Integrated look appliances

[dj-gabriele]

Cutting cabinets?!?!

How is it? Why, during a remodel you would cut a cabinet? Don't you buy single pieces that stick together like Lego blocks? Like 30/45/60/90 cm pieces (in inches of course!) with some "special" pieces like corners or sink holders??? :O You usually have to change only the top and only if you completely reassemble or change the disposition of the furniture.
If one wants to change their cooktop simply pops out the old one and drops in the new one, 60 and 70 cm wide hobs have the same cutout footprint, a re-cut is needed only if somebody is upgrading from 60 to 90 cm.

@favorit: I guess you hit the point! Anyway, I must say that I've seen the 90 cm wide dishwasher from SMEG and it is impressive! There are 3 models and if I were to build my kitchen now I'd sure consider it. It's huge even if less than full height.
I hate country style appliances too and that Candy oven is sure less ugly than, say Mercatone Uno (re-badged Antonio Merloni) stuff! Ewww! (You should see my aunt's country style house...)
And, to stay with you, Louis, my parents have a kitchen that is similar to the one in your picture, guess it, from 1979 but this time the wood is walnut, the knobs are porcelain (real stuff, I can't believe it!) and the tiles are bigger and cream colour but still a little cozy but I love it as it makes the room heartwarming when the fireplace is lit

And finally, about the white socks... I'm still shivering! :S

 

[panthera]

Ah, yes, white socks, you had to be there in the '80s

It's kind of a Euro-joke, really. The stereotypical German tourist from the hilarious old film "Man spricht Deutsch".

(Which is set in one of the most beautiful areas of Latina in a really neat city, Terracina. If you make it to Italy, go there.)

And no, I don't really wear white socks with sandals, much less Birkenstock. I am gay, after all. After spending the last 10 days tripping over caravans parked everywhere, every which way (Oktoberfest) I couldn't resist the temptation. All Europeans take vacations in Italy when they can (who wouldn't?) and the Dutch, who are great fans of campers, pretty much have to take their caravans through Germany to get there.

This frequently leads to traffic reports in vacation months which warn of 'swarms' of Dutch caravans stretching to the horizon across the Autobahnen...

To the cabinets: American kitchen cabinets don't adhere to any standards across manufacturers or even within a given brand. This means any change you make in the kitchen involving a cabinet or two is going to have to be done with what's there - the odds of finding the same unit again or something fitting from the same line are null.

Here in Munich, if I wanted a 45cm dishwasher, I'd just slot out the 60cm cupboard it is framed into and put in a 45cm dishwasher cupboard and a 15cm cupboard next to it.

Nor do most American cabinets have any standard for the doors/fronts as we do here, so even just updating the fronts every 15 years or so by running down to the local furniture store and picking up the latest patern is out of the question. Even if you can find the same type of cupboard, the cupboard sizes have no relationship whatsoever to the built-in appliances.

Weird dimensions, no standards...but frequently all wood and generally of much higher quality that the particle board stuff most people buy here at IKEA.

Europeans are far more practical and light-years more modern in our technology than are the Americans. Still, given the choice between a cold, sterile fully built-in kitchen (one of those where you have to ask to find the refrigerator or dishwasher) and a cozy turn of the 19th century kitchen with a Westinghouse rainbow stove, no question which I prefer.

 

[mielabor]

Oh my,

I think I have to follow an "inburgeringscursus". Not only do I rarely see kitchens with integrated appliances, but also the caravan joke had to be explained to me! (Don't tell the officials or my passport will be withdrawn.)

 

[panthera]

2 out of 3

You did get the white socks joke, didn't you?

Please, say yes!

Actually, I would have bet on us in Southern Germany for having the most integrated kitchens. When friends here saw I intended not to build in the refrigerator and only planned on a few covered cupboards, they nearly died of Kreislaufkollaps...and when I said 'no Eckbank' and no no no Eicherustikal, several walked out of my life, forever...or until the next Oktoberfest when they wanted my apartment, at least.

 

[mielabor]

White socks...

No.
(Planning to seek refuge on an uninhabited island.)

