A refrigerator is often the largest and most prominent appliance in the kitchen. Over the last few years, appliance manufacturers have made great strides in the overall look and styling of these appliances, but they still are massive, rectangular boxes that can dominate the room.
You’ll notice, in the kitchens pictured below the beautiful stainless appliances are prominently featured and add contrast as well as metal design element to the rooms.
An example of a kitchen with sleek stainless steel appliances. Note how the stainless steel refrigerator works beautifully with this design and does not overtake the look of the kitchen. Dura Supreme kitchen design Bonnie McKesson by Kitchen Design Gallery of Jacksonville, Florida. Photo by Kim Lindsey Photography.
The refrigerator space in this modern kitchen is framed with black metal cabinet doors on both sides to accent the modern fridge design. This kitchen design wouldn’t have as much personality without it.
Metal Appliances Are Still A Popular Design Choice
Today, stainless steel remains an extremely popular finish option for refrigerators as well as other large kitchen appliances. Appliance manufacturers are even coming out with new colors of stainless steel, including black stainless and even bronze stainless. Many homeowners love this look, but what if you prefer the refrigerator to be less prominent? Or what do you do if the refrigerator placement is too prominent that it’s interrupting the look of the rest of the space.
This kitchen pictured below is a great example, where the refrigerator is taking over the look of the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but the first thing my eye goes to in this kitchen is the big metal fridge. Not everyone wants their fridge to be the focal point of their design. This design would be much more sophisticated with a paneled appliance. By paneling the fridge so it blends in with the cabinetry. it will help make sure that the focal point that catches your attention first is the beautiful floating shelves and decorations and not the fridge.
Photo courtesy of Edina Realty.
Why Panel a Refrigerator with Appliance Panels?
If you are concerned your refrigerator, or the placement of it could dominate your kitchen design, or perhaps you’re just not a fan of today’s popular appliance finishes, I highly suggest looking into cabinet appliance panels. Panel-ready refrigerators are designed to accept appliance panels to coordinate with the kitchen cabinetry. They’re an excellent alternative to standard metal appliance finishes (i.e. Stainless Steel, Black, White, etc.) and will help this large kitchen appliance feel less noticeable and seamless with the rest of the kitchen design.
Can you find the appliance panel fridge?
Kitchen design by Cedar Design Build, Minnesota. Architectural Design by Becky Watson of Niche Design. Photography by Chelsie Lopez.
Kitchen design by Cedar Design Build, Minnesota. Architectural Design by Becky Watson of Niche Design. Photography by Chelsie Lopez.
Kitchen design by Cedar Design Build, Minnesota. Architectural Design by Becky Watson of Niche Design. Photography by Chelsie Lopez.
Kitchen design by Cedar Design Build, Minnesota. Architectural Design by Becky Watson of Niche Design. Photography by Chelsie Lopez.
Enjoy More Style & Color Options with an Appliance Panel Refrigerator
The appliance door style and finish options are almost endless when working with panels on doors versus selecting a standard metal-finished appliance. With Dura Supreme Cabinetry, any combination of cabinet door styles and finishes can be selected to create a one-of-a-kind look for your refrigerator panels to complement or coordinate with your kitchen cabinets. You can also easily custom select the pull hardware to your liking. With a standard metal appliance finish, your styling options are much more restricted.
The appliance panel doors can be selected to seamlessly match the rest of the cabinetry throughout the space like this kitchen design pictured below.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota.
You can also choose a contrasting cabinet door style to create extra interest to the appliance. This kitchen pictured below, uses Dura Supreme’s slab Linea door style that features shiplap-inspired details to contrast the modern skinny shaker, Reese door style used throughout the rest of the room.
Design by DCI Home Resource, Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Victoria Moon Photography.
Design by DCI Home Resource, Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Victoria Moon Photography.
Design by DCI Home Resource, Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Victoria Moon Photography.
With appliance paneling, you can add more style and flair to the design by adding dramatic decorative pulls. Not many classic metal appliances give you the ability to choose the handles, and the ones that do have a very limited selection.
The designer selected large, elegant, gold handles for the paneled refrigerator in this Dura Supreme kitchen. Design by Joyce vanden Dungen Bille of Gilmans Kitchens and Baths, California.
I love the creativity used to conceal the refrigerator in this kitchen design. Here, the designer customized the panels used on the face of the refrigerator with custom mullion doors with mirror inserts. The mirror provides a reflective look that almost mimics the glass mullion cabinet doors that are used as accents on the kitchen wall cabinets and built-ins surrounding the fireplace. The fridge in this home is truly a work of art!
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Aaron Mauk of Mauk Cabinets by Design, Ohio.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Aaron Mauk of Mauk Cabinets by Design, Ohio.
I also would like to point out, you do not necessarily need to “hide” the refrigerator. When you use a panel-ready appliance, you can accent it by selecting a contrasting finish/color, or cabinet door style.
The designer at Advance Design Group, IL designed this paneled refrigerator to stand out by making it look like a hutch in a contrasting finish to the rest of the cabinetry.
