Kitchen Fitting

Are end panels needed on either side of freestanding appliances and cooker hood?

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.46 PM

Hi, I'm getting my kitchen redone and am just wondering about the necessity of end panels. I know these are mainly to help with creating a nice finish and to hide side of unit carcasses if they're a different colour to the doors, so am definitely getting them for each end of the run of units. However I was just wondering if they are needed on either side of a freestanding applicant for support purposes? I have a freestanding oven where there will be units on either side - is it necessary to still have end panels on either side of the oven also, or would this just be a preference thing about the 'look/finish'? There will also be a cooker canopy hood in a small cupboard above the oven. There will be then a normal wall unit on either side, and so the sides of the bottom half of these units would show - could it work to just affix a filler panel to the bottom of the small cupboard on either side, so that the sides of the wall units are covered? Finally, I have a freestanding washing machine where there will be a unit or either side - would end panels on either side be necessary also or would just having the units there be sufficient? Also, how much gap should there be between the washing machine and the units on either side - is a small gap needed to allow for the vibration/movement of the machine? Thanks! UPDATE: Thanks all, yes I think I do prefer the more finished look, and the canopy hood idea with the filler panels probably would look a bit ugly come to think of it! The space for my washing machine currently seems a bit tight, which was another reason I was considering losing those particular end panels.