How to Hide Kitchen Appliances

Fed up with cluttered worktops? Ever wanted to hide kitchen appliances? Many of us get fed up with messy surfaces and long for that designer streamlined look that we see online. Sometimes it’s worth finding ways to hide the odd toaster and microwave!

While some of us want to heavily feature kitchen appliances by making them focal points in the room, the rest of us would be happier if they just blended in better! When we spend a lot of time, money and effort making our kitchens look nice, it can be quite disappointing when a big or small kitchen appliance that we absolutely need comes in and ruins the style. Function over fashion, perhaps!

Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be the case. There are multiple ways to hide kitchen appliances, both large and small – to make them disappear into the background to the point where you wouldn’t even think that they were there. 

Of course, you also want to make sure you can access your appliances as and when you need to. Keep reading, and we’ll take you through some top tips.

How to Hide Kitchen Appliances: Large

Hiding large appliances is all about either making sure they blend in with your fittings or finding a way to close them away.

As great as some large kitchen appliances can look, they can also easily ruin the style and design of a space. If you want a more uniform, classic look to your kitchen, then you should consider how to hide them until you actually need them. 

Now, we know what you are thinking. “How on Earth am I supposed to hide a fridge?” Surprisingly, there are a few ways you can squirrel white goods out of sight.

First of all, it is essential to understand that your large kitchen appliances will still need to have their place in your kitchen and be easily accessible when you need them. That being said, they do not have to stand out and can easily blend in with the rest of your kitchen should you so desire. 

Blend them in with the Cabinets

Plenty of homes around the world have used this trick for decades, and it is still very popular today. Take your fridge, for example. Consider setting up a customised cabinet built that attaches easily to your fridge doors so that they open seamlessly as a cabinet without losing any of the functionality of the fridge. 

That way, to the naked eye, you will not even be able to tell that there is a fridge in place. You can do the same for other appliances such as your dishwasher, for example. You get to keep the facade of a flush cabinet or cupboard, and only you will know that there’s an appliance behind the door.

This isn’t to everyone’s tastes, and you will also need to be careful with measurements. As you might expect, this type of appliance hiding can also cost a pretty penny.

Measure, Measure and Measure Again!

If you want to hide kitchen appliances from the get-go? Measure your kitchen and cabinetry thoroughly before you start, and make sure you buy units that only ever fit these dimensions. Simple, effective – but not really too helpful if you don’t fancy starting from scratch.

One of the worst things about certain appliances is that they simply do not fit into spaces the way that we hope they might. We all tend to remember to measure the length and the height of the appliance before we buy it, but we often forget to measure the width. That can lead to some cookers, washing machines and more simply sticking out like sore thumbs! 

That is why it is always best to measure the width before buying the appliance. If your appliance happens to be smaller than the space that you already have, try bringing it forward to align with the cabinets, too.

You don’t have to gut your kitchen, of course, to take advantage of this idea. Consider measuring up carefully when it comes time to upgrade the dishwasher or microwave – it’s all about planning ahead.

Consider Refitting Your Kitchen

Yes, it’s entirely possible to completely refit your kitchen around the idea of just being able to hide kitchen appliances. Some kitchens arrive with camouflaged doors, while others are ‘pull-out’ – in the sense that you can simply pull your appliances out, like a drawer, when you need them.

There are plenty of creative ways to hide an entire kitchen in the design and build. However, as you might expect, doing so will cost you quite a lot of money. We’d probably suggest considering this option only if you have the capital available, and if hiding things away is an absolute must.

How to Hide Small Appliances in a Kitchen

Smaller appliances, such as toasters and food mixers, are a little easier to hide than their larger counterparts for obvious reasons. However, you can still be creative about how you sneak them away.

Instead of piling up all of your appliances on the countertop, or even in the same cupboard or cabinet, some leading cabinetry fitters suggest using an ‘appliance garage’ approach. That is, you can choose to have kitchen units fitted that are specifically designed to hide away your everyday appliances for easy access.

These can roll out, pull down, and tuck away. It’s all a magnificent feat of engineering! However, as you can imagine, this will also cost you a fair amount of money.

If you really can’t bear to keep your kettle and toaster out on the side, then it’s likely worth the investment. Otherwise, one of the best ways to hide small appliances is to simply audit what you have. Is there anything you can remove or sell on to make room for the essentials? Which appliances are you likely to use daily, or even weekly? Maybe you could make a hierarchy or list.

In any case, we completely understand why so many people want to hide their appliances away! Sometimes, it’s nice to just marvel at your kitchen – and as they can get dirty and cluttered pretty fast, why not take the time to hide away? Yet, one final point to consider is, is it the appliance that is bothering you or the unsightly appliance cords that you would love to hide?