Create a Solution to a Cluster of Large Appliances
Sometimes the best work triangle for the kitchen can create a cluster of large appliances all next to each other. Or maybe a homeowner wants all the latest in appliance technology, but adding the extra appliances starts to make the kitchen look like there are more appliances than cabinets. With the refrigerator being the largest of them all, it is a popular choice to conceal the refrigerator with appliance panels if it is close to other appliances like wall ovens, microwave drawers, dishwashers, built-in espresso machines, etc.
In this modern kitchen pictured below, the best placement for the double wall ovens and the refrigerator happened to be next-door to each other. By choosing to panel the refrigerator this kitchen design feels sleek and modern and not overwhelmed by large kitchen appliances.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Kitchen Design Gallery of Jacksonville, Florida. Photo by Kim Lindsey Photography.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Kitchen Design Gallery of Jacksonville, Florida. Photo by Kim Lindsey Photography.
In the kitchen design below, the family cooks frequently with fresh food and desired to have individual freezer columns (which are placed both on opposite sides of the range). If they had selected stainless steel refrigerators, the kitchen would have been overwhelmed with the metal finish and would have created an entirely different look. By selecting a similar cabinet door style with a beaded panel insert, the paneled refrigerators blend in beautifully, and the beaded feature accents the East Coast Shingle Style that the homeowner was hoping for.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota.
Disguise Your Kitchen Appliances with Cabinetry
Refrigerators that are panel-ready are typically counter-depth or built-in models that allow the appliance to integrate with the surrounding cabinetry and create that beautiful unified look. The panels are styled to match the doors on the cabinetry, which makes that big box in the room almost disappear! It truly acts as a cabinetry in disguise. This is a great option if you are looking for a design with clean lines and don’t want your paneled appliances to stick out farther than your counter.
See how beautifully the appliance-paneled refrigerator in this kitchen design fits seamlessly with the cabinetry throughout the design.
The panel-ready fridge elevates this kitchen design into a luxurious space.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Ana Gomez of Evolo Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by rvp Photography.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Ana Gomez of Evolo Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by rvp Photography.
Dura Supreme Cabinetry’s Covington door style in “Mushroom” paint for the perimeter paired with the Chroma Inset door style in “Evergreen Fog” paint from on the kitchen island featuring a double door paneled refrigerator that matches the cabinetry.
Trending: The Pass-Through Pantry Door Paired Next to A Paneled Fridge
One popular trend our trend-spotters have been seeing more of this past year is a wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinetry. This trend typically features a hidden, paneled refrigerator and a hidden pantry door to a walk-in pantry or back kitchen space. These hidden gems help keep a seemless flow of cabinetry that is not broken up by pantry doorways and large metal fridges, creating a smooth, clean-line look to the overall design. And who doesn’t love a few hidden surprises!?
In this design below there’s not 1 but 2 hidden fridges and a hidden door to the butler’s pantry.
The fridges coulmn with custom applaince panels with hidden pantry to the right. Dura Supreme kitchen design by Slate Creek Builders, VA
The fridges coulmn with custom applaince panels with hidden pantry to the right. Dura Supreme kitchen design by Slate Creek Builders, VA
Can you tell which cabinet doors on the back wall open the fridge and which lead to the hidden butler’s pantry? This kitchen design would feel broken up if they selected a classic metal fridge and traditional doorway. With the double-wall-oven next to the fridge, the metal elements would dominate the design rather than the dark green cabinets.
Dura Supreme Cabinetry is shown with a combination of the “Rock Bottom” painted finish and “Hazelnut” stain on Cherry.
Add Appliance Panels to Additional Kitchen Appliances
The fridge is not the only appliance you can conceal with cabinetry. Many other appliances are available with panel-ready options. At Dura Supreme Cabinetry, we can craft customized appliance panels for everything from dishwashers, wine coolers, under-the-counter beverage fridges, icemakers, warming drawers, etc.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Ana Gomez of Evolo Design in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by rvp Photography.
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota.
Examples of Hidden Appliances
Can you spot the paneled appliances in these kitchens?
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota.
Dura Supreme Design by Christie Stoll of Kitchen Design Gallery, FL. Photo by Kim Lindsey Photography
Dura Supreme Design by Christie Stoll of Kitchen Design Gallery, FL. Photo by Kim Lindsey Photography
Dura Supreme design by Sandra Daubenmeyer of KSI Kitchen and Bath, Macomb, MI
Dura Supreme kitchen design by Revival House Showroom, Minnesota. Photo by Spacecrafting Photography.
Dura Supreme Cabinetry was designed by Molly McCabe of McCabe by Design, Bainbridge Island, WA
Dura Supreme design created by Honeycomb Home Design, Arroyo Grande, CA. Photo by Lisa Maksoudian
How to Get Appliance Panels for Your Kitchen
Talk to your Dura Supreme designer today, or visit your local Dura Supreme Showroom, to learn more and discover if a custom panel-ready refrigerator is right for you.
Inset cabinetry by Dura Supreme with concealed refrigerator with wood appliance panels. Design by Mariotti Building Products, Pennsylvania. Photo by Danielle Coons.
