Home design trends come and go, but as we often see, some come back. Appliance garages are, once again, enjoying some return to glory. An appliance garage is essentially a piece of cabinetry designed to house a particular appliance whether it’s a mixer or a coffee maker. Today, we’re seeing a whole new generation of appliance garages that are customized to suit a myriad of decorative styles. These units help homeowners create a seamless and clean look for their kitchens. If you enjoy a more clutter-free look, an appliance garage is a feature you might consider for most of your kitchen appliances.
What Is an Appliance Garage?
An appliance garage is a piece of cabinetry that houses an appliance. It might be small or encompass floor-to-ceiling space. These cabinets can sit on countertops or be built into the wall or even the pantry. Essentially, these features provide custom storage for appliances like microwaves, coffee makers, toasters, or large mixers.
Appliance Garage Styles
In the past, appliance garages often featured pull-down doors like garage doors, which is how they got their name. Think of vintage bread boxes that lift with garage door efficiency. Today, people can still opt for that style if they like, but designers can add any type of door to their cabinet in order to complement the kitchen’s overall style. In order for your appliance garage style to be successful, however, it needs to foster accessibility. It should be easy, for instance, to access that toaster when you need it.
What Are the Benefits of Installing Appliance Garages?
An appliance garage is ideal for people who love the idea of a clean and clutter-free kitchen. In terms of aesthetics, the appliance garage can involve the same style of cabinetry as the rest of the kitchen cabinets, so it integrates quite easily into kitchen renovation designs. But the aesthetic value of these features doesn’t end there. Let’s say you have a white Kitchen Aid mixer, a black or stainless toaster, and a dated microwave. Your mismatched appliances can detract from the stately appeal of your new kitchen. However, when hidden behind appliance garage doors, they don’t post a problem. You can simply use them when you need them and then shut the door on them again.
Appliance garages can also enhance the function of your kitchen. For instance, if your countertop or kitchen island are cluttered with your gadgets, you have less room to prepare meals. Cabinetry that’s designed for a specific purpose helps you store items easily and access them only when needed. Moreover, they can’t become soiled as you prepare meals, so they make cleaning your kitchen an easier task too.
When you opt to add appliance garages to your kitchen, you have the opportunity to customize their placement. For instance, it may make best sense to house your coffee maker near the cabinet where you keep your coffee mugs. You may want to house your rice cooker in a certain area of the kitchen. Appliance garages can be wonderfully tailored to suit your new kitchen design.
Finally, appliance garages, like any custom feature, can enhance the value of your home. Kitchen renovations generally enhance home value and certainly help homeowners market their houses at sale time. Custom built-ins add an upscale look to any kitchen but also improve the way the space functions, and that’s a great selling feature.
What Types of Appliances Should You Store in an Appliance Garage?
If you’re thinking about installing one or more appliance garages in your kitchen, you might be wondering which appliances make most sense for storing in this way. Generally, people store items in appliance garages that they access frequently–perhaps not every single day, but often enough. Some of appliances that you might store in an appliance garage include:
- Stand-alone mixer
- Coffee maker / espresso machine
- Toaster or toaster oven
- Microwave
- Blender
- Rice cooker
- Air fryer
Because these are items you need on a routine basis, you want to be sure they’re accessible. An item like a mixer, for instance, can be quite heavy. You wouldn’t want to haul it in and out of your pantry each time you need it. With an appliance garage, you can ensure that the items remain out of your way until you’re ready to access it.
Special Kitchen Appliance Features
Because you can customize your appliance garage in any number of ways, you can also install special features in them that will enhance your use of the stored appliances. For example, many appliance garages designed for those stand-alone mixers feature a built-in lift. The lift allows the mixer to pop up when needed.
Other custom features might include the incorporation of a lazy susan into the design. This would allow you to store multiple appliances in a single cabinet. Some units feature swing-out doors that feature additional storage for related items. Custom kitchen storage allows you to tailor your kitchen’s design to the way you intend to use it, making for an altogether more functional space.
Where Should You Install Appliance Garages?
Historically, appliance garages sat on countertops, but many people who are redesigning their kitchens are loath to take up valuable counter space. Fortunately, they don’t have to. You can install your custom cabinetry anywhere in your kitchen or pantry. Why not make use of a corner and set up a custom appliance garage that functions as a coffee station? You can store all of your coffee supplies in a single location.
Consider designing a custom kitchen island that includes appliance garage features for items you intend to use at the space. A kitchen island is a great place to store your stand-alone mixer, for example. Some people who have lots of gadgets might include floor-to-ceiling cabinetry that’s specifically designed to store all of their small appliances.
Fortunately, there are lots of options when it comes to today’s next generation of appliance garages. Scroggs Construction Services can help you design custom cabinetry to house any appliance–even your refrigerator if you choose. Talk to us about remodeling your kitchen. We can help you design appliance garages that meet your storage needs.