Wednesday 10 July 2013

Dishwasher and kitchen design thoughts


Jason used to be the chief dishwasher of the family, wielding his very own dish mop. But that was back in the dark ages BD. Before Dishwasher.

Someone told us that running a dishwasher saves you the equivalent of three solid weeks every year. That’s a vacation you never knew you had!
                                                                                                                        
When we were planning our kitchen renovation, that fact made Jason’s dishpan hands tap and click with joy. There was no way in this world we were going without a dishwasher – we were going to make one fit…whether we had room for it or not!

But we are so lucky these days, because space is no longer an issue with the new range of dishwashers on the market. We’re not limited by the size of our kitchens and fortunately smaller kitchens don’t need to miss out.

If I had my time again, I would think less traditionally about our choice of dishwasher. We tend to run our dishwasher once a day like it was an event, waiting for it to be full with the day’s dishes before switching it on before we go to bed in the evening.

However, our lifestyle is changing now the children are getting older. We are eating more takeout or Jason is away or we skip lunch…which means the dishwasher is not full enough to do a wash.

It really sucks when we have to retrieve all the coffee and breakfast things to hand wash for the next morning. I sometimes wish we could do smaller loads on the run.


The Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer has the most practical design for doing smaller loads and can squeeze into the tightest of spots. We used a DishDrawer when holidaying in a tiny apartment and it was a breeze to use.


The Sow’s Ear’s kitchen. We have drawers everywhere including under the sink.
image from 
Elizabeth Santillan here 

Having drawers instead of cabinets was one of the best design decisions we made for our kitchen, as it is the most efficient use of the space. A DishDrawer would have been a natural extension of that, especially with the new wider and taller dishwashing models which are now on the market.

I like how the DishDrawer is designed so you don’t need to bend down to fill it up. Pulling out a drawer at waist height makes dishwashing more effortless. It is clever design.

There are lots of ways people are integrating dishwashers into their kitchens to better suit their lifestyle and available space. Pinterest has a plethora of inspiration images of kitchens that are handy when planning a renovation.

The symmetry of side-by-side dishwashers. Image from here

I’m envious of kitchens which have dishwashers installed on both sides of a sink. Great symmetry and so perfect for a narrow galley style kitchen! You can have one running a fast wash, while the other can do the pots – domestic bliss. Ha!




So what do you think about a dishwasher giving us three extra weeks a year? Are you a drawer person or a cabinet person? What do you like or dislike about your dishwasher (machine or person)?

24 comments:

  1. My mantra is "if it doesn't go in a dishwasher or a washing machine, it doesn't come in to my house." Who has time for handwashing anything these days? And I don't buy the talk that washing and drying dishes is a great time spent with the other half or the kids. Dishawasher, dishdrawer, whatever. Just get one!

    Jennifer xx

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    1. Ha love your mantra Jennifer! I avoid hand washing like the plague now we have a dishwasher. I can bond just fine with the family without a sink involved too!! xx

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  2. Hell, I'd need four dish drawers - I do at least 2 full loads a day! Now all I need is to convince the kids to empty the darn thing. xx

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  3. With all those boys, what you need is a medal Caroline! xx

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  4. My first apartment in 1968 had no dishwasher. My second in 1969 did...and I haven't been without one since. I have cabinets under my sink, but everything else under the counter is drawers. I had always had cabinets till I bought this house 7 years ago. The kitchen of the main house is all drawers, and I fell in love with them. Now I'll never have lower cabinets again.

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    1. Love it Dana! You've had a dishwasher longer than I've been alive! But drawers are excellent - so easy to find what you need. xx

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  5. I love the drawers, we had them in the last house and worked a treat. And you didn't think twice about putting it on. We did one load a day usually.

