If you’ve been following along with our DIY IKEA kitchen build, you already know this project was no joke. But now I want to get into the IKEA kitchen appliances and plumbing — the stuff that really made this kitchen expensive, complicated, and honestly the most rewarding part of the whole thing.
As I’ve said before, the kitchen is the most expensive room in the whole house because it gets complicated with so many IKEA kitchen appliances — multiple refrigerators, dishwashers, cooktops, hoods — and all of that needs to be synchronized. It requires a lot of power, water, and drain. Even before I started the kitchen itself, I had to bring additional power from the panel, additional circuits, and additional water lines, and I had to plumb additional drain for some of the new things I created in the dining area. That’s why it’s so complicated — it requires a lot of labor and materials. And you know, especially today when everything is high-tech and smart, the kitchen itself involves a lot of high-end, high-tech things that basically run our life.
So let me walk you through every IKEA kitchen appliance in this build.
IKEA Kitchen Appliances: Starting From the Freezer Column
First up, we have an 18-inch Thermador column freezer. It’s panel ready, which means it came without panels and I had to put IKEA VOXTORP panels on to make it blend in with the rest of the kitchen.
The 30-Inch Miele Oven and Warmer
Next we have a 30-inch Miele conventional cooking oven — one of the standout IKEA kitchen appliances in this build. A really nice oven — we use it all the time. Beautiful oven. It matches the rest of the appliances because I tried to keep them all matched. Right below it we have a 30-inch matching Miele food and plate warmer. We use it all the time — warming food and plates. It’s really nice, especially for a big party. The storage above them in that same tall cabinet has its own write-up: a pull-down shelf for these IKEA cabinets, with pull-out tray organizers underneath it.
The Series of Three 24-Inch Miele Appliances
Next we have a series of three matching 24-inch IKEA kitchen appliances stacked next to each other.
The first one is a Miele 24″ combination oven. It’s a microwave and oven in one. Beautiful thing. It’s a regular microwave but it also has an oven option. It’s 24 inches wide, and sometimes when you just have a few slices of pizza or a small batch of cookies, you don’t have to warm the whole conventional oven — you just toss them in there and in five minutes everything is ready. It’s so easy, it takes minutes to warm up.
Next we have a built-in Miele 24″ coffee machine with milk froth. That machine is famous for a reason. It’s plumbed, meaning it has a permanent water supply — filtered water coming to it — so we don’t have to put any water in. We only take out the waste and put in beans. We’re addicted to it. We literally can’t live without that machine.
Then we have a 24-inch Miele steam oven. You put rice, you put vegetables, and in like ten minutes everything is steamed. You put a little container with water, add your spices, and you’ve got really fresh and organic food in no time. Beautiful thing if you’re after organic, fresh, and simple food.
The Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher
Moving next to the sink section, one of the standout IKEA kitchen appliances we have is a Fisher & Paykel two-drawer dishwasher. Fisher & Paykel is a New Zealand company — they’re famous for that drawer dishwasher. This machine has drawers instead of a swing door. The drawers come out to you, so there’s no splashes. I put mine right next to the sink so you can move dishes from the sink right into it — no splashes, no nothing. The beautiful thing is it has two drawers, so if you have a small load you don’t have to run both — just the top one or the bottom one. It saves a little space and it’s beautiful. It also has a knock sensor, kind of like the Miele, so if you knock on it, it will stop the process and respond. Knock knock and it stops.
The Main Sink Station — Command Central
Next we have a 33-inch Franke (Switzerland) two-compartment main kitchen sink. I had to wait for that thing for like three months because it was on special order. It has a prep section next to it where we keep glasses and stuff, and the main area — that thing is like a control center with a lot going on.
The main faucet — it’s not a regular faucet. It looks like a Grohe Minta, but it’s not. It’s the Grohe Blue — a chilled sparkling water system. That system comes with its own faucet, and this faucet has electronic buttons on the left side. You select the level of sparkling water you want — you have three levels: full sparkling, medium, and just basic water with no sparkling. So that faucet is connected to a sparkling water machine.
Next to it we’ve got a Franke soap dispenser. I removed the small refillable tank under the dispenser and ran a long PVC pipe from the dispenser down to a big soap container at the bottom of the cabinet, so we don’t have to keep refilling a little tank all the time.
Next to that we’ve got an in-sink hand dryer. It dries your hands in seconds, just like a commercial hand dryer — no more dealing with wet hands. There’s a sensor, so when you put your hands under it, it starts blowing air until you pull them away.
Then we’ve got a faucet called the Grohe Red — that’s hot water on demand. There’s a small tank right under it for the hot water, also filtered. You push the button and hot water comes out. It’s great for cooking or a big party — tea, whatever — you always have hot water on demand.
