Appliance talk is not always the most interesting, but I know a lot of you are making these decisions too, or may be in the future.
I'll also show you some pretty things, as I have been forcing myself to hang things on walls, not my strong point, but so important for making things homey.
We finally got a clock. It's remarkable how many clocks out there are stupid. You know what a clock needs to have? Readability at a glance. Just a thought…
This clock (affiliate link) had to go right here because for 23 years there was a microwave (in the niche created in the stack of bricks that we took down 18 months ago), the clock of which was consulted by both of us about fifteen hundred times a day.
We both have some sort of “phantom limb syndrome,” but for that clock. We caught ourselves and each other checking the time by looking over there constantly, and we kept saying, “We just need to put a clock there.”
I finally did!
So if you've been keeping up, you know that here in our 1860s house we have a kitchen with so many pathways, so many doors, windows, radiator, back stairs, pantry, and fireplace. There is literally nowhere for a fridge. I spent 23 years trying to figure it out, and finally I realized I needed a built-in counter-depth fridge. Well, it needed to be counter depth. The built-in (panel-ready) aspect was something that made it all fit in. I was all ready to try to get a white fridge but the truth is, this splurge of the panels to hide it was worth it.
Many people who come in here have no idea this is the fridge at all! I'm firmly in the camp of regarding the fridge, dishwasher, and range hood as not aesthetic and best hidden if possible. I know some people try to make a feature of them but I don't see it.
The fridge I chose is the Fisher-Paykel 36″ counter depth one (affiliate link). It has an ice maker but no dispenser. That's fine because I have my old fridge with its dispenser in the pantry, and that's just a few steps away. The ice maker works very well.
The interior is well designed. Yes, you give up a lot of space with a counter-depth fridge, but more than many other ones of this size. And the organization of it is great. I can see everything and the drawers and shelves are well made — they feel high quality and solid. Again, the fridge in the pantry (which beats having it in the garage as I did for all those years, let me tell you!) adds a good amount of fairly handy storage, so I'm good with the overall cubic feet of refrigeration (and inside freezer space) I have now.
This photo makes it look like not much can go in there, but actually it's quite spacious. I have been very happy with the amount of food it holds!
The nearest competitors for this category of appliance are quite a bit more expensive and the reviews aren't wonderful. A reader with many kids at home told me her experience with this one, the Fisher-Paykel, has been very good and she was afraid it would be too small but it's fine, so that helped me decide. I did buy the extended warranty for it (something I don't usually do, but thought would be prudent in this situation).
Other fridges people usually get — non-panel-ready, regular sized — are actually more expensive and have terrible reviews. I think the two areas of terribleness are wifi enabling (why??) and ice maker woes. So I felt this was a good option even though it seems so luxurious. (You can also get it as a regular counter depth fridge, not paneled, and because of the way the doors are hinged, it will fit into your run of cabinets very nicely.)
One issue with panel readiness is the necessity of getting handles!
Turns out these are quite expensive! Oy! Who knew!
These are the Rejuvenation unlacquered brass pulls that retail for $138 each for the 12″ size. You do need an appliance pull because you will be yanking on this all the time. There is a sort of suction in the doors that makes for a good hard yank to get them open. The pulls have to be heavy-duty.
The 12″ is a nice size. I feel 18″ would be too much for this situation. Which is good, because those retail for $189!! Not to mention shipping.
I was determined I was not going to pay that: $450 for the handles?? First I went into all the rabbit holes about hacking pulls out of something else (DIY bars, towel bars, who knows). I searched all the brands and sites (and you can certainly pay more).
Finally, I did a specific search on Facebook Marketplace for these particular Massey pulls and luckily found someone who had ordered too many and had had a listing up for 17 weeks! So I felt confident in making an offer. I think she was asking $50 each (still a bargain). We settled on $125 for all three with shipping included. Done and done!
So my recommendation is, if you think this built-in idea is for you down the road, start hunting for the pulls now. You'd be surprised what people have lurking in their remnant piles after their renovations!
So far the fridge has been performing great, I love the organization of it, and I am super happy with how it fits into my kitchen and just… disappears!
Prettiness break:
On to the dishwasher:
All my friends had insisted that I get a Bosch.
Knowing I would be paying retail for the range and the fridge*, I went on FBMP and found this Bosch 500 (which sells at the store for around $1100) for $200. (I have seen them out there for anywhere from $100 to $500 and that's the way to go, in my opinion!)
I knew it would work fine when I went to pick it up and the people's garage was nicer than most kitchens! Complete with cabinets, sink, and super clean floor! The dishwasher was pristine. I honestly doubt they really ever used it at all!
When you are buying appliances, you need to look at reviews. But sometimes you have to read between the lines. I was a little trepidatious due to the number of people saying the controls don't work, but I also trusted my friends (and Deirdre too, whose appliance repairman had told her to get one).
Now that I've used it, I see that there is a sequence you have to follow if you want to change away from the “auto” setting. My analysis is that most people leaving bad reviews haven't wrapped their minds around it. It's not completely intuitive, but once you get it, it is all good. It cleans dishes like a dream. You only have to scrape them (just to keep the filter from clogging). It's amazingly quiet. Super quiet!
And in theory it will also get its panel, which is safely out there in the garage and just waiting for the contractor to come figure it out. From what I have seen with the DIYers out there, as long as the controls are in the interior, you'll be good to add a panel. And I have another Massey appliance pull all ready to put on it!
