Notes

Cheap Microwave Coil
Kitchen Design tips...Built-in cooking appliances
Should you have read some of my other articles on kitchen planning & design, you know I am extremely frustrated by non-functional design and bad product choices. Most of what bothers me comes from simple uninformed decision making and/or novice designer mistakes.

This capsule is all about your choices for cooking appliances...costs, function and aesthetics.

Freestanding Range
Slide in Range
Ovens
Built-in microwave
Over-the-range microwave
Exhaust mechanism / venting hood
Your kitchen pictured above this is a great example of built-in appliances. Everything you see are 3 appliances (ovens, cooktop and microwave) bought separately and placed independent of every other.The exhaust venting you don't see since it is concealed behind the elaborate cabinet facing (above the burners).

This is exactly what all kitchen designers hope for...the opportunity to create with built-in cooking appliances. But, the major problem is that lots of kitchens simply don't have enough wall space to support everything which leads to cramming.

Cramming, when combined with use of several decorative (non-functional) components typically breaks all of the rules for functionality. That's exactly the case for the pretty kitchen pictured above....Plenty of form, terrible function. I'll explain that in another hub.



Free standing range + microwave above
Free standing range + microwave above

Cooking...Another extreme
Cooking just will not get more basic than the kitchen at the right. The free-standing Range includes both baking and surface burners. The over-the-range microwave also includes the exhaust fan and the lighting.

This is by far the most cost effective method of cooking. That's why you discover this setup atlanta divorce attorneys apartment complex in America. Obviously, I hate it. But, built-in appliances require more space and much more budget...I mean much more.

A free of charge standing range may cost $1,100 bucks. That over-the-range-microwave is approximately $400. So we've got maybe $1,500 total invested in cooking appliances as shown.

So now let's refer back to the pretty looking kitchen near the top of this page and lets begin to compare costs.

Separated Appliances (from first image above)
double ovens...........3,200
cooktop....................1,000
microwave...................200
concealed ventilation..900
OK, so that's a little over $5,000 for built-in appliances, when compared to simple freestanding total of $1,500. That's $3,500 more for the actual appliances and well worth the difference for many. But realise microwave inductors will find a lot more necessary to accommodate all the 'built-in' cooking. No 'free space'. So, here's the rest of the story....



The double ovens require a pricey tall cabinet housing....add 1,500
The cooktop takes a pot & pan base cabinet........................add 800
The microwave requires modified wall cabinet...........................add 800
The elegant woodwork to cover the exhaust mechanism...........add 4,000 !
The cooktop requires adding 3' countertop (to cutout)..............add 500
Roof mounted exhaust fan attached to venting..........................add 600
All the added installation, wiring, HVAC etc................................add 1,000
I don't think I need to add that all up...you get the idea. Separating your cooking appliances is way, a lot more costly because of all the added cabinet, countertop and installation expenses.

As suggested in the list above the largest cost variable might be the wood hood canopy.It's funny, exactly the same space that was previously occupied by a nasty 90 dollar range hood, is now the same area useful for hugely extravagant woodworking and design details.

Other cooking appliance options to consider...
The images at right show an inspired and attractive way to develop a built-in look without all the 'addons' mentioned earlier.
The initial image at right shows a 30" Dacor wall oven installed right into a base opening.

Dacor 30" cooktops are designed to fit into the countertop over the Dacor 30" oven. In this kitchen you see a Dacor 5 burner gas cooktop the same width as the oven below it. I used a decorative split column pilaster on each side of the oven for enhancement.

Note that In this particular kitchen the microwave has gone out of your view, but believe me, it really is placed right beside the counter depth refrigerator where it belongs and just out of sight here.

The 3rd image is showing the cabinetry above that cooktop. That upper cabinet includes a simple internal metal liner, twin blowers and lights. The split columns mimic the details from the bottom cabinet, The arched valance helps to conceal any metal work and also matches the arch on the window.

Using a separate cooktop and oven creates a nice unbroken look, and allows for decorative tile backsplash to continue through.

Finally, the finished kitchen is shown below. Take a close look at the cooking wall. Then return back up this page and compare to the freestanding range...Little better ??

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