The Prep Sink
Next to it we’ve got another prep sink — an 11-inch Franke prep sink. That thing is unique because it comes with accessories. We have a colander board, cutting boards, and different kinds of accessories including knives — all by Franke, all of it comes with that sink. If you remove them it’s a regular sink, but when you put them on top, everything drains into it. We’ve got a matching Grohe Minta faucet to go with the rest of them. So we’ve got two sinks — just in case we’ve got a big gathering, it never hurts to have an extra faucet and extra sink. I like the way it looks — it looks complete.
What’s Hiding Underneath
Underneath those two sink cabinets — the main kitchen sink and the smaller one — we’ve got the full support system for our IKEA kitchen appliances: the setup for drinking and cooking hot water on demand, chilled sparkling water, the hand dryer, and a roll-out tray with cleaning supplies. The Grohe Blue system is located in the next cabinet over, about 24 inches wide, because I had to actually cut the cabinet at the bottom in order for the system to be ventilated. There’s basically a small AC compressor that needs airflow, so the air blows right down to the floor. It requires a little bit of modification, but we love this system. We can’t live without it. We drink sparkling water just like you’d buy it at the store. I love it.
The SMEG Mixer Station
Next to it — and I’ve shown it already in the cabinets and hardware post — we have a SMEG kitchen mixer, the SMEG mixer in red. It’s not a major appliance, it’s a small appliance, but it’s kind of built in because I built the whole cabinet for it. I built the lift for it, so it’s kind of stuck there in a permanent place. It’s already wired and everything — you don’t have to do anything. You just lift it up and you can start mixing, making cookies or whatever you want.
The Island IKEA Kitchen Appliances — Hood Range and Cooktop
Let’s move to the island section, where the IKEA kitchen appliances get particularly impressive. We have a 48-inch Miele retractable hood range. That range is really cool because you can move the position — it has a motor inside, so by the push of a button you can lift it up or lower it depending on what you’re cooking. It’s really nice when you have big pots going. Also made by Miele — I tried to stick with the same manufacturer. It doesn’t always work, but at least I tried.
Next we have a cooktop by Miele — a 36-inch Miele induction cooktop. Beautiful thing, I love it. Easy to clean and very safe to use.
Next to it we’ve got a 15-inch Wolf electric grill. It’s an electric grill — you can cook vegetables and stuff on top of it. It has a grid just like an outdoor grill, so you can cook anything.
The Berkel Slicer
On the other side of the island, one of the more unique IKEA kitchen appliances — well, unique additions to the setup — is a Berkel daily slicer. We love that slicer. It’s a beautiful Italian Berkel slicer in red — we call it Ferrari red. It also has a dedicated cabinet at the end, in the corner, with its own lift. That cabinet was basically built for that slicer — we got the Berkel, then we built the cabinet around it. Everything was set up for that appliance — even the accessories and manuals, everything’s tucked inside. It even came with its own apron from Italy. Everything’s stored in there nice and neat with lights. And to save a little bit of space, I also put a little pull-out tray right under it so we can hold some canned food.
That finishes our kitchen section.
The Dining Area
Now let’s move to the dining area, where we have more IKEA kitchen appliances.
The Thermador Refrigerator Column
Over there we have a 36-inch Thermador Freedom refrigerator, also a column, also panel ready — just like the freezer, it came with no panels and I had to put IKEA panels on it to match the rest. IKEA doesn’t make VOXTORP in that size, so I had to custom-make panels from IKEA FÖRBÄTTRA — it’s a matte finish, same color, same everything. I bought FÖRBÄTTRA cover panels and custom-made them for that refrigerator. I had to match the handles too — the handles are made by Miele, so they didn’t come with the refrigerator.
The Dining Area Stack — Three More 24-Inch Appliances
Next to the fridge we’ve got another series of three 24-inch appliances stacked on top of each other.
The top one is another Miele coffee machine — yes, another coffee machine. We have two machines because we have a lot of guests and everybody wants coffee, so we make two coffees at the same time. It’s also built in with filtered water coming in — we don’t have to put any water in. Saves time.
Under it we have another Miele microwave and combination oven. It’s slightly different than the one we have in the kitchen, but basically the same concept. To make it a little different and match the rest of the dining area, I made this one in all white to match the white accessories over there. The dining area has all white appliances.
Below that we’ve got a 24-inch Liebherr wine cooler. I couldn’t find any Miele wine coolers — I guess Miele didn’t make one in 24-inch at the time. I had planned for three appliances there, and I found that Liebherr wine cooler — it’s the same 24-inch size, also made in Germany. It’s just a different name, and it matches the rest of the Miele appliances. So that concludes that little section by the fridge.
