One of the great benefits of owning a home (and especially of designing and building a new home) is the ability to make all the details work just right for you. One of the limiting factors in design has always been major appliances. Since they have only a few sizes and form factors, rooms like kitchens often get designed around these features. However, some options can free up the design process.
The oven/range combination is a staple in most kitchens. While this appliance combines the two cooking appliances into a neat and cost-effective package, it also entails many compromises. Essentially all of these stovetops are 36 inches high, which in turn dictates that the lower cabinets be this high as well. This creates a working surface that is too high for many people. Additionally, the oven is very low to the ground and inconvenient to use.
A wall oven with a separate range solves these issues nicely. The wall oven is typically mounted flush with cabinetry at a much more natural height starting around 20 to 30 inches off the floor. As an added convenience, most wall ovens are a double oven design which makes baking or cooking at two temperatures simultaneously a snap. The separate range mounts flush with the countertop, which can now sit at a non-standard height if desired. This leaves space immediately below the range for convenient storage of pots and pans.
This leads us to another recent appliance trend which is perhaps best reconsidered. Lately, it has become very fashionable to have a built-in microwave below the countertop. While this installation is certainly very sleek, it leaves the microwave in an inconvenient place much the same as a traditional oven. In fact, the placement is even more cumbersome, since microwaves are typically used for short durations with small vessels. Leaving the microwave at countertop level, or elevated above the stove or in an upper cabinet, is a better bet from a usability perspective.
The laundry room is another room where modern appliances are more attractive and useful. Front-loading washing machines are much easier to load, and especially to unload, than the older top-loading variety. They can also be stacked with a dryer, freeing up space in the laundry room for storage, ironing and clothes mending. To top it all off, front-loaders are also much more water efficient than older models.
If you’re looking to design a new log home, complete with appliances that are both attractive and convenient, please call Real Log Homes today or fill out the form below for more information!