Aztec’s Top Kitchen Appliances for Smaller Homes [Bonus: Laundry]

Phenomenal cosmic power but an itty-bitty living space? While your living space may limit the maximum dimensions of your home appliances, your dreams should not be bound by your square footage. Thankfully, with small appliances, you can create flexibility with full-size appliance features. 

Never one to have you settling for less, our Aztec Appliance catalog is brimming with family-trusted brands that won’t require you to take out a second mortgage just to outfit your kitchen and laundry room with the best home appliances. 

Reap the benefits of tech-forward cooking and cleaning innovations by checking out our favorite small appliances for compact homes!

Given that a compact living space usually implies less mouths to feed, a small-capacity fridge might be the most prudent purchase for your needs and budget. For reference, each adult typically requires at least 4 (and up to 6) cubic feet of fridge capacity while a family of four is said to need at least 20 cubic feet, which is only slightly above the limit for a small-capacity refrigerator (i.e., up 19 cubic feet).

In terms of refrigerator styles, top-freezer and bottom-freezer configurations offer less volume than French door and side-by-side models. Considered the tried-and-true option in their category, top-freezer refrigerators can have a volume as low as 4.5 cubic feet and, for the most part, they are capped at around 25.9 cubic feet. Refrigerators with 19 cubic feet of capacity are usually about 30 inches wide.

Even more compact in size, freestanding bottom-freezer refrigerators have between 5 and 25.9 cubic feet of volume, with most models hosting 19 cubic feet of space or less. Compared to their top-freezer counterparts, small-capacity bottom-freezer fridges can be slimmer—between 21 and 24 inches wide—to take up less room along the width of your wall. 

And if your household is a party of one, it is worth noting that standard compact refrigerators (or “mini fridges”) are typically sized at around 2 cubic feet, with larger models capping at around 4.5 cubic feet.

From our catalog, mass brands Frigidaire and GE offer highly rated small-capacity refrigerators at reasonable prices.

Pictured: Frigidaire® 18.3 Cu. Ft. Stainless Steel Top Freezer Refrigerator

Kitchen ranges combine two appliances in one, so they inherently take up less space than separate installments of a cooktop and wall oven. Across gas and electric types, most standard ranges are around 30 inches wide. With that in mind, the width for compact ranges is between 20 and 24 inches. 

Among our top kitchen appliances for compact ranges, Whirlpool offers 24-inch freestanding models for gas and electric cooking options. But make no mistake: These Whirlpool ranges can still serve up big meals. Despite the average being 5 cubic feet for oven capacities, this range’s 3-cubic-feet volume is made to fit your family’s needs.

But if you still prefer having separately installed cooktop instead of a range stove, compact options are capped at 30 inches of width. In this realm, Samsung reigns supreme with 30-inch cooktops across gas, electric, and induction options. Sacrificing a few inches doesn’t mean you’re forfeiting quality; you’ll be happy to know these Samsung cooktops allow you to monitor and control your small appliance from your smart device. 

Pictured: Whirlpool® 24” Free Standing Electric Range - Stainless Steel

It goes without saying, that if you invest in a cooktop, you’ll need a separately installed oven. And if you’re opting for a wall oven for a small kitchen, you better make it a microwave-wall oven combo. A real space saver, this appliance keeps two culinary titans in one station, so you won’t have to worry about congesting your kitchen counters or overhead cabinetry.

With compact wall ovens being evaluated at 27 inches of width or less, GE Profile offers a 26.75-inch built-in wall oven with a smaller microwave cavity up top. While a standard wall oven is around 3 cubic feet, this combination appliance boasts a 4.3-cubic-feet capacity in the lower cavity. As a bonus, the microwave compartment has 1.7 cubic feet of capacity, which is roughly the average for most standalone models.

Pictured: GE Profile™ 26.75” Stainless Steel Built-In Combination Convection Microwave/Convection Wall Oven

While having a dishwasher may seem like a luxury, believe us, regardless of the size of your kitchen, you shouldn’t have to miss out. After all, everyone is deserving of convenience. From saving you time, labor, and costs on your water bill, dishwashers prove they are the underrated MVPs in any kitchen.

The standout manufacturer in this category is Bosch. Along with being celebrated as the quietest dishwasher brand in the U.S., Bosch stocks small kitchen appliances, including dishwashers that are no more than 18 inches wide.

Aside from taking up less space within your cabinetry, compact Bosch dishwashers are Energy Star certified, can eliminate bacteria via a Sanitize Option, can wash up to ten place settings, and have a powerful rinse cycle that eliminates the need for pre-rinsing. Best of all, these Bosch dishwashers operate at a mere 44 decibels that won’t compete with a normal speaking volume.

Pictured: Bosch 800 Series 18" Built In Dishwasher - Stainless Steel

Now that you’ve heard all about our top kitchen appliances, we think it’s about time we discuss laundry day. The truth is many small residences don’t have a designated laundry room. To avoid weekly trips to the laundromat, you can create a compact setup in a closet, kitchen, or other living space.

We see two options. On one hand, you can score a washer-dryer combo appliance so that you can execute laundry day without transferring your clothes. In terms of this first option, LG has got you covered with 2.3 cubic-feet options with ventless condensing drying and six different wash motions you can control with your smart device.

And option two is a stacked laundry unit that saves you floor space. Frigidaire comes to the rescue again with towering models that let you choose between 10 different wash cycles in the 3.9 cubic-feet washer and 6 unique dry cycles in the 5.5 cubic-feet dryer drum. Among the brand’s most impressive features, MaxFill™ options deliver the ultimate clean by letting you set the maximum water level for each selected cycle.

Pictured: Frigidaire® 3.9 Cu. Ft. Washer, 5.5 Cu. Ft. Dryer White Stack Laundry Center

Don’t let their size fool you. Our selection of small appliances will streamline home cooking and laundry days for years to come. As you check out our digital catalog, feel free to reach out to our experts at Aztec Appliance. Call or visit us today!

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