Appliances In A Kitchen Renovation

Before finalising your kitchen design, work through these five steps:

1. List your essentials. Decide which appliances you need and whether any extras would make everyday life easier.
2. Check the dimensions. Confirm appliance sizes, housing requirements, door clearance and ventilation space.
3. Choose integrated or freestanding. This affects the look of your kitchen, available capacity and future replacement options.
4. Plan connections. Confirm electrical, water, drainage, gas and extraction requirements with the appropriate installer.
5. Coordinate delivery and fitting. Agree dates with your kitchen fitter and our delivery team so everything arrives when the space is ready and with enough time for any potential delays.

You don’t have to buy every appliance at the beginning of the project. You do, however, need to know what you’re planning for before the kitchen layout and services are signed off.

Start by thinking about a normal week rather than your dream kitchen. Do you cook from scratch most evenings? Do you shop once a week and need plenty of fridge space? Is your dishwasher running every day? Do you regularly entertain, or is the kitchen mainly somewhere to prepare quick meals? These questions help you work out where your money will make the biggest difference.

A keen home cook might value a flexible hob, a larger oven and effective extraction. A busy family might prioritise fridge-freezer capacity and a dishwasher that can handle frequent loads. If you rarely use specialist cooking functions, you may be better off spending that money elsewhere.

Make a short list of your must haves and nice to haves. It will make comparing products much easier.

Every decision matters in a small kitchen, but the goal is usually to make the space feel as open, organised, and uncluttered as possible.

This is where integrated appliances can make a real difference. Because they sit behind cupboard doors, they create a seamless look that helps the room feel calmer and less visually busy. Instead of lots of different surfaces and finishes competing for attention, everything blends together. Integrated fridges from brands like Liebherr or NEFF are particularly popular in compact kitchens for exactly this reason, they quietly do their job without drawing attention to themselves.

Another feature that often gets overlooked in smaller kitchens is ventilation. Extraction units might not be the most exciting part of a renovation, which is why they’re often pushed down the priority list. But in a compact space, they can make a huge difference. Without proper ventilation, cooking smells and moisture can build up quickly, making the room feel less comfortable day to day.

With a little more space comes a little more flexibility, and often a few more decisions. This is where many kitchens naturally settle into a mix of integrated and freestanding appliances. You might choose a built-in oven and hob for a tidy, seamless look, while keeping a freestanding fridge freezer for extra storage. Brands like Samsung and LG are often popular here, especially for larger fridge freezers that suit family life.

At this stage, it helps to think less about individual appliances and more about how you’ll move through the room. Ask yourself:

• Where will you stand when you’re cooking?
• Is your fridge close enough to your prep area to feel convenient?
• Would you prefer your oven at eye level rather than bending down?

These small details have a big impact on how your kitchen feels to use, not just how it looks. Medium sized kitchens are also where people often forget about the “in-between” appliances. Not the major ones, but the things you use every day: the microwave, kettle, toaster, or coffee machine.

If you don’t plan a place for them, they usually end up on the worktop, quietly stealing valuable space and creating clutter. A dedicated cupboard, appliance garage, or even a thoughtfully planned corner can make a surprising difference once the kitchen is finished.

A larger kitchen opens up more possibilities, but it also requires a little more discipline. It can be tempting to fill the space simply because you can. In reality, larger kitchens often work best when they’re carefully organised into zones: one area for cooking, another for prepping, perhaps even a separate drinks station or entertaining space.

This is where statement appliances can really shine. A range cooker from brands like Rangemaster or Bertazzoni can become a true focal point, adding personality as well as practicality. At the same time, it’s easy to get carried away.

Just because you have space for a wine fridge, warming drawer, or second oven doesn’t necessarily mean you need them. Before adding extra appliances, ask yourself whether they’ll genuinely make daily life easier, or simply add more complexity. The most successful large kitchens tend to feel considered, not crowded.

Open plan kitchens look beautiful, but they often come with one hidden challenge: noise. In a separate kitchen, you can close the door and forget about the hum of appliances. In an open plan space, that same sound becomes part of your living area. You might not notice it straight away, but over time it can make a real difference. A dishwasher running during a film, or a fridge cycling on while you’re working, can become surprisingly distracting. That’s why quieter appliances are well worth considering.

Quiet Mark, an independent certification for low noise products, can be a helpful guide when comparing options. It’s not something every appliance achieves, so it can help narrow down your choices.

It’s also worth checking the appliance’s decibel (dB) rating. As a rough guide, a dishwasher below 45dB will usually feel much quieter in everyday use, which can make a real difference in a space where cooking, relaxing, and entertaining all happen in the same room.

Brands such as Miele, AEG, and Siemens are often associated with quieter premium appliances, particularly dishwashers and washing machines, but it’s always worth checking the noise rating of the specific model rather than relying on the brand alone.

As you plan, think about where sound will travel.

• Is your dishwasher close to where you relax?
• Is your extractor fan positioned near your dining area?
• Will your fridge be within earshot while you’re working from home?

Small decisions like these can have a surprisingly big impact on how the space feels.

A few details are much easier to sort out on paper than once the kitchen has been fitted.

Choosing your kitchen extraction too late. The hood may need a duct route, particular positioning or space within the ceiling or cabinetry. Decide on the approach while the layout is still flexible to help give you more flexibility in your new cooker or ceiling hood. 

Forgetting door and drawer clearance. A fridge may fit neatly between two units but still be awkward to use if its door can’t open fully. We always recommend checking nearby walls, handles, islands and walkways.

Focusing on external dimensions alone. Two appliances of a similar size can have different housing, ventilation and connection requirements. Always check the manufacturer information and installation instructions for the exact model.

Underestimating storage needs. A fridge freezer that looks right in the kitchen may not have enough usable capacity for your household. Compare the stated fridge and freezer volumes before deciding.

Forgetting everyday countertop appliances. Kettles, coffee machines, toasters and microwaves need a practical home. Decide which will stay on the worktop and which need to be stored away, then you’ll need to plan suitable access and sockets without carrying the appliances across the kitchen each time you need them.

Ordering the same day the kitchen fitters plan to install. Check delivery access, fitting arrangements and the kitchen programme before booking delivery. This can help avoid any delays in delivery that can end up costing you more.