Short answer: why appliances come first
Bespoke kitchen units are designed around specific appliance models: each has its own opening size, ventilation gaps, hinge type and connection points. Change a model after the units have gone into production and you end up remaking a carcass, a front and sometimes the worktop.
Integrated fridge, 178 cm tells a joiner almost nothing. Two models of the same height can need a different opening depth, a different top gap and a different way of fixing the door panel. The overall order of a kitchen renovation is in our complete guide; this article looks closely at the appliance step.
What to take from each model’s manual
For every appliance, download the installation manual, not the sales brochure. The joiner needs: exact opening dimensions, minimum ventilation gaps, plinth and grille requirements, panel type and size for integrated models, how the panel is fixed, and weight, for shelves and tall units.
The electrician needs power rating and connection type. The plumber needs water and waste points for the dishwasher, a fridge with an ice maker, or a plumbed-in coffee machine. If the extractor vents outside, you need the duct diameter and its route to the facade or shaft.
Typical clashes found too late
A dishwasher in a corner: its open door hits the handles of the next drawers or blocks the way to the sink. An oven facing the island: with the door open and someone in front of it, the walkway is gone. A fridge against a wall: the door does not open to 90 degrees and the inner drawers will not pull out.
Another common one is an induction hob above a drawer. Some models need an air gap underneath, so the top drawer loses height. If the fronts are handleless with push-to-open, check that the mechanism works with a fully integrated dishwasher: not every model allows it.
Simulate the openings
On the kitchen plan, draw every door and drawer open at the same time, with a person next to them. Check three scenes: morning, when one person makes coffee while another takes something from the fridge; dinner, with the oven and dishwasher open; and clearing up after guests.
It takes an hour and saves remaking units. The aim is not a catalogue layout but a kitchen where your usual movements do not collide with the doors, or with each other.
Connections: power, water and ventilation
Sockets for integrated appliances do not go behind the appliance, where nobody can reach them, but in the adjacent unit, so the appliance can be isolated without being pulled out. Oven, hob, dishwasher and washing machine need their own circuits.
The water and waste positions under the dishwasher are coordinated with the legs and plinth. For the extractor, check whether the duct can run above the wall units and how many bends it has: every bend cuts performance. In an open kitchen, a quiet extractor and a quiet dishwasher are not a luxury, they are a requirement.
Freeze the version before manufacture
Before the units go into production, gather a single version: cabinetry drawings, the appliance list with model numbers, the connection layout, and samples of fronts and worktop. You and the joiner sign it off after a check survey on finished walls.
If an appliance has not been chosen yet, do not leave it open silently. Mark it on the drawing as an open decision with maximum dimensions, and record that changing the model later may mean remaking parts. Check delivery times too: the appliance needs to be on site when the kitchen is installed.
Example: an open kitchen in the Eixample
In the Urgel flat in the Eixample, 109.80 m², the kitchen opens onto the living room with herringbone parquet. In a layout like that the appliances are seen and heard from the day area, so they are chosen for noise level, for how their panels line up with the cabinetry in height and gaps, and for how well the extractor actually works in an open space.
We run projects like this with one person in charge, who pulls appliance models, the joiner’s drawings and the crew’s work into a single programme. We reply to enquiries within an hour.