I would never put appliances next to each other... at the very least a cabinet spacer.

Can it be adjusted? A better photo would shw us.

Hmmm. The gap between the refrigerator door and oven door would have to exceed the refrigerator door width to assure no contact. Closer together makes the line of contact less acute and possibly less damaging. In the case of the photo above note that the shorter oven door has caused the damage; damage from the lower door is not evident

My SZ 632 refrigerator side door can come into contact with my Wolf oven doors. The gap between appliance frame edges is only 3 inches. However, perhaps due to lack of sufficient zombie teenagers, there is no damage to the wood refrigerator door overlay after a decade. The oven door is rarely left open for long, so opportunities for collision are few.

"And yet you are advising to do the same scenario on another thread. The only difference is a pantry door gets damaged instead of a fridge door."

I'll be polite and call that ^ what it is, a gross mischaracterization.

In the other thread in question, a poster asked how to properly support a countertop and I gave sound advice. They did not ask for cabinet/appliance layout advice which they would have had to have done for your quote to be remotely accurate.

"Can it be adjusted?"

The only cost effective adjustment would be replacing the fridge with a single door that hinged right. The dishwasher should have been located left of the sink.

"The oven door is rarely left open for long, so opportunities for collision are few."

Maybe, but it only takes once, particularly at eye level.

Apparently the automotive paintless dent removal people have had no success with stainless appliances. Someone could make a fortune if they could figure this out.

Lots of folks who would never dream of cutting their own hair or filling their own teeth suddenly believe they are capable of designing their own kitchen. Yeah, you can do it, but you've been warned.

I garee and I aslo find architects are not great KDs either and for sure not an easy DIY project . I have been doing kitchens for 22+ yrs and the evolution of some things have come to a benefit but good design really never changes .

I agree that experts who do things a long time have much to contribute. They know what things can go wrong potentially, nice tips that can help, and are especially helpful when someone has a "situation" with a vendor and the poster does not know the proper response, what to do, or even if the situation is within design standards. The experts' expertise is so valuable then. Joseph Corlett, you for example, have been a tremendous resource.

But I have watched experts here nastily dismiss certain ideas that parent company Houzz prominently promote when done by big name decorators. So who is right then?

What would make this site much better would be for some of the experts to quit telling us what their preferences are and for some to stop being so nasty. I can't imagine that such a tone helps you get business.

Here's another mistake to add to the thread. This is a short apron sink installed in a full apron cabinet.

It's supposed to look like this:

This can happen inadvertently, not just because of people being careless. I know someone who had this happen at the housewarming party when a guest offered to grab something out of the refrigerator at the same time the homeowner was opening the oven door. And a few years later, the dented refrigerator door was a bargaining point when the house was being sold.

I don't understand the leaving the DW door open thing at all. I know people do it. I don't get the the rationale.

Design issues in general are one reason why I really dislike French door refrigerators and side by side refrigerators: there is no correct side to have another appliance next to a fridge with a door that swings in each direction. There is always a door in the way of the set-down space. Northland (defunct) I think, used to make a side by side with both doors hinged on the same side as an option. Not exactly sure how that worked but it would solve the set-down space issue.

We rented a house while building and the stainless fridge was next to the MW/oven stack ... it had a similar dent to the one Joe showed in his second photo. The first thing I did on the day we got the keys to the rental was to text the landlord to have written proof of existing damage. Not an issue if someone lives alone, but impatient/distracted family members will make it very likely that the fridge will be dented sooner or later.

My refrigerator doesn't have an appliance on either side, but my dog slid on the kitchen floor while chasing a ball and I have a big dent in the bottom freezer where her head hit the door.

Things don't stay new forever.

Ouch!!!

We end up setting the swing limiters on some refrigerators due to poor planning often out of our control.

And yet the most popular set up is a ref next to wall ovens. I have it noted on the plans of what will happen with this layout and folks still move forward with it or change to a single swing door

@Debbi Washburn, at least you warn them upfront and let them make an informed decision. When they get that dent, they can only blame themselves!

Maybe the refrigerator was placed there to discourage people from opening the freezer door and eating all the frozen treats.

Sorry, chispa, but homeowners expect professionals to save them from themselves. You can have them sign a waiver in the blood of their first born male child and they'll still write a crap review once the appliance is dented. A pro has to learn to say "No." to their client.