*by the way, in my area there was someone selling this fridge, almost new, for about a thousand dollars off the retail price. I went back and forth about this. But it's extremely heavy (much much more than a regular fridge) and requires professional movers, which would end up costing around $500, or a big favor from multiple strong friends. I did ask the guy if he'd sell it for half off and he didn't even answer me. In the end, due to the delicacy of the machinery and the heaviness of it, I think I made the right choice to buy it new with its warranty plus an extended one.
bits & pieces
- Eclipse glasses are necessary (and the library may have some for you; that's where I got mine)
- The Supreme Court heard arguments about the abortion pill — I assume a ruling is soon, and it may not be one that accords with justice. Like all these things, the pill is offered as a magic wand to wave away all the ills of everyone. It also makes the company that produces it very rich. A good article delving into what it really is: The Case Against the Abortion Pill by Rachel Roth Aldhizer. The beginning will move you and helps us all use our imaginations when we consider what sending women (and especially girls) off to abort their babies on their own really means. Maybe it will be legal, but we have to be ready with all the reasons why it's just terrible.
- I'm afraid it might be entering into our catalog of accepted truisms to think that we are using medical products all the time that use aborted fetal cell tissue, and so we might as well not cavil at its use in vaccines. While it's true that the industry is geared now to exploiting the evil gains of abortion, it is not the case that common treatments rely on them. Not so fast. The Very Misleading Article By a Priest on Drugs And Abortion Testing. (Since the priest whose work is being criticized here, Fr. Matthew Schneider LC, happens to have a social media presence in which he often discusses things in fairly traditional and conservative terms, people might be misled into trusting him on these matters — but he is actually as wrong as he is influential and needs to be opposed.)
- I love this video of the giant fort this lady's children built using pallets and other found objects. She's obviously chronicling it for her family's archive, so you don't have to watch every minute of it, but it's a good reminder of how just fine it is to let kids do things even if the curb appeal of the house might suffer! (I mean this is what she says herself about it. It's pretty awesome!)
- Knitters! Do you suffer from not knowing how much yarn to allow for a long-tail cast on? Here is a calculator that I came across, that our Suki says works! It's from this site and this lady should get a medal!
- I often post about how everyone needs to agree not to give kids devices at all (but if you can't get anyone to agree, still keep them out of your young'uns' hands). But in order to do this, we all need better things to do with our leisure time, and that can often seem hard to figure out. I thought this article has a lot of good ideas. She gives a list! It's things we've talked about a lot here, but it's nice to have a list!
from the archives
- Nine hospitality thoughts — now that Lent is over and we are in the season of rejoicing, let's have some friends over!
liturgical living
I hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday! We certainly did!
Today is very much still Easter! Saturday Within the Octave of Easter
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Valerie says
I appreciate you sharing these decisions you made for your new kitchen! We are building onto our home, and when done we’ll have two kitchens. The new one I am struggling a little to plan, since the existing one will still be used and useful. I think I will go the path of A Pattern Language, making the new kitchen be in a more public zone and be planned for guests, and the old kitchen be more intimate for just family use. So much to think about:)
KP says
My parents replaced their beloved 20 yr old fridge and got sold a fancy-pants Samsung with a plumbed built in soda stream and ice maker. It was a pile of rubbish. The internal
temperature fluctuated from 0- 10 degrees Celsius. Not safe for food. They tried for 3 years and then the repair man took pity on them and said cut your losses and return it. It was just in warranty thankfully.
The repair man then reccomended that they buy a fridge from a company or brand that ALSO makes air conditioners. They are going to have the quality temperature control product because that’s what they do! If a company also make smartphones and TVs, they’ll make an ‘entertaining fridge’ with bells and whistles that don’t actually keep food cold! No one wants an entertaining fridge…
They took his recommendation and got one without internal plumbing, but an ice drawer, and a small freezer draw for stashing a bottle of limoncello and single serves of steak. It also has a big freezer drawer and a fruit and veggie drawer as well as double wide regular fridge space. It’s brilliant! The new one keeps food cold. The fanciest electronics is individual temperature controls for the compartments, which they set once and forgot about it. Even if your distracted 20 yr old brother occasionally leaves the fridge door ajar, the bulk of it maintains 4 degrees Celsius.
The other thing my mother did in her kitchen which was controversial, but brilliant it the late 1990s, is raising the height of the dishwasher. The door sits open at just under hip height and it saves your back when you ran as many loads as my mother did with 5 teenagers in the house. If you can do it, I’d highly recommend it. I’m planning to do it in my kitchen when we get around to building one.
Also, Bosch appliances are excellent! We snagged a Bosch dishwasher from my Dad’s corporate office move for free. Saved a perfectly good appliance from landfill!
Ava says
Auntie Leila, do you have any experience putting panels in front of a television? I once saw online a 4 paneled art (screen printed I think) canvas on castors that hid a flat screen (which was attached to a wall). The panels rolled open like shutters – 2 on each side. I think they were on castors somehow. It looked much easier to close than a cabinet, a rolling shade (my kids wouldn’t be able to pull it down for me yet) or one of those elastic cloth tv covers. I know a lot of tvs are now made with a screensaver feature but no matter how dim you set that, it appears to still be an eerily always on lit screen to me – sort of better than a black hole on your wall but not much… Anyways, hoping someone else has used panels and can tell me how. : D
Ava says
I saw the panel idea for covering a tv here https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/organizing-tips/g24273033/smart-storage-features/
Leila says
I wish they showed exactly how to do this!
Leila says
This is a great idea. We still have our flat-but-not-attached-to-the-wall TV that is definitely not hidden. When we need to get a new one, I would love to do it the way you describe.
Anamaria says
My parents have something pretty easy to open and pretty hidden. Email me at ascapbidd@gmail.com and I can take pictures for you.