Appliance garages are just what they sound like—spaces where you can tuck away your coffeemaker, toaster, microwave, and more to keep them out of sight for a cleaner appearance. They may sit on countertops, or they may be an extension of upper cabinets. Depending on how much space you are looking for, they might even be part of a full-sized cabinet extending from floor to ceiling.
Appliance garages help to streamline your kitchen storage. Keeping smaller appliances behind closed doors can give your kitchen a neater, more organized look. As much as you may need your appliances to help with food preparation, you don’t necessarily want them left out in the open.
More Space to Work
For those who love to cook, a common approach is to have three separate spaces in which to work: one for preparation, one for work, and one to pile used, dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned. While this may be the ideal, we don’t always have enough counter space to allow for it, partly because of the presence of multiple appliances that we may not even be using at that moment.
Storing your small appliances in their own dedicated appliance garage does more than just make your kitchen look neat; it gives you the extra space you need for your food preparation.
A Place for Everything, Everything in Its Place
While many of us do try to tuck at least some of our appliances away neatly, getting them out when we need them can be challenging. You may find that you have to get down on your knees to reach the back of a lower cabinet to pull out the crockpot. Or maybe you have to climb onto a chair to grab that rarely used mixer that is sitting just out of reach. This is one reason why appliances tend to be left on the counter—convenience. While it may be unsightly, having your appliances on your counter means that you never have to take them out from inconvenient places.
Some may also have too little space in their kitchen, so they need to store certain appliances elsewhere, such as a grill that has made its way to the basement. If reaching to the back of a cabinet to take out your juicer is inconvenient, how much worse is it running to the basement and shifting boxes out of the way to find what you’re looking for?
Adding a custom cabinet to serve as an appliance garage means that all your appliances are readily accessible while still being out of the way. They make good sense from both a design and functionality standpoint.
Use Otherwise Wasted Space
Part of creating a custom kitchen typically involves finding creative ways to make the best use of whatever space is available. Depending on the design and layout of your kitchen, you may have visible supporting posts or some other element that you would prefer to remain unseen. Some kitchens might have a pipe or beam that stands out in a certain spot. Using a ceiling-to-floor or ceiling-to-countertop cabinet can not only cover this undesirable element but also provides the perfect location for an appliance garage.
Appliance Garage Design Ideas
Here are some ideas to consider when thinking about possible appliance garage designs:
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Vertical Storage
A ceiling-to-countertop space can be very useful for your most used appliances or those that are somewhat tall. If you are a coffee drinker, this may be an ideal spot for your coffee maker, with space above the appliance dedicated to your coffee beans, sugar, mugs, and more.
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Microwave Garage
A good way to integrate your microwave into your custom cabinetry, a microwave garage is a convenient, recessed area that is open to allow you to use the microwave without pulling it out. Placing it in an area that has a landing space below it lets you take out hot food and put it down immediately.
Be sure that the microwave can vent properly. The vents are typically on the sides or top, where you should allow some extra space.
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Roll-Up Appliance Garage
If your space is particularly tight, a roll-up door—also known as a tambour door—may prove beneficial. This may work especially well with larger appliances, allowing you to use them in place without having to pull them out, while still allowing you to enclose them when not in use. Tambour doors move completely out of the way, giving you more space to work and move.
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Double Appliance Garages
This type of appliance garage allows two devices to be placed side by side or one on top of the other, allowing you to keep your two most-used appliances within easy reach of each other.
With a bit of planning, your custom kitchen can accommodate multiple small appliances in a neat and convenient manner without giving a cluttered appearance. If you love to cook—or even if you simply like to keep everything as neat as possible—this could be the solution for you.