Integrated appliances are the ones you cannot see. The washing machine, the dishwasher, the fridge — all of them sitting behind a cabinet door that matches the rest of your kitchen, so the room reads as cabinetry rather than a row of white boxes.
It is a lovely look. It is also the area where we field the most confused phone calls, because integrated appliances come with a set of rules that nobody explains until something does not fit. This guide covers those rules in plain English.
What integrated actually means
Three words get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing.
- Freestanding — a finished appliance on show. It has its own sides, its own door, and it can be pulled out and taken with you when you move.
- Built-in — the appliance sits inside a cabinet but its own front is on display. A built-in oven is the obvious example: the oven door is the oven door.
- Integrated — the appliance sits inside a cabinet and your cabinet door is fitted to the front of it. From the outside it is invisible.
There is a further split within integrated dishwashers that catches people out. A fully integrated dishwasher hides its controls on the top edge of the door, so the front is a blank cabinet panel. A semi-integrated one has a visible control panel strip along the top. Fully integrated looks cleaner; semi-integrated is easier to operate without opening the door.
If you are still deciding between the two approaches, our guide to built-in versus freestanding appliances covers the trade-offs.
The door is not supplied — and that surprises people
This is the single most important thing to understand before you order.
An integrated appliance does not come with a front. You supply the cabinet door, and it needs to match the rest of your kitchen. That door comes from your kitchen supplier, your fitter, or a door specialist — not from us, and not from the appliance manufacturer.
So the real cost of an integrated appliance is the appliance plus the door plus the fitting. If you are pricing a kitchen and comparing an integrated dishwasher against a freestanding one, that is the honest comparison to make.
The second consequence is that integrated appliances do not really move house with you. The door is cut for your kitchen. Take the appliance to a new property and you will need a new door.
Sliding hinge or fixed hinge — the bit that actually matters
There are two ways of attaching your cabinet door to an integrated appliance, and getting this wrong is the commonest cause of a fitting that does not work.
Sliding hinge (also called a sliding rail)
The cabinet door is fixed to a bracket that slides along a rail on the appliance. When you open the appliance, the door travels a little relative to it.
This is the more forgiving system. It tolerates a wider range of door sizes and small alignment errors, and it is what most UK integrated fridges and freezers use. If your kitchen has standard door heights and you want the least stressful fit, this is the one to look for. Our Candy CMS518EWK tall larder fridge uses a sliding hinge, for example.
Fixed hinge (also called door-on-door)
The cabinet door is bolted directly to the appliance door, and the two swing as one piece.
Done well this gives the tighter, more seamless finish, and it is common on higher-end European appliances. But it is far less tolerant. The door has to be the right size and the hinges have to be positioned accurately, or the door will foul the cabinet next to it when it opens — particularly on a corner run.
Which do you need?
Your kitchen design decides this, not your preference. Check what the cabinetry is built for before you order, and if a designer has drawn the kitchen, ask them directly. Most manufacturers state the system in the product specification, and the two are not interchangeable.
Housing sizes: measure the hole, not the appliance
Integrated appliances go into a cabinet opening — the housing, sometimes called the niche or aperture. What matters is the size of that opening, not the outside dimensions of the appliance.
Under-counter appliances — dishwashers, washing machines, under-counter fridges — go into a standard base unit. Full-size dishwashers and washing machines are 60cm wide. Slimline dishwashers are 45cm, which is worth knowing if your kitchen is tight: our Montpellier MDWBI4553 slimline takes ten place settings in that narrower gap.
Tall appliances — in-column fridges, fridge freezers and larder fridges — go into a tall housing, and this is where measuring matters most. Tall housings come in several standard heights, and an appliance built for one will not go into another. Integrated fridge freezers are unforgiving about it in a way that under-counter appliances are not.
Always work from the niche dimensions given in the product specification, and measure your actual opening rather than assuming it is standard. Our guide on how to measure for kitchen appliances walks through this properly, including the delivery access checks people forget.
