker and Water Dispenser Fridge: A fridge with an ice maker and water dispenser features a built-in system that produces ice cubes or crushed ice and dispenses filtered water directly from the fridge door.
Elevate Your Kitchen with a Sleek Stove
A freestanding stove is a standalone appliance that can be placed anywhere in the kitchen as long as it has access to a suitable power source and gas connection and typically comes with a backsplash and controls at the back.
A slide-in stove is designed to fit seamlessly between kitchen cabinets and countertops, allowing them to blend beautifully with the surrounding cabinetry for a more integrated appearance. They have controls located at the front of the appliance, typically on the top panel, providing easy access without the need to reach over hot burners.
At Activa, our standard opening is for a 30” wide stove, but we can look at changing it to a 36” wide opening to accommodate a larger stove for your cooking needs
A cooktop and a built-in wall oven separates the cooking elements, providing more flexibility in kitchen design and layout. Cooktops can be installed on kitchen countertops or islands, while the wall oven can be positioned at an ergonomic height for easy access and enhanced cooking convenience. This setup allows home cooks to customize their kitchen arrangements to fit their specific needs and cooking style.
PLUS, our homes are set up for an electric stove, but if you love cooking with a gas stove, we can add a gas line for you.
Explore Range Hood Designs for Your Kitchen
An under-cabinet range hood features a sleek and compact design and it will blend in with the rest of your kitchen.
A chimney range hood extends from the cooktop or stove area, creating a focal point in the kitchen for a stylish look. We recommend installing a backsplash behind the chimney range hood to draw the eye up to the ceiling for extra attention!
The design element of a wood hood exudes warmth and natural charm, as it incorporates finely crafted wood materials, adding a touch of rustic elegance to the kitchen. This look is recommended for your Modern Farmhouse elevation!
From Convenience to Chic: Microwaves that Suit Your Kitchen
An Over-the-Range Microwave is a space-saving functionality, as it integrates seamlessly above the cooktop, providing a sleek and clutter-free solution for cooking and reheating while freeing up valuable countertop space.
Countertop Microwaves offers versatility and accessibility, allowing for easy placement on kitchen countertops while blending effortlessly with various kitchen styles.
Built-In Microwaves offer a seamless and customized look, as they integrate directly into cabinetry or walls, providing a sleek and sophisticated appearance while optimizing kitchen space.
Making a Splash: Choosing the Perfect Appliance Colours for Your Home
Choosing the color of your appliances is a crucial aspect of your kitchen design that can significantly influence the overall ambience and style of the space. You will want to create a cohesive and harmonious look for your kitchen, whether it is:
- Stainless steel
- Matte black
- Or white and black – when you select appliances in these colours, the appliances will blend in with your cabinets.
Your Design Studio Experience
Setting a budget will allow our team members to present options that fit this. The Design Studio is an exciting experience, but we want to ensure you stay within what you can afford. You can learn more tips on preparing for your visit in our Design Studio Selection blog. Picking appliances is fun, but first, you must have a plan. That’s where we come in! Our Designers know how to make your space work and where your appliances should go. So, remember to come prepared to your Material & Finishes Appointment with measurements and design preferences for your kitchen appliances.