Dishwashers- oh and showers!

This thread reminds me of my first visit to the in laws. They lived in a new build with the requisite downstairs cloakroom, upstairs family bathroom and master en suite. The family bathroom had a gorgeous tub with hand-held shower attachment, but no doors or curtain. So here I am trying to figure out how to have a bloody shower without getting water everywhere... while everyone else just took showers in the en suite. Turns out that room was just for baths. Newb.   

It's actually quite telling how living in the UK changed my "needs". I don't need a dishwasher anymore as long as I have a window to look out of and I loathe "American style" refrigerators - we never fill them and they take up valuable counter space. If DH's contract gets extended we'll be hunting for a house to rent - and banish the big fridge to the garage in favour of a slimline under counter one.

And to have a washing machine at all! That was definitely a luxury to me - I never had a w/d in a rental until I first moved to England in 2004. Now that was a luxury! Who cared if it was in the kitchen, I mean where else was it going to go? No longer having to lug laundry baskets to the coin op room down the hall or the laundrette was heaven. Now it's a deal breaker - my only "need". Even though we have a stackable washer/dryer in our rental now, I still have the clothes drying in the lounge.

I could spend all day reading about big greedy American appliances. Who knew I was so thoroughly middle class?

We have a dishwasher, but it is tiny. If we were more than two people, it would be useless. As it is, if we have an active Friday night and are home the next day, it might get filled and run twice in the same day. We turn it off before it does the drying cycle, and the thing still takes two hours! What is it doing?

Our washing machine has two settings -- 30 minutes of not really much cleaning at all, and then two hours of vaguely effective cleaning. Of course, because the water is so hard, the two hour cycle isn't that amazing unless you can do hot water + detergent + water softening tablets. Sometimes I through in some vinegar as well.

I weep for a dryer. I think I would line dry much more now that I have experience with it, but for those three months of rain in the spring when it took three to four days for socks to dry and they all reeked of mold by the time they were done? Oh yes, I would happily have run a dryer and sat in the dark every night to make up for the electricity. I can see life without a dryer in, say, Arizona, but London is not especially known for dry, sunny days.

Our fridge, about the same size as the one my sister took to college, will not hold a weeks worth of food for two people. People talk about the blight of Tesco Express, but since everything else closes by the time you get home, and you can't keep enough food for the week, how else would people eat?

/venting

I loathe "American style" refrigerators - we never fill them and they take up valuable counter space. If DH's contract gets extended we'll be hunting for a house to rent - and banish the big fridge to the garage in favour of a slimline under counter one.

In the tiny kitchen of my rented flat, we have a full-sized fridge, and I hate it, because I have no worktop space.  If I had the choice, I would replace it with a smaller under-counter model to give me more work space.

And to have a washing machine at all!

Yes!  Who cares if it's in the kitchen (I really don't understand why that's such a big deal to some people)... I am just happy I don't have to go to a laundrette! 

Who cares if it's in the kitchen (I really don't understand why that's such a big deal to some people)...

It's 'cause they might get food on their underpants - we have been on to this one before! 

Even so, Phatbeetle has never gotten food on her underpants. 

It's 'cause they might get food on their underpants - we have been on to this one before! 

 

I've had a house with a washing machine in the kitchen before and I thought it was brilliant!

However, I will defend my giant fridge. I love love love it. Even though there are only two of us, it's generally pretty full. And I honestly don't know how I'd manage without it at Christmas. Plus, it has a magical ice (cubed or crushed) and water dispenser thing which I adore.

However, I will defend my giant fridge. I love love love it. Even though there are only two of us, it's generally pretty full. And I honestly don't know how I'd manage without it at Christmas. Plus, it has a magical ice (cubed or crushed) and water dispenser thing which I adore.

Ours is the right size for us, most of the time.  However, when I'm putting on a big meal (like Thanksgiving) for a number of people, I always hope for chilly/cold weather so that we are then able to use the utility porch as our 'second' fridge/wine & beer chiller/etc.

