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wamot

Limited Space: Second Fridge or Second Dishwasher?

wamot
9 years ago

I have a question about my kitchen design. In addition to a 28cf french door fridge, we have two 24' space next to the sink(one on each side).

One of the 24' space will be for dishwasher for sure. The question comes down to what would be a better usage for the other 24' space: a second mini fridge/beverage fridge or a second dishwasher(identical to the first one, a better symmetry).

Cost-wise it is about the same, we have three big drawer bases under the island(originally we were thinking having the sink base and two 24' space underneath the island, but everyone here suggested us move them), and two 36' full height pantries in mudroom.

What would be more appealing for future resell? I find we can always fill up any fridge no matter how big....and we have one load daily while once a month we have a party that requires 3 loads of dishwasher, however I like the idea that rotate two dishwasher and never need to unload.....

Thanks!!!!

This post was edited by wamot on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 20:01

Comments (8)

  • malabacat_gw
    9 years ago

    It really depends on your household and what you need more. Do you have a lot of kids, or have people over a lot for dinner so you'd need a second dishwasher? Do you find dishes piling up while waiting for a load to run right now? Is your current fridge a bit short on space and having the ability to move cold drinks somewhere else, giving you more shelf room something you'd love?

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    If you have a lot of parties or a lot of kids and more dishes at one time than you can handle, the dishwasher is useful. It takes a modern dishwasher a couple of hours, and many want you to leave them longer to finish drying. I do entertain large groups, but my tableware for multiple dozens has to be hand washed anyway, and I can deal with running a couple of loads for a dozen or less, plus cooking stuff. A second DW can also be useful if you go through a lot of bowls. DW's seem well designed for all kinds of plates and cups, but not so much larger bowls.

    A wine fridge is great if you're really into wine, but if you were you probably wouldn't be asking this question. If you have kids or frequent feel-at-home guests who are constantly opening the fridge for drinks and snacks, an undercounter drawer fridge would be useful. I have one in my prep area which I use for must be refrigerated ales, opened wine (the bottom drawer is deep), root veg, butter for the stove (eggs, etc.), dried but must refrigerate veg, and the veg that are slated for the pot. It's also where I just defrosted the 21 lb. turkey that was too big for the meat drawer in my main fridge.

    I'm assuming you already have a trash pullout? That's what I put in a similar extra space. They're pretty much expected nowadays. Mine has two bins, one for city pickup recycling and one for deposit return. I don't like actual garbage inside the cabinet, but I find the pullout very useful because even with mostly scratch cooking, I have a lot of packaging. There's a drawer above, which is convenient for bottle brushes, wine stoppers, dish brush, drying pad, and other sink related things.

    By the sink is also a great place for wraps and containers, so you could just put in a drawer stack.

    What do you need most?

  • laughablemoments
    9 years ago

    One fridge drawer and one dish drawer??

    I agree with the above posters that it really comes down to what you would use more.

    Unless you have lots of folks coming into your kitchen for drinks from a beverage fridge, which would make the outlying location better, I'd suggest swapping the dishwasher and mini fridge locations.

    If it was my kitchen, I'd be using the little fridge for food, not beverages, so I'd want it closer to the stove. Also, I wouldn't want to trip over a potentially open dishwasher when traveling back and forth between the sink and the stove. That little piece of countertop between the sink and stove is going to be prime workspace, so I wouldn't want to be working over the dishwasher if I could help it. It's hot, people need to load and unload it, etc.

    My guess is that your table is to the left of the picture as drawn. Getting the dishwasher closer to the table will make your workflow for setting and clearing a simpler process.

    Unrelated: Do you want a prep sink in that nice, long island? (I really like mine.)

    Just my 2 cents. : )

  • magsnj
    9 years ago

    Whatever you'd use more..... for me it'd definitely be some type of refrigeration (drink fridge, freezer, fridge)

  • wamot
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    plllog,

    Thank you for your inputs, it is very helpful! The two smaller base cabinets by the range are pull-outs, one is a 18'' 2-bin-waste-basket.

    I am attaching more 3D rendering in this post:
    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg042206581873.html?2

  • wamot
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    laughable,

    Your idea is very inspiring! We might put a dinning table in the family room on the left, I never thought about the workflow....I just thought it would be easier for someone to fetch drinks from the mini fridge.

    I envy you having the prep sink....I have to put two 24' drawer base and a 36' door base with roll-out-tray as the island base, to ensure the storage. And I can not make the 8' island longer, so there is no room for a prep sink base.....but I will be getting a big and deep sink 32'' by 17'' by 10'' sink, hope it will work out....

  • Wewish
    9 years ago

    I would vote for a second dishwasher. You can put another fridge or freezer in the garage, but it would be hard to add on a second dishwasher later.

  • carolmka
    9 years ago

    If there is no other place for a second fridge then I would go with that. My KA dishwasher has an hour cycle that I use when I am in a hurry and I skip the dry cycle.