Home design trends: Hidden appliances

As one of the most frequently used rooms in the home, it’s easy to see why the kitchen is a popular option for home remodeling. When people choose to redesign or remodel a certain area of their home, it’s usually because they want to make it feel more spacious or up to date. But knowing exactly how to go about it can be difficult, even for those who generally have a flair for interior design.

If you don’t think upgrading your kitchen appliances will make much of a difference in its overall design, perhaps you should consider hiding them altogether.

Benefits of disguised appliances

Hidden appliances are a hot kitchen design trend right now, and will likely continue to gain traction among homeowners.

“Often in kitchen design we ‘hide’ appliances,” explained Alure Designer Sherry Gossett. “We may cover a refrigerator, or dishwasher with a panel so it looks like cabinetry instead of standing out as an appliance.”

It is a simple yet significant way to instantly make the room feel more organized and elegant. Many of the appliances used in the kitchen already feature sleek surfaces and come in a wide range of colors and styles. But, even so, they still often tend to be somewhat of an eyesore in an otherwise consistent flow of design. Stainless steel appliances, for example, though incredibly polished and contemporary, can make a room feel colder and more bland than it should.

The dishwasher and refrigerator, for example, are two items with large or obvious surface area in the kitchen – and often attract people’s eyes when they walk into the room, taking away from all the other beautiful aspects and visually pleasing aesthetics in the space.

Disguised kitchen appliances are just one example of the many ways homeowners today are able to achieve a more consistent design, ultimately making not just the kitchen but the areas adjacent to it look and feel bigger. By breaking down visual barriers and establishing a better optical line, homeowners benefit from a room that is more sophisticated and ordered. As such, it becomes more than just an area used for cooking meals. It becomes a more comfortable and versatile space to hang out with family and host your guests, and is better positioned to act as an extension of your living room or dining room.

Tips for hiding kitchen appliances

If you don’t want your kitchen appliances to be the focal point of the room anymore, read on to learn about the different ways you can go about disguising them.

Carefully choose which to conceal
Keep in mind that you don’t need to conceal every appliance in the kitchen to reap the benefits offered by this design trend. In fact, you can strategically use this tactic to purposefully make a certain appliance or area of the kitchen the focal point, such as an industrial style stove you’re particularly proud of. Meanwhile, you can disguise the more unsightly and unfitting ones, like a black, outdated microwave that – while not visually appealing – still works great.

“Today there is a trend to hide the microwave in the island and create drama for over the cooktop,” Gossett explained. “Drawer base microwaves have become very popular for convenience and because it allows one to use a more decorative or industrial hood by the stove. Furthermore, hiding small appliances such as toasters, coffee makers, mixing bowls and blenders are often given a home in a cabinet or behind an appliance ‘garage.'”

Disguising even small appliances can have a significant effect.

Decide what the goal is
There are many reasons why disguised appliances can be an appealing kitchen remodeling option. But determining what specifically is driving you to hide your appliances can help you make better, more informed decisions in the planning process that will ultimately result in a more satisfying end-product. For example, if a more uniformed look is what you’re after, perhaps using the same cabinet paneling the refrigerator and dishwasher and using cabinetry to conceal smaller appliances is the way to go. On the other hand, if your motivation is to create more space, perhaps you should consider reinstalling microwaves, toasters and other appliances that are otherwise taking up counter space into draws or cabinets.

Disperse the refrigerator
As we already mentioned, one of the inconveniences about large kitchen appliances such as refrigerators is how bulky and visually distracting they can be. This is why more homeowners are starting to find a way to circumvent this problem altogether by downsizing and dispersing refrigerator units throughout the kitchen, House Logic reported. Not only does this allow you to disguise them to better blend with the overall design scheme, it allows you to create smaller and more convenient refrigeration spaces throughout the kitchen that are conveniently placed. For example, you could place compact yet sleek fridges under the kitchen island, where you usually prepare meals and lunches.

There are many benefits of hiding kitchen appliances – and ways to go about it. To learn more about how you can leverage this trend to achieve a more visually appealing and functionally pleasing space, visit our design visualizer or schedule a consultation with one of our kitchen design experts today.