When Maurice met Marsha, it was love at first sight. Maurice was a widower with four kids, and he knew Marsha would make a great mom because she had five amazing children of her own. Their blended family comprised nine kids and an abundance of aunts, uncles and cousins who liked to gather for holidays and special occasions. They found a large house for their combined brood, and quickly realized they’d need bigger — much bigger — appliances. Managing food storage, cooking colossal meals, cleaning droves of dishes and washing loads of laundry demanded super-sized solutions.
Whether you’re keeping house for a dozen people or just like to host large-scale dinner parties, living large can be gratifying — but you may need to up-size your household essentials to get it done.
Food Storage
More people means needing more milk, vegetables, meat and frozen goods on hand. An 18-to-22 cu ft refrigerator might be adequate for the average family, but going big means you’ll probably need something in the 23-to-30 cu ft range. Many larger capacity fridges will be French door models, which open wide to allow you to slide in big party trays, and some come with multiple freezer compartments. Higher end models offer a range of upgraded features such as the ability to set temperatures for different compartments, WiFi connectivity and an adjustable shelf configuration to fit tall items.
Maximize food storage with a chest or upright freezer. Especially if you buy in bulk, having a dedicated freezer will give you the space to stock up on ribs, burger patties or chicken breasts before a party while keeping quick-fix frozen meals on hand for everyday use. Some upright freezers may fit into your existing kitchen cabinetry better, but a chest freezer will probably use less energy for the same capacity. Some freezers can be converted to refrigerators if you’d rather have more fresh food storage, or if you need extra capacity for entertaining.
Cooking for a Crowd
You’ll need a lot of space to keep kettles, stock pots and skillets in action, so look for a larger cooktop or range — something with five or six heating elements. If you’re short on space, a range with an integrated oven may suffice, but pairing a cooktop with a double wall oven can boost your output and flexibility. A commercial-style gas cooktop has been the traditional go-to in this category, but large induction cooktops are popular as well, offering energy efficiency and an easy-to-clean surface. Some newer induction models allow you to “bridge” cooking elements together to create very large heating zones for a griddle or to braise large cuts of meat in a broiler pan and then slide it right into an oven.
Cooking a casserole and a cake simultaneously can make you a star chef — and the star of your next dinner party. Double ovens come in many configurations to suit your culinary needs. Some models now offer a French door oven up top and conventional drop-down door below, which is ideal for getting foods in and out without spills. And especially if you do a lot of cooking or baking, convection can dramatically shorten your time in the kitchen.
King-size Cleanups
How many plates will you need to clean after that dinner party? While standard dishwashers fit around 10 to 12 place settings, the largest built-ins might fit 14 or even 16. Lots of cooking means lots of pots, so adjustable racks will fit multiple cookware items on the bottom while still leaving room up top for stemware and cutlery. For extra-large households, adding a second unit can be a real problem-solver, giving you more flexibility to run dishwasher loads in batches. This way, while one load is running, you can still use the place settings you cleaned earlier in the day.
Loads and Loads of Laundry
If you have a big brood at home, a standard washer and dryer aren’t going to cut it. In the past, some mega-families opted for commercial machines, but now there are high-capacity home washer-dryers purpose built for big-but-not-quite-industrial quantities of laundry. A too-large machine can waste water and power, so look for models with sensors that match water flow and cycle length to the load size and degree of dirt.
Go Big With Aggressive
A visit to either of Aggressive Appliances’ showrooms will give you lots of big ideas to consider. Our experienced consultants can offer expert advice and customize a solution for your household and lifestyle.
When size matters, you can count on Aggressive Appliances.
Big Ideas for Home Appliances
Refrigeration
The KitchenAid KRFF577KBS Standard-Depth French Door Refrigerator boasts a 26.8 cu ft capacity and upgraded features, including a slide-away shelf that adjusts to accommodate items of different heights and a temperature-controlled full-width pantry.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/KitchenAid/kta/krff577kbs.html
There are under-counter and built-in freezers available, but if you really want to bulk up your capacity, the Whirlpool WZC5116LW chest freezer adds 16 cu ft to stock up on meats, prepared meals and your favorite brand of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It also has great features, including a lift-and-stay lid, LED lighting, the ability to convert from freezer to refrigerator and built-in rollers for easy moving.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/Whirlpool/whirl/wzc5116lw.html
Cooking
A classic high-capacity gas cooktop, the Dacor DTT48T960GM has commercial-style features, including continuous grates, six burners and a blistering 22,000 BTU of power for quickly boiling water or wokking.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/Dacor/dac/dtt48t960gm.html#prettyphoto[product_img]/7/
The Fisher & Paykel OR36SCI6B1 induction range packs a high-production punch in its modest 36” width. Five induction zones can be bridged to form two large cooking areas, and the convection oven (4.9 cu ft) offers nine cooking modes.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/Fisher-and-Paykel/fpk/or36sci6b1.html
Dishwashers
Bosch makes a wide range of dishwashers, including the SHP65CM6N, which can handle up to 16 place settings at once. Its RackMatic feature allows you to reconfigure the racks to fit more and larger cookware. There’s even an advanced leak prevention and containment system.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/bosch/shp65cm6n.html
Laundry
Samsung’s WV60M9900AW 6.0 cu ft Smart Washer with Flexwash can handle two separate loads of laundry at once. Pair it with Samsung’s DVE60M9900W 7.5 cu ft Smart Gas or Smart Electric Dryer with FlexDry, which also performs double duty by letting you simultaneously dry delicates and everyday clothing.
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/samsung/wv60m9900aw.html
https://www.aggressiveappliances.com/products/samsung/dve60m9900w.html