    The 60's Splendour has a regular dishwasher because the old one that was here karked it not long after moving in and I wanted a quick and cheap replacement.

    but when we get around to doing the kitchen i'm pretty sure i'll be going back to drawers! xx

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    1. We only do one load a day here as well. I can't wait until you redo your kitchen Jules! xx

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  6. I wouldn't be without a dishwasher! We are in the early stages of our kitchen planning (for some stage in the next few years), may have to give more thought to dishwashers!! x

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    1. I wish that we gave more thought to our dishwasher when we did our kitchen. We had never had one ever,so we really went in blind and with no real research. Anyway, I'm grateful that we have one because it has been great. xx

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  7. We have only been without our kitchen for 2 days and I'm already over hand washing the dishes! I cannot imagine not having a full load in the dishwasher every day. Maybe it's because of my Tupperware addiction!

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    1. You poor thing. I remember we were without a kitchen for nearly a month and it drove us crazy not even having a proper sink! xx

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  8. A dishwasher was the first item we bought as a married couple.Marriage may not have lasted long without it! We had FP dishdrawers in our previous house, we often only used one (pre kids) and they were great until something got in and chewed through the wiring. Betsy had a Westinghouse on it's last legs and the rental has the FP dish drawers , one either side of the sink which is pretty nice I must say. I see they now do a wider dish drawer which would probably be a better choice for a family. Given our experiences with the wiring issue and also having kids we are going with a standard design dishwasher as we still need the space. mel x

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    1. So funny that your dishwasher provides matrimonial harmony!! Yikes about your dishwasher getting chewed wiring...Totally agree that you have to decide on the right appliance to suit your lifestyle. Can't wait to see your kitchen when it is done. xx

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  9. I just brought a brand new dinner set. It was only after I unpacked the thing, threw away all the boxes etc that I realised the bloody plates don't fit in the dishwasher!!! They are too big!!! I can't believe it. It's a gorgeous dinner setting and was not cheap (although heavily discounted). I just want to cry.
    Anonymous Natalie

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    1. Nooooo! That's dreadful Anon Natalie. And something I never really considered...you kind of assume that dinner settings will just fit a dishwasher. :(

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  10. The House of Sunshine sadly had no dishwasher when we arrived, and the original old 100mm sink was woeful for washing dishes in. Alas, there was no room to adjust the cabinetry under the sink to fit in a standard width dishwasher, and then our tiler suggested pulling out one of the 500mm cabinets next to the stove and putting in a 450mm slim line dishwasher. Which we did - we got an Omega brand slimline from the GoodGuys and I love it. A dish-drawer was out of our budget range, but this little fellow helps keeps the dishes of a renovating family under control - plus it is quite the conversation starter when people see the kitchen renovation for the first time. But I digress - Dishwashers - can't live without them!

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    1. That's fantastic that you were able to manage that...I think it's a given that kitchens should have dishwashers now. I'd have a hard time moving into a place that didn't have one, now that we've experienced life After Dishwasher! xx

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  11. We had a dish-drawer in my last rental, and we hated it. The buttons inside got wet and constantly needed to be serviced, but the worst thing was that it never cleaned properly, the dishes never came out squeaky-clean. We now have a standard Bosch and it is brilliant, there is no need to rinse anything, just bung 'em all in and they come out sparkling and clean. What someone needs to invent is a dishwasher with a built-in in-sinkerator.

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    1. It's great to get that feedback Ross because design is one thing but function is another! xx

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    2. What someone really needs to invent is a dishwasher that can empty itself and put all the dishes back to where they belong.
      Anonymous Natalie

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  12. We put plenty of big drawers in our kitchen too...for saucepans, baking dishes, plastics, bowls and more for shallower things like cutlery and graters and kitchen rolls...ie cling wrap etc. We love 'em.
    We are also dishdrawer people and really appreciate the benefits of that too. Happy weekending!

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  13. It is good to have a good dishwasher and kitchen design thoughts. This is the first thing you should do. Have the best design.

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  14. Oh yeah. Dishwasher is absolutely essential. We've just moved from a house with one of those lovely double dishwasher drawers, to a house without one at all. Bad bad bad for a cluttered kitchen!

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