Disguise Your Appliances

Call it the great cover-up. In a trend fueled by manufacturer innovations and designer imagination, appliances are the sight-unseen heroes of the home. Refrigerators, dishwashers, and TVs are melding into the woodwork — and that’s just where many homeowners want them. Kitchens are looking more like extensions of living rooms; small appliances are being streamlined to fit in just about any room.

Sub-Zero is credited with being the leader of built-in kitchen design. “The biggest and most unsightly appliance is the refrigerator, and Sub-Zero was the company that started disguising refrigerators with panels,” says Peter Salerno, a certified master kitchen and bath designer in Wyckoff, N.J. Panels trick the eye. They take away from a refrigerator’s mass and allow it to blend into the adjacent cabinetry. Sixty percent of Sub-Zero’s refrigeration production line is intended for panels or decorative appointments, according to Paul Leuthe, Sub-Zero corporate marketing manager.

Artful Designs
As a result, refrigerator integration has taken on exotic new forms. In one kitchen project, Salerno commissioned an artist to paint an urn overflowing with flowers on the center panel. “That’s high impact,” he says. In another kitchen, the refrigerator was cloaked behind a French door painted with a faux scene of the homeowner’s backyard which overlooked the Pacific Ocean. “It looks like you’re looking through the back door of the house, but in reality you’re looking at the refrigerator-freezer. It’s one more point of interest that becomes a conversation piece.”

Custom pieces often come with big price tags. Troy Adams, a Los Angeles-based kitchen and bath designer, introduced the TansuChill refrigerator as part of his hidden furniture line. The unit is a Sub-Zero refrigerator-freezer encased in traditional Japanese-influenced cabinetry. It can cost more than $24,000.

Camouflaging appliances, rather than tucking them off to the side so they don’t overpower the space, is just plain practical. Relegate them to the recesses, and you can lose the efficiency inherent in the traditional work triangle. But make them a focus and you won’t mind putting them front and center. “Wherever they go, they’re going to look great. Whether that means paneled sides, handpainting on a surface or using interesting door handles, it’ll make a statement,” Salerno says.

Taking Care
Beside higher price tags, there are some drawbacks to integrated appliances. Wood panels are especially vulnerable to moisture. The biggest threat is handling units with wet hands. Moisture can wear around handles and knobs and mar the finish. Another downside is that when appliances have to be replaced, the front panel may also need replacing. That not only adds to the cost, it adds on a complication: finding an exact match with the surrounding woodwork.