Ventilation — the invisible requirement
A freestanding fridge sits in open air. An integrated one sits in a sealed box, and it still has to get rid of heat.
Integrated cold appliances need airflow, usually drawn in through a vent in the plinth, up the back of the cabinet, and out through a gap at the top. That airflow path has to actually exist. If the plinth vent is blocked, or the cabinet has been built tight against the wall with no rear gap, the compressor runs hotter, works harder, uses more electricity and does not last as long.
The same principle applies to integrated ovens and microwaves, which need clearance around them. Whoever fits your kitchen should know this, but it is worth asking the question rather than assuming.
What integrated costs you
Being straight about the trade-offs:
- It costs more. An integrated appliance is generally dearer than the freestanding equivalent at the same specification, before you have bought the door.
- You lose some capacity. The housing and the frame eat into internal space. An integrated fridge holds less than a freestanding one of the same external size, and integrated washing machines top out at smaller drum sizes than freestanding ones.
- Repairs are more awkward. Getting an integrated machine out of its housing takes longer than pulling a freestanding one forward, and some engineers charge accordingly.
- It is harder to change your mind. Swapping an integrated appliance later means matching the housing and reusing or remaking the door.
What you get in return is a kitchen that looks like a room rather than a showroom of appliances. For open-plan spaces where the kitchen is visible from the sofa, that is often worth every penny.
Which appliances are worth integrating?
You do not have to integrate everything.
Almost always worth it: the dishwasher and the washing machine. These are the two that look most obviously like machines, and hiding them makes the biggest visual difference. A full-size integrated dishwasher starts at a very reasonable price, and an integrated washing machine gets the laundry out of sight entirely.
Usually worth it: the fridge and freezer, if your kitchen has tall housings drawn in. A tall integrated column changes the whole feel of a run of units. Look at our Smeg 70/30 integrated frost free fridge freezer or, at the more affordable end, the Indesit INC18D011B.
Often not worth it: an American-style fridge freezer, which is a statement piece anyway, and a range cooker, which is meant to be seen. If you have bought a range cooker, hiding the rest of the kitchen around it is exactly the right approach.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Ordering before the kitchen is designed. The housing sizes come from the kitchen plan. Order the appliances to fit the plan, not the other way round.
- Assuming the door is included. It is not. Budget for it.
- Ignoring the hinge system. Sliding and fixed are not interchangeable. Check before you buy.
- Blocking the ventilation. A sealed-in fridge with no plinth vent will cost you in electricity and in lifespan.
- Forgetting the delivery route. A tall integrated fridge freezer is a big, heavy box. Measure your doorways and any turns before delivery day.
Frequently asked questions
Does the cabinet door come with the appliance?
No. You supply it, from your kitchen supplier or door specialist. The appliance comes with the brackets and template to fit it.
Can I put an integrated appliance in a freestanding gap?
No. Integrated appliances have unfinished sides and no front, and they need a cabinet to sit in. A gap between two units is not a housing.
Can I fit a cabinet door to a freestanding appliance?
No. Freestanding machines are not built to take one, and covering them causes ventilation problems.
Are integrated appliances quieter?
Usually a little, yes — the cabinetry and the door absorb some of the noise. It is a genuine side benefit in an open-plan kitchen, though the appliance own noise rating still matters more.
Do integrated fridges hold less?
Yes. For the same external footprint, an integrated fridge has less usable space inside than a freestanding one, because of the housing and the insulation.
Can I buy the appliances as a set?
Yes, and it is usually cheaper. Our bundles pair matching appliances at a lower price than buying them individually — see whether appliance bundles actually save money for an honest look at when they do and do not.
Still not sure?
Send us your kitchen plan or the housing dimensions and we will tell you what fits. It takes us five minutes and saves you a return. We answer on WhatsApp seven days a week, and every appliance we sell comes with the full manufacturer warranty and free UK delivery over £400.