When we first lived in that flat across the street, my objection to the washing machine in the kitchen is that it was so horribly loud on the spin cycle.  But there was no other place for it to go - it was close quarters there!

When I was renting in the US I never had both a dish washer and a washer and drier. I sometimes had one or the other if I was lucky, but never both.

My husband and I live in a "new" house, built less than twenty years ago though we aren't the original occupiers. It came with a teeny tiny ensuite shower which my husband renovated, taking out the linen closet, to be what I consider a cozy room that makes good use of space but the neighbours think is unimagined luxury.  There was a small dishwasher and a small washer/dryer (one machine that did both) that both broke this year so we replaced them with more energy efficient models and got a separate washer and dryer. The dryer lives in the detached garage so that's a bit of a pain but we want to use cloth nappies so being able to do multiple loads and have things actually dry was a must.  We also acquired a larger freezer for the garage.

The original kitchen fixtures - dish washer, washer/dryer, under-worktop fridge and freezer - were all behind cupboard doors that look exactly like the real cupboards so you wouldn't know anything was there for looking at a picture. We weren't able to match the cupboard doors for our new appliances.

However, when I'm putting on a big meal (like Thanksgiving) for a number of people, I always hope for chilly/cold weather so that we are then able to use the utility porch as our 'second' fridge/wine & beer chiller/etc.

We contemplated having a second fridge in the garage to use just for wine & beer!

we removed the 'integrated' fridge-freezer from our kitchen last May and bought a freestanding Indesit with a top-mount freezer (TAN6FNF S, for anyone interested).
The integrated model with the cabinet was 60 cm wide; the Indesit is 70 cm. Since Mine was not under counter, I didn't lose any counter space.

I cook a lot and have tons of condiments, plus I wanted sufficient refrigerator space to handle all my goodies plus a pot of soup if need be. The freezer section is sufficient since we don't buy frozen food in bulk. Personally I hated side-by-side models in the US, and always opted for a top mount. This one is very efficient, and I wouldn't be without it.

I also groan because I can't use some of my baking trays, but I manage. I have this massive range cooker which came with the house, but each oven is equivalent to a small built in. Don't like it, don't recommend it.

I'm well used to smaller spaces, and at my age just look at it as less to clean. I won't give up my DW though. DH thought it was a mad idea when I first said I wanted one 20 years ago, but now he wouldn't be w/o one either.

However, I will defend my giant fridge. I love love love it. Even though there are only two of us, it's generally pretty full. And I honestly don't know how I'd manage without it at Christmas. Plus, it has a magical ice (cubed or crushed) and water dispenser thing which I adore.

I fully support you and your fridge!  

We're in the middle of re-doing the kitchen in our new place.  My wife is the chef in the family (I could care less about food, and would happily eat the same 6 or 7 meals in a semi-permanent rotation), and had a lot of thoughts about what she wanted in the kitchen.

When she asked me what I wanted, my only request was a garbage disposal in the sink.  She asked the kitchen people if this was a) possible, and b) common, and the response was yes it's possible, and "The only people who have ever asked for a garbage disposal are Americans, or people who have lived in America."

When it's all finally installed and working, I plan to sing The Star Spangled Banner every time I run it!

And I'm also firmly on the side of the dishwasher people.  My wife and I would've killed each other long ago if we didn't have one.

Speaking as a 50-year old Brit I can probably give some background on this.

Dishwashers - very much a luxury item, mainly on space in small kitchens and people not being used to having them, also having the washing machine in the kitchen. I know some people with dishwashers but most people i visit don't have them.

Fridges - the big American style are fairly recent here. When I was a kid we had an under counter one, we were the first house on the street to get a freezer, as my mum worked shifts as a nurse she saw it as a great convenience. I'll tell you as a 10 year old you aren't impressed when your parents buy a chest freezer whilst your friends parents are buying a colour TV! Many people now have upright fridge/freezers, just not as big as in the US.