I think that the reason why I don't see many integrated appliances is that most people I know live in rented apartments. Only expensive rented apartments come with integrated appliances. In most cases you will have to provide them yourself.

I have always associated the British with campers and caravans and that for Dutch people France is the most popular holiday destination. Italy is new for me.

 

[panthera]

Theo,

you just stay where you are, and forgive us our un-witty little jokes.

Oktoberfest is over, that's the main thing. One gets so tired of the Bierleichen littering the streets. All that hunky manflesh until you get close enough to smell them...

ewww.

Now, integrated bedrooms would be an interesting topic, no?

 

[foraloysius]

Whereever you go in Europe these days it's crowded with Dutch. No other nation seems to travel more in Europe with caravans than the Dutch. We are literally everywhere!

 

[hunter]

perhaps one issue...

....we have in the USA is that 'quality' appliances are more associated with what it LOOKS like rather than what its operating characteristics are.

If I tell people that my Whirlpool Quiet Partner dishwasher gets things CLEANER than my Asko used to, they look at me askance because a) it is not stainless steel inside b) it is not QUITE as quiet (but very close) and c) it is a US producer, not a Euro one.

But really it does a better job than my Asko fully integrated EVER did.

My Kitchenaid range (which I bought on sale for $1200 -- not cheap certainly but not 10,000 like many are spending) IS an electric (I HATE cooking with gas) but its burners are responsive, three of the four are dual zone, it has an electric convection oven that has very even heat, and a built in warming drawer. To buy a separate hob, wall oven, and warming drawer would have cost AT LEAST $5,000 from what I can see.

No, it isn't 'integrated' but that's not the fashion I'm after - I'm old enough to remember that you left a little space between the range and the cabinets because the range got hot

 

[panthera]

Hunter,

I think that is precisely what did in the US car industry as well as the German camera industry: The switch from cutting edge innovation to packaging old technology in a new form.

You can only face-lift so often before the question pops up: I am smiling, aren't I?

My honey has kept his kitchen at the level of 1947-53 where he could, those appliances are sturdy and will last another fifty years, easily. All the modern stuff gets replaced with sad and annoying frequency. Heck, even the Radarange from 1974 had to have another new fuse this past summer.

There have been some interesting studies recently showing that Americans were not running up so much debt because of their ever larger flat-screen TV purchases. They were running up debt paying for food and the necessities of living. I wonder if this jobless recovery won't lead to a rethinking of built-in obsolescence.

 

[kindalazy]

To hide or not to hide

We kind of debated this issue during our recent farm house renovation. 2 of our close friends recently renovated their kitchens, and integrated their appliances, and, we couldn't find the fridges. Not only that, but the hardware to match the cabinetry on the fridge, was in both cases, inadequate, and made opening an already difficult (Sub-Zero) fridge even harder to open.

We often have guests and family for the weekend, I didn't want to particularly have provide an orientation tour.

The best part of the new reno, is the bar area. A wine cooler, small sink, and the few cabinets are enough to keep my partner from being underfood when I'm preparing meals, which I'm sure will add years to the relationship.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Oh what a lovely and stylish kitchen! Fantastic!

 

[jeffg]

I've been looking and looking at this, and can't figure it out (see arrow). Is this a paint design on the wall, or just a shadow or photo artifact?

Very nice kitchen, by the way!!

 

[panthera]

Beautiful example

Of integrated done right. Thanks for sharing.
Jeff, I'm guessing artifact, the light switch wouldn't be that way, would it?

 

[hoovermatic]

Personally speaking I don't like integrated appliances. I like to see things where they are and not hide them behind doors. Is just my taste. That said Kindalazy, that is a very smart kitchen you have there!!

 

[hunter]

Regarding debt

Yes, I think more people are racking up debt buying necessities such as food.

I live below my means and always have. I hate the idea of living at the top of my income and have it drop drastically like it did a few years ago.

But I'm strange.

 

[kindalazy]

Thanks

Thanks for the compliment Hoovermatic!

Jeff, it's actually a paint design on the wall. It's a test area, and I'm not sure it works. I think I'd like narrower, even stripes, a bit darker. Thanks for the input!