The Fridge Refined

Cover It Up

A fashionable cover-up once meant having a built-in fridge with wood panels applied to the front. Today, more and more manufacturers offer units that can be fully concealed inside a custom armoire. "Almost every fridge I do now is like a piece of furniture," kitchen designer Bev Adams says. Unlike an integrated built—in, an armoire can literally stand out. Any style is possible, from Asian to country French. Drawers are optional.  

Go Modern

Many people like the sleekness of a stainless-steel fridge. If sides are visible, wrap them with stainless steel to play up the look, Adams suggests. Connecticut designer Terry Scarborough likes to add matching accents to the room-stainless·steel toe-kicks and hardware, for example, or Parson-style steel legs on an island. That way, Scarborough says, "the appliances are part of the overall decor."  

 

Go Bare
A commercial-style fridge with a glass door is a great way to showcase fresh ingredients and see contents at a glance. It fits a variety of settings, but it's not ideal if you dislike clutter or seldom clean your fridge. "I End it’s usually men who like this option," Adams says. When it comes to the fridge, "women like to cover up." Une caveat: Some commercial units are noisier than their residential counterparts.

Make It Lock Built-in
Sheathed by cabinetry, even a standard freestanding fridge can look built in-especially if it's at the end of a run with an equally deep cabinet or cubby above, A "counter-depth" fridge is shallower, but unless it's a true built-in, the doors still won't fit Hush with standard base cabinets. For a built-in look, you can recess the fridge, or bring adjacent base cabinets forward and increase counter depth. 

Intersting Alternative : The Non-Kitchen Kitchen

You talk about designing a "room you happen to cook in." How does it differ from traditional kitchens?
It's all about feeling. l like my kitchens to feel more like other rooms in a home— rooms that are comfortable to be in.

How do you achieve this feeling?
We've designed kitchens without upper cabinets; instead, we incorporate open shelves that can be used to display more than dishes- sculpture, perhaps.

What other elements make up the “non-kitchen" kitchen? 
Such a kitchen feels very built-in. In this kitchen, for instance, one wall has a "hearth," which is the hood and windows. Another wall has a built—in Welsh cupboard, but it looks more like freestanding furniture. We always try to make room for seating so that people can literally sit in the kitchen. And most of the appliances are concealed.

How does the non-kitchen approach differ from more traditional approaches?
Rather than selecting a bunch of cabinets and organizing them, we design a room where you want to spend time, then outfit it with the cabinets and caseworks that support both comfort and function.