It’s been a minute since we checked in with the kitchen. We still have a LOT of finishing touches to tackle here, but I couldn’t wait another day to share our appliance garage with you. This appliance garage was Stoffer Cabinetry’s brain-child. There used to be a kitchen desk there so it was a very deep-set part of the kitchen. When we were designing this area–our beverage center, Stoffer came up with this idea of creating a “moving backsplash.” At first glance, this looks like a typical standard-depth set of uppers with a paneled backsplash… But the backsplash glides up to reveal all of our every day appliances: toaster, blender, juicer, Ninja CREAMi, electric tea kettle!
The fact that they’re plugged in, ready to be used, makes this design even more functional and genius!
A couple things!–The initial design didn’t include a pull, but we felt like it makes opening and closing so much easier! The brass pull will also tie into the refrigerator drawers below it, which will be nice to see come together. Another thing–we’re  trying to decide whether we want the inside backsplash to be an antique mirror, or some shiny black subway tile. Jean put her stamp of approval on either!
Every time we show it on Instagram, it blows everyone’s mind! Tbh, I didn’t understand exactly how it was going to come together until it actually came together. Here’s a look of what this kitchen corner looked like before demo!
Before
Progress
Here’s how they did it!
They first built a frame above the appliance area to mount the upper cabinets to. It had to sit up high enough so that the appliance panel could glide up, in-between the frame and the cabinets.
They then installed the cabinet panels inside of the garage, as well as the vertical sliding hardware, and then attached the appliance panel to it (what you see as the backsplash).
With that in place, the upper cabinets were mounted just in front of the panel to keep it hidden when it glides up. I know its a bit tricky to understand, but hopefully the pictures help!
Appliance Garage Today!
Glasses | Vintage Glasses | Faucet | Brass Pull | Cabinet Latch
The lift that we are using, has taken some time to get used to. At first it was incredibly hard to open, and easy to close. We played with the tension a bit so that it’s much easier to open, and a hard to close, but it’s getting easier! The tension needs to be tight enough that when you lift the panel up, it stays put, rather than sliding back down. We think it might just need some breaking in. That was another reason why we added the heavy-duty brass pull–because it made it easier to lift! We thought about doing something motorized, but if I’m being honest I don’t trust that kind of technology here!
Since we use these small appliances every day, it wasn’t practical for us to keep them stored away and pull them out (and put them back away) for every use. This is less cluttered, and less work! It’s like having them out on the counter every day… but hidden. And honestly, it’s our most used corner of the kitchen!
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Wonderful idea. Love it.
Hi Julia,
I really like what you have done here. I want to do the same in my kitchen. Are you able to share drawings and links to where to buy the hardware for this sort of sliding door? I will appreciate it.
Thank you!
Working on putting together all of our tips!
Love the idea of the appliance garage! It’s so functional and sleek. How did you decide between the antique mirror and shiny black subway tile for the inside backsplash?
I don’t think that black is a finish in our kitchen. We do have polished nickel represented, and I wanted to bring in a silvery-worn tone in the antique mirror. We repeated this tile in Cricket’s feeding station in the mudroom.
I love your appliance garage. And I want to installed in the kitchen remodel that we’re about to do. We are hoping to start construction sometime in November. Can you send me information or how do we contact you
You can find more details and dimensions on the post Everything About Our Beverage Station and Hidden Appliance Garage.
I like the appliance garage. Can you provide a link for the hardware please?