The Casa Bugatti Cabinet
The next cabinet — that translucent white matte glass tall cabinet — was specifically designed for my collection of Casa Bugatti appliances. The cabinet itself is an IKEA SEKTION tall kitchen cabinet with two frosted-glass doors that I joined together to work as one. Now, Bugatti is not the same Bugatti everybody thinks of, like the Italian car maker. It’s a different Bugatti, but it’s also really famous. It’s an Italian manufacturer of kitchen appliances and accessories — they make really cool things. I’m obsessed with their stuff.
We have a kettle on top, scales, a juice maker, a blender, a teapot, a toaster, a hand blender, and an espresso machine. This whole section is dedicated to small appliances — I call it the Bugatti section. They’re all in the same color: apple green. I love it.
Another Miele Warmer in the Dining Area
Moving on, we have a series of countertops with drawers, and under a small drawer I put another Miele warmer. Because when we have a big party and we’ve got a lot of trays, I need more warming surface. It’s basically the same as we have in the kitchen, just a different finish — it has a matte glass door matching the rest of the white, and the door handles all match the refrigerators and the ovens, like a chrome Miele handle. If you’re thinking about getting one, get one. I cook meat outside, put it in here for a couple hours, and it stays warm but it doesn’t dry out.
The Floating Dishwasher
Right by those sinks we have another Fisher & Paykel drawer dishwasher. This one is a 24-inch single-drawer model — same concept as our main kitchen dishwasher, just smaller, with a single drawer. The unique part is that it’s a floating dishwasher: there’s no base underneath it at all. It also has cover panels to match the rest of the kitchen, and it’s installed neatly next to the sinks.
The Dining Area Sinks and Faucets
Moving further, we have another two sinks at the corner. This area is like a tea service station — we serve tea and food sometimes when we have a big party, and I wanted another series of sinks here.
One sink is dedicated to a KWC faucet and soap dispenser. That faucet is really famous — KWC is a Swiss manufacturer. It’s called the Zoe Click Control, and it has an electronic button on the side. The valve itself is electronic — you push the button and you can switch between hot and cold. It’s really awesome, just high-tech and a piece of art to look at. The soap dispenser matches, also by KWC Switzerland. The sink is by Franke — really cool, it has two compartments with matching lids. You push on a lid and it opens. I love them — they’re super clean, nice-looking, and easy to maintain.
Next to it I have a smaller Franke bar sink. We made that sink specifically for a hot water dispenser — it’s a Franke Hot Water Butler by Franke Switzerland. That little thing has hot water on demand. There’s a small tank underneath for on-demand hot water, just like we have in the kitchen. You can serve hot tea or hot chocolate over there.
The Knife Storage Setup
Next to it I also installed a knife holder. We always have a dilemma about where to store our knives, and I like when they’re stored vertically. I found a Franke holder, and we had to customize our countertop when we did it so we could install it. It even has a drain to the main drain — there’s a little PVC hose that drains to the sink drain, so everything stays drained. That little thing holds the knives, and for the knives I went with Porsche Design. They’re made by Porsche and they’re cool, nice-looking knives — I mean, the knives themselves are like a piece of art. They’re made of solid metal, one piece — the handle and the blade. Absolutely beautiful.
Pulling It All Together
Honestly, after the cabinets were in, the majority of my time went into installing and customizing the IKEA kitchen appliances. Most of them needed custom fronts, so I was applying IKEA VOXTORP and IKEA FÖRBÄTTRA panels to the fridges, dishwashers, and everything else, building lifts, and fitting it all together. It took a long time. I also had to run a lot of dedicated wiring from the basement just for the kitchen and dining area, plus new drain lines for the things I added. All in all, there’s a huge amount of equipment over there — and yeah, that’s a lot — but every single piece serves its purpose.
Was It Worth It?
Absolutely.
Today, thanks to these IKEA kitchen appliances, we wake up to barista-quality coffee made automatically with fresh milk foam. We have sparkling water on tap instead of buying bottles. We can bake a few cookies or reheat pizza in minutes using the combination oven without heating the large oven. The steam oven makes healthy meals incredibly easy, and warming drawers keep food perfect during family gatherings.
Every IKEA kitchen appliance earns its place.
My biggest advice? Build the kitchen that works for your family, not someone else’s. Think about how you actually cook, entertain, and live every day. When planning your IKEA kitchen appliances, dream big, plan carefully, and don’t be afraid to customize things if it creates a better result.
In upcoming posts, I’ll dive much deeper into many of these IKEA kitchen appliances and show exactly how I installed them — including several plumbing modifications and custom solutions that I haven’t seen documented anywhere else.
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Related on Homeject: Start with the DIY IKEA kitchen series introduction, see the automated SEKTION cabinets & hardware, and browse the full Kitchen section.
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