Picking the Right Kitchen Appliances

Earlier this year, we bought a house that needed a lot of renovation and one of the many items on our to-do list was to create an open plan kitchen that would complement our lifestyle. As this was our first time taking up such a task (we have only watched it on Grand Design type programs), we were completely lost at times but luckily our builder, James Cook, guided us along the way. After the supporting beam arrived, he soon took down the wall which opened up the space into the kitchen.

When I shop for kitchen appliances, I always like to visit the showroom rather than just buying it online through pictures. It is quite important to me that I can feel how the appliances work or if it looks modern for the look of my kitchen. One of the many brands that caught my eyes was Grundig while we were shopping at Currys PC World. To us, they are quite a brand new name in the UK market but in fact, they have been around with a 74-year history and known for its consumer electronics products from the 1970s and ’80s. Grundig is a German heritage brand and they launched home appliances in the UK in 2013, exclusively through Currys PC World. Their premium brand positioning is based on style, quality, sophisticated and mindfulness.

So, when picking the right kitchen appliances, there are many things to consider:

1. Get your measurements right

Not all kitchen appliances will fit into the space in your kitchen. You also have to be certain that the appliances will fit through your doorways, hallways and stairs for delivery. We have an American-Style fridge freeze and it wouldn’t fit through our front door nor the side door from the garage. Instead, they had to deliver the fridge via our garden and through the bi-fold doors before fitting into the gap! If you are looking for a new fridge, why not check out the Grundig fridges. They use advanced cooling technologies that you can keep food for longer resulting in less waste. The technologies include – FullFresh+, VitaminCare Zone and a Super Fresh Zone. Grundig believes people should enjoy good food and respect it and has a Global partnership with Food for Soul and world-renowned chef Massimo Bottura. Check out their Respect Food website for recipes and tips on how to reduce your food waste.

2. Built-In or Free Standing

I always felt that all my kitchen appliances should be freestanding so that I can take them away when I moved. But my builder opened my world by giving us custom built-in cupboards to hide away all the white goods! Now I won’t need to worry about choosing the right colour appliance to match the rest of the appliances!

My builder built this cupboard for me to hide away my washing machine and dryer! I am loving it! Once the doors are closed, no one would know they were there!

One of our built-in kitchen appliances was the dishwasher. One of the things we learned is to check with the manufacturer that the appliance door will fit into the plinth. Some appliances will require you to cut the plinth to fit the door on the machine. When you look for a dishwasher, check for well-designed interiors like adjustable racks. This can be useful if your loads range from wine glasses to pots. The position of the controls is another variable: in some models, they are located on the front of the door, in others, they are on top of the door and others will shine a light on your floor to tell you if the programme is finished!

3. Induction or Gas Hobs

This depends on the house you buy. Some areas have gas supply while some areas may not. If your current house is using electric, maybe you can look into getting an induction hob. There are so many advantages of getting an induction hob which are very energy efficient and provides a more precise way of cooking.

We have a gas hob in this house and instead of the usual four hobs, we bought one with five hobs as I rely on hob cooking much more than oven cooking. As we have a bigger hob, we have also had to increase the size of the cooker hood to 80cm to match it.

4. Single or Double Oven

Due to limited kitchen space, we only have a single oven but it is installed to our waist height for easy access. There is no more bending down to get the oven tray!

If you are looking for different types of ovens, Grundig have a range of ovens to suit your needs like: Speed ovens that have a chef assist programme, which has over 30 pre-set programmes and selects the correct temperature and duration from the selected recipe or multifunction ovens with self cleaning mode, which reduces stubborn grease to dust that can easily be wiped away.

Picking the right kitchen appliances is an important part of designing and furnishing your kitchen. Most of them will serve you for a long time and it is essential that they are made from a good quality brand.

Have you recently thought about getting a new kitchen? Why not share your tips by commenting below.

Disclosure: This is a featured post.