Short answer
Choose the appliances before the cabinetry is drawn. Cabinets are made to fit appliances, never the reverse. A range swapped after the shop drawings are approved is a remake, not a substitution.
Ventilation is sized to the cooking surface, not to the room. Get the specification from the manufacturer, check the duct route before drywall, and remember that a powerful hood in a tight house may need make-up air.
Get the specification sheets, not the marketing pages. Cutout dimensions, door swing, clearance to combustibles, electrical and gas requirements. Those are the numbers the kitchen is built around.
On this page
Why appliances come first
A kitchen is built around fixed objects. A 48-inch range is 48 inches wide whatever anyone would prefer, needs a specific clearance to adjacent combustible surfaces, requires a defined gas line and electrical supply, and dictates the hood above it.
The sequence that avoids expensive rework:
- Decide the layout — see kitchen layouts compared.
- Select the appliances and collect the specification sheets.
- Draw the cabinetry around them.
- Order cabinetry.
- Template stone after cabinets are installed.
Reversing steps two and three is the most common cause of a change order in a kitchen project. The second most common is buying an appliance on a sale before the plan exists, and then bending the plan around it. The full decision order is in the kitchen remodel planning guide.
Sizes and the clearances around them
| Appliance | Common widths | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Range | 30, 36, 48″ | Clearance to side walls and combustibles; hood width; gas or 240V |
| Cooktop | 30, 36, 48″ | Cutout size, depth below for a drawer, induction needs power not gas |
| Wall oven | 24, 27, 30″ | Cabinet cutout height, dedicated circuit, door swing clearance |
| Refrigerator, standard depth | 30 to 36″ | Projects past cabinets; needs 15″ landing on the handle side |
| Refrigerator, counter depth | 30 to 36″ | Aligns with cabinets; less capacity; check hinge clearance to a wall |
| Dishwasher | 18, 24″ | Open door depth into the aisle; place on your dominant-hand side of the sink |
| Microwave drawer | 24, 30″ | Cabinet depth; far better than an over-range microwave |
| Beverage or wine unit | 15, 24″ | Ventilation at the front; do not build into a sealed cavity |
Two details that catch people out. A refrigerator door needs room to swing past an adjacent wall or the bins will not clear the opening — a counter-depth unit tight into a corner can be impossible to unload. And a dishwasher door open into a 42-inch aisle leaves under 20 inches to pass, which is the specific reason appliance aisles get 48 inches.
Cutout dimensions, clearance to combustibles, duct size, gas and electrical loads — these are what a kitchen is drawn around, and they are rarely on the page you were shown in the showroom.
Jan Revels collects the specifications, coordinates the trades and builds the cabinetry to them.
How do you size a range hood?
Ventilation is the most under-specified element in a kitchen and the one people notice most once they cook seriously.
- Follow the manufacturer’s requirement for the cooking appliance. High-output burners and griddles require substantially more extraction than a standard range, and the number comes from the appliance, not from a rule of thumb.
- The hood should be at least as wide as the cooking surface, and wider is better — 3 inches beyond each side captures far more.
- Mounting height is specified by the manufacturer. Hanging a hood higher than specified for the sake of a sight line is how a hood stops working.
- Duct straight and short. Every elbow costs performance. Rigid metal duct, correctly sized; flexible duct is where extraction goes to die.
- Vent outside. A recirculating hood filters grease and does nothing for heat, steam or the smell of last night’s fish.
- Make-up air. A powerful hood in a tightly built house can pull more air than the house can replace, which affects combustion appliances. This is a code question in many jurisdictions — ask early, because the solution involves ductwork.
- Downdraft is a compromise. It works against physics, since heat rises. Choose it when a hood is genuinely impossible, not by preference.
Gas, induction or dual fuel?
| Gas | Induction | Dual fuel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Visible flame, instant | Fastest heating, precise low settings | Gas on top, electric oven |
| Cleaning | Grates and burners | Flat glass, wipes clean | Grates on top |
| Cookware | Anything | Magnetic pans only | Anything |
| Infrastructure | Gas line | Dedicated high-amp circuit | Both |
| Heat in the room | Considerable | Much less — a genuine advantage in a Dallas summer | Considerable |
| Ventilation need | Highest — combustion byproducts | Still required for steam and grease | Highest |
Induction is worth a serious look in a Texas kitchen for one under-discussed reason: it puts far less waste heat into the room. In a kitchen that is open to the living space and running air conditioning for seven months, that is a comfort difference, not a marginal one. The cost is a dedicated circuit and replacing any non-magnetic cookware.
Panel-ready and integrated
- Panel-ready means the appliance accepts a cabinet door front so it disappears into the run. Applies most often to refrigerators, dishwashers and beverage units.
- It is a cabinetry cost as well as an appliance cost. The panel is made by the cabinet shop and must be specified with the appliance in hand.
- Handles are a separate decision. Some panel-ready units take cabinet hardware; others require the manufacturer’s handle. Establish which before the hardware is ordered.
- It is worth it where the appliance is visible from the living space, and much less so in a scullery or a back pantry where nobody looks.
- Integrated appliances still need ventilation. A wine unit built into a sealed cavity will run hot and fail early.
Where each appliance should go
- Refrigerator at the edge of the working zone, reachable from outside it so someone can get a drink without crossing the cook.
- Dishwasher immediately beside the sink, on the side of your dominant hand, with dish storage above or beside it — you unload far more often than you set a table.
- Range with landing space on both sides. Fifteen inches minimum on one side and 12 on the other; 24 and 15 is comfortable.
- Wall ovens at a height you can lift a heavy tray out of — the middle rack around waist height, not at eye level.
- Microwave low, as a drawer, especially in a household with children. Over-range microwaves compromise the ventilation and put hot food above head height.
- Beverage area at the edge, so guests can reach coffee and glasses without entering the working zone.
Key takeaways
- Appliances are chosen before cabinetry is drawn, always. Cabinets are made to fit them.
- Collect specification sheets: cutouts, clearances, gas and electrical loads, duct sizes.
- Size ventilation from the cooking appliance, duct it straight, and vent it outside.
- A hood hung higher than specified stops working.
- Induction puts much less waste heat into a Texas kitchen than gas does.
- Panel-ready is a cabinetry cost too, and only worth it where the appliance is seen.
- Dishwasher beside the sink, microwave low, refrigerator reachable from outside the work zone.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose appliances before or after cabinets?
How powerful does my range hood need to be?
Is induction better than gas?
Is a counter-depth refrigerator worth it?
Where should the microwave go?
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. She designs and general-contracts residential and commercial projects across the Park Cities, Preston Hollow and North Dallas. Read her full profile →
Written and reviewed by Jan Revels before publicationWork with Chateau Concepts
Jan Revels handles both sides of a project in Dallas and the Park Cities — the design and the build.