Showers - more of a 70's, 80's thing here. And generally they'll be over the bath tub. Whether it's to do with water pressure or the way you heat your water (when I was a kid it had to be from the coal fire boiler) you tend to find many people have added electric showers, so doesn't matter if no hot water as the shower unit heats the water up as you use it. MAybe not something landlords bother fitting but if you are buying you'll find many houses have them.

Of these we have a fridge/freezer and an electric shower. Oh and we have a tumble dryer as well - another thing I remember my mum insisting on having in the 70's so she could do the laundry quicker!

Dishwashers - very much a luxury item,

Hmmm ... I'd say they used to be a luxury item, but not so much now. And I do think the proliferation (!!) of dishwashers happened more recently here than in the US. However, I honestly don't have any friends or relations who don't have a dishwasher. None at all.

We don't have space for a dishawasher. *grumble, grumble* 

Haha, this thread has been amusing for me! The only place I've ever rented is New York City (always in Brooklyn) and it's way more like the UK than the rest of the country. I don't know ANYONE who has a dishwasher AND a washer/dryer AND a big fridge in their apartment! Ok, so showers are definitely a given (but tubs are not). My current apartment building has communal laundry and I'm over the moon about that, tbh, because it's a lot more convenient than the laundromat! I have never had a dishwasher and have often had a tiny fridge. My current fridge is pretty small but that's ok, because I'm living alone for the first time ever but it'd probably be fairly average sized in the UK (at least there's a freezer). The only way to get all of those amenities here is to live in a super expensive newly built high rise (think $3k/month for a one bed, not even in Manhattan) and even then, laundry is often communal. Sure, a dishwasher would be nice and I'd be thrilled to have a washing machine in my kitchen (I don't necessarily need a tumble dryer--they can be nice but not super necessary) but it's part of the trade off for living here. 

Haha, this thread has been amusing for me! The only place I've ever rented is New York City (always in Brooklyn) and it's way more like the UK than the rest of the country. I don't know ANYONE who has a dishwasher AND a washer/dryer AND a big fridge in their apartment! Ok, so showers are definitely a given (but tubs are not). My current apartment building has communal laundry and I'm over the moon about that, tbh, because it's a lot more convenient than the laundromat! I have never had a dishwasher and have often had a tiny fridge. My current fridge is pretty small but that's ok, because I'm living alone for the first time ever but it'd probably be fairly average sized in the UK (at least there's a freezer). The only way to get all of those amenities here is to live in a super expensive newly built high rise (think $3k/month for a one bed, not even in Manhattan) and even then, laundry is often communal. Sure, a dishwasher would be nice and I'd be thrilled to have a washing machine in my kitchen (I don't necessarily need a tumble dryer--they can be nice but not super necessary) but it's part of the trade off for living here. 

Living in Philadelphia (center city, South Philly, South St. area, etc.) this has been mostly my experience as well.

I have had bathtubs in some apartments and have lived in a shared house at one point with one but always prefer showers anyway.

I've never had a dishwasher and washing dishes does not bother me in the slightest.

I've always had to use a laundromat for washing clothes and there are loads all over Philly, never had to walk more than a few blocks to get to one, I got good at washing the small stuff by hand so I didn't have to go too often and of course it all got dried on the radiators.

I'm very grateful for the washing machine we have and only despair of not having a dryer when the weather is wet and it's not cold enough to put the heat on.  Then and only then do I pull out the electric dryer thing that zips up like a tent over a big umbrella, don't know what it's called...?

Fridges have always been smallish except when I lived in a shared house.  We've got a small fridge now, but bigger than under the counter size and it has a freezer which I'm grateful for as I like to cook extra and freeze for another night.

When I stayed at my friend's house in the Art Museum area right before I moved over here (until my visa was approved) she had an old house, but it had a dishwasher and a washing machine and a dryer.  The washing machine was one of those American sized ones big enough to wash a king size quilt in!