What Is An Appliance Garage (And How To Make One For Your Kitchen)

Decluttering your kitchen counters of messy paraphernalia will instantly brighten and lift your space. However, there are some essential appliances, like coffee machines, blenders, and toasters, that have to stay in situ if you use them daily. Luckily, you can hide away these mismatched, bulky items in an appliance garage. Better yet, you can make one yourself instead of investing in an expensive kitchen remodel.

An appliance garage is a deep area of your kitchen worktop where your appliances can sit and be concealed behind a cabinet door when not in use. When you want to make your morning coffee, simply open the door and pull your appliance forward before using it. When you're done, push it back and close the door to hide it from view. The result? A kitchen that looks neat, streamlined, and clutter-free. Appliance garage doors can open like regular cabinet doors, be rolled up and concealed tambour-style in a hidden cavity, or tucked into the side like pocket doors. However, they can also be attached to special hydraulic hinges that allow them to move up and away with a gentle push until they are parallel to the cabinet. One way to make an appliance garage in this style is to get a standard kitchen cupboard and use a saw to remove the bottom panel, so it can sit snugly on a counter underneath an existing cabinet.

Hydraulic hinges have the advantage of the "soft close" feature. They glide down smoothly with a gentle push. This makes them perhaps the best option, especially for fitting your garage beneath an existing cabinet. When you've positioned your cabinet on your counter to check it fits, you'll need to give the edges a quick sanding so the whole thing can sit flush against the worktop before screwing it into the cupboard above. This will allow you to seamlessly pull out your appliances. Finally, fit hydraulic hinges to the top edge of the cabinet and secure the correct-sized door onto them so it can be pulled up and away in one move using the handle at the bottom.

When making your appliance garage, ensure there's an electrical outlet inside so you can use your slow cooker or mixer while they're in place. For instance, air fryers are a common sight on kitchen countertops these days because they're perfect for making panko-coated crispy popcorn chicken or other popular air fryer recipes like sweet potato fries at speed. They need to be close to an accessible power source. Creating a dedicated space for your appliances also means you can get away with cleaning your Nespresso coffee machine or blender less frequently. Just close that door and forget about those pesky water marks until you have the bandwidth for a deeper clean.