How to Integrate Embedded Appliances with Custom Home Design?

Congratulations to everyone: Wishing you a prosperous Year of the Dragon and a Happy New Year!In today’s home renovation, custom furniture has become the preferred choice, with nearly 90% of people opting for whole-house customization for cabinets such as kitchen cabinets, sideboards, and TV cabinets. To ensure that custom cabinets harmoniously integrate with appliances, the design of “embedded appliances” is often adopted. When embedding appliances into custom cabinets, what installation and design issues need to be considered? Below, I will summarize some experiences for your reference.

Space layout design → Select appliances → Custom home design plan. ① First, conduct space layout design to ensure that the basic functional design of each space is achieved; ② Once the space layout is determined, you can identify which spaces will have cabinets and appliances and select the appliance styles (sizes) based on the cabinet dimensions; ③ Based on the space layout and appliance dimensions, further refine the custom home design plan. If you plan to do custom furniture + embedded appliances, the above process must be followed; otherwise, it is likely to lead to failure.

When installing embedded appliances, the reason for selecting appliances first is to facilitate the reservation of installation locations, avoiding mismatched appliance sizes that could lead to failure. For reserved installation locations, it is recommended to request installation specification design drawings from the appliance vendor, and then reserve the installation locations as follows based on the installation size drawings —

① Length and Width:

When embedding appliances, the first consideration is the length and width dimensions of the appliance itself. On one hand, it is necessary to ensure that the appliance can be installed, including the integration of the machine body and the panel with the cabinet; on the other hand, it is necessary to avoid the appliance being too small, resulting in excessive gaps.

② Depth Issues:

In addition to length and width, embedded appliances must also consider the depth of the appliance and the reserved location; otherwise, the installed “embedded” appliance may have a significant portion of its body exposed, which defeats the purpose of being embedded.

Especially for refrigerators, there are many standard thickness dimensions; even different models from the same brand may have different thicknesses. If you want to install an embedded refrigerator, the first consideration should be the thickness of the refrigerator.③ Heat Dissipation Issues:As electrical devices, appliances generate a significant amount of heat during operation; therefore, when installing embedded appliances, it is necessary to leave ventilation gaps for heat dissipation. To make the embedded installation more aesthetically pleasing, it is recommended to use appliances that dissipate heat from the bottom, allowing the gaps to be at the bottom, which looks more harmonious overall.

Since the height of kitchen cabinets is generally around 800mm, the installation position for embedded appliances such as ovens, steamers, and sterilizers is typically below the countertop. Appliances installed at this height require users to squat down for normal use, which can be uncomfortable, especially for ovens and steamers.Therefore, for cooking appliances, if they are to be embedded, it is best to raise the height of some cabinets to make the installation position of the appliances more suitable for daily use.

If the sockets for embedded appliances are left inside the installation compartment, disconnecting the power will require removing the appliance, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, if possible, it is recommended to place the sockets for embedded appliances in the adjacent cabinet or provide an external switch for easy power control.

To achieve a better visual effect, the selection techniques for embedded appliances include — ① matching the color of the appliances with the cabinet doors; ② covering the appliance doors with cabinet panels.

① Matching Appliance and Cabinet Door Colors:For example, if the cabinet body has gray doors, choose gray appliances; if the cabinet body is white, choose white appliances. By using similar colors, the appliances and cabinets maintain a visually unified effect as much as possible.

② Covering Appliance Doors with Cabinet Panels:

Currently, some “fully embedded appliances” on the market are designed to allow clips to be installed on the appliance doors, which can then be covered with a layer of cabinet door panels. This way, when the appliance door is closed, it looks just like a cabinet, achieving a perfect effect.

In modern home renovations, thanks to the design of custom furniture, the possibility of embedded installation for refrigerators, washer-dryer sets, kitchen appliances, televisions, and other household appliances has been realized, leading to a more aesthetically pleasing appliance design effect. This article discusses the issues to consider when installing and designing embedded appliances, which you can save for future reference!Scan to add the designer’s WeChat friend Design service WeChat: shejiguan007 Focused on design until satisfaction.