Appliance Tips for Tiny Kitchens

Someone recently asked me for appliance recommendations for small kitchens. This is another of my favorite topics and was I ready! The four appliances below are my favorites for coaxing maximum function from a minimum of space without sacrificing design or quality:

1. GE Advantium over-the range-type combination convection oven/microwave/ventilator  
2. Two-burner Wolf gas cooktop
3.  Subzero under-counter refrigerator-freezer-icemaker
4. Fisher-Paykiel single dish-drawer dishwasher

These are all high-quality appliances (not cheap) but they can save a lot of space  Arranged properly, these appliances can provide you with a high-functioning galley kitchen in the space of a sizable closet: 5' x 7'. Yep believe it! All lined up against one wall they can be arranged to take up less than 7' of wall space. I'll go through them one-by-one:

GE Profile Advantium 240

GE Advantium 240: This is a great appliance, I don't know why kitchen designers don't use it more often. Convection oven, microwave, ventilator...three appliances in one. That's a lot of function in a space that's 30" x 16". What more do you need to know? Used as shown you can put a cabinet above it. If you have more headroom than legroom as apartments sometimes do, you can put a substantial cabinet over it. The fan can be vented or unvented with filters. As a cabinetmaker, I know that this type of appliance can be fussy to install (especially in frameless cabinetry, it depends on the cabinetry for some support and you can easily rack the cabinetry out of alignment if you're not careful) but the results of a careful installation are well worth it. To design a very small kitchen: put the Wolf cooktop to one side of the 30" space below this oven and use the remaining 15" for some of the space needed for a sink. The bad news: it costs around $1,000.00.

Wolf 15" Gas Cooktop

Wolf 15" Gas Cooktop: This is not a toy. the Wolf cooktop is the type of professional-level cooking appliance found in the larger Wolf  stoves but in compact form. It is heavy-duty and well made. It can be shoehorned into a 15" wide cabinet (it takes exactly 15" of space) but you will not be able to put a drawer beneath it. The remaining space in the 15" cabinet is a good place for a trash pull-out.

Sub-Zero 24" Undercounter Refrigerator

Sub-Zero 24" refrigerator-freezer-icemaker: Another triple-play. A well-made, highly functional appliance that is designed to take up a minimum of space. There are other undercounter fridges but they don't play well with others (difficult to integrate into the cabinetry). Save yourself the frustration, get the sub-z. After all you're saving money by having such a small kitchen right? This isn't a dorm fridge. It can give you a refrigerator, freezer, and icemaker in 24".  The best part about this appliance is that it doesn't use up any counter space as most all refrigerators do. This one attribute allows a much smaller kitchen.

Fisher-Paykiel Single Dishdrawer

Fisher-Paykiel Single Dishdrawer dishwasher: This is such a great idea I don't know why it took someone so long to think of it. OK it's been around for a while but it should have been a standard long before now. This dishwasher is 24" wide just like any other but it's only18" high. That means it can have a substantial 12" high cabinet drawer below it for more storage space. The Fisher-Paykiel is also a nicely made appliance that integrate well into either standard American style or European style frameless cabinetry (think IKEA).

So there you have it dear reader. A mini-kitchen that can handle the demands of the most discriminating kitchen designer as well as a gourmet cook. If you want some more tips about how to design with these units just ask.