How to Choose the Right Appliances for your IKEA Kitchen Remodel

Tips for Selecting Major Kitchen Appliances

Proper appliance selection and placement in your IKEA kitchen will make a big difference.

Coming up with a kitchen design idea that works is an applied science. Our kitchen design services at IKD reflect that sentiment, and that’s why we want to guide you through some appliance options that will save you time, money, and stress.

Whether it’s your refrigerator, cooktop, or dishwasher, reviewing do’s and don’ts will make a massive difference with the types of appliances you choose and how you implement them in your IKEA kitchen.

In this article, we look at tips to maximize the appliance choices you make in your design!

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Making Your Refrigerator Work With IKEA Cabinetry

It’s important to give your fridge the correct amount of space and choose its placement early in your design. Leaving your fridge next to the wall, as shown here, is a big no-no (unless there’s no other option).

Not only does this make the entire design look poorly planned, but it’s also impractical – and here’s why: The door must open more than 90 degrees to remove the drawers and clean your fridge properly. The more the door is opened, the easier it is to put in and take out food. Just think about how difficult it’ll be to store a leftover cake or a Thanksgiving turkey if the door doesn’t open wide enough!

While some designers will suggest adding a filler of at least 3″ to provide additional space, the best option is to reposition your fridge. Design a standard wall and base IKEA cabinet of at least 12″ to the side for additional counter space, or add a tall cabinet. Planning this space also helps to give the fridge a built-in look

Induction Cooktops: A Possible Replacement for Your Stove

A kitchen design is dictated by the things you need to have in that room: A refrigerator/freezer, oven, and stove are par for the course.

But have you considered induction cooktops? This customer did and was pleased with his decision!

Induction creates a magnetic field that reacts with the pan’s metal, making the whole pan the heating element. This cooks your food rather than the heat coming from below.

An induction cooktop can be more effective than gas or traditional electric cooking. For a start, the cooktop remains cooler because only the pan gets hot.

Also, the level of heat control is instant, making it as fast as gas cooking and much faster than an electric ceramic cooktop, which has elements that can take a while to cool if you lower the temperature.

Don’t forget about the speed! Because it uses the pan as the element, you can cook a lot faster. A pint of water will take around three minutes with a gas cooktop. With induction, you can boil in half the time.

It’s also almost 84% more energy efficient compared to gas cooking. An IKEA induction cooktop, such as the four-element IKEA NUTID, can be a time and money saver over the long term.

Selecting Your IKEA Range: Gas or Ceramic?

When buying IKEA ranges, there are free-standing and slide-in ranges. An experienced IKEA kitchen designer will ask you for the range type you will use to best incorporate your appliances around the IKEA SEKTION cabinet framework.

Here’s a comparison.

Free-standing ranges:

• Available model: IKEA LAGAN ($499.00)
• Dimensions: 29-7/8″ W and 27-1/2″ D
• Easy to place anywhere in the kitchen. It doesn’t require a special cabinet treatment.
• A ceramic glass cooktop makes it easy to clean.
• Convenient electronic timer with delayed start function.

Slide-in range:

• Available model IKEA FRAMTID Gas ($429.00)
• Includes a standard-sized oven with a drawer underneath.
• Dimensions: 30″ W and 21″ D. (You must leave enough space for standing because they’ll be considerably deeper than your cabinets.)
• Creates an integrated look within the kitchen as the edges rest on the counter.

An Integrated Dishwasher for a Custom Look

Did you know that IKEA has a model for an integrated dishwasher? The IKEA RENLIG stainless steel built-in dishwasher ($439.20) is a great option to reduce visual clutter and give your kitchen a truly custom look. It creates an illusion of a streamlined row of cabinets that looks great in smaller kitchens.

This dishwasher should be used with an IKEA cabinet door in the same design as the rest of the kitchen.

So, which door do you use? You can use any door as long as it’s 24″ wide and 30″ tall.

Remember to include a handle and cover the lower side with a plinth as if it were another cabinet. We also recommend making sure that there’s enough space for the door to swing open. 1″ of space between the plinth and the actual door panel should be enough.

Pro tip: ensure the protective metal plate doesn’t interfere with the door opening by loosening the two pieces of the plate, allowing them to slide down about 1/2″, and tightening them back with a screwdriver after installing your door.

This dishwasher’s estimated annual operating cost is $31 for electricity and $23 for natural gas. It’s also a ‘green’ appliance option manufactured by Whirlpool exclusively for IKEA.

Learn more about how we can design your IKEA kitchen, bath, and closet on our website.