I think I want a stainless Miele dishwasher with hidden controls, but I don't like any of their handle options. In my quest to decide on visible vs. hidden control dishwasher (see my earlier post), I discovered the option mentioned in this post: Order a Miele fully-integrated unfinished dishwasher along with the optional "blank" (no holes, no handle) stainless front panel, no-holes (Miele part number 21995337D). However, I've looked at the cartoon installation instructions referred to above, and I can't quite figure out how this works with a stainless panel. The instructions seem to show how it works with a wood panel, but I'm unclear on how my own handle would attach to a stainless panel. I realize you can drill through the stainless (well, I can't, but my installer can), but I'm not sure what a handle would "grab onto" in a stainless panel, because I'm not sure what the stainless panel looks like out of the box. If you order part number 21995337D, do you get 3/4-inch thick stainless steel? The install instructions say the panel has to be 3/4 inches thick, but if it were pure metal that would weigh 100 pounds! Or is it a thin sheet of stainless over some type of wood? My problem is that I can't figure out if I need some special type of handle with special dimensions, or if this stainless, no-holes, no-handle panel from Miele is engineered in some way to grab onto any handle that can be screwed in from behind. Has anyone ever seen this panel, and can you explain how it works to install a custom handle onto it?

Due to the same kinds of layout restrictions, I prep over the DW and trash pull-out. Last two DWs have had integrated handle, I think the 'snout' handle mentioned above, and it's not a problem. As for layout: I have only an 8.5 'sliver' of counter on the other side of the sink, where we had to remove the cabinets and counter to accommodate the door for a new addition. Even when I had the counter space there, and the stove was on that side of the room, I still prepped on the other side of the sink, over the DW. And now, with a second sink, and with an island and another counter within a pivot/step of the sink, everyone still wants to prep in the space that we've always used!

The handle issue came up in our kitchen, too. We don't have a large kitchen, the house is built in 1939 and we wanted a new kitchen but one that looked like it belonged to the rest of the house. Along one run of cabinetry we had the fridge, two DWs (one on each side of the sink) and the oven. That's alot of handles looking at you in a row, not to mention alot of stainless! We decided to integrate the fridge and DWs and get cabinet pulls to match. We have the new look of the oven and cooktop, but the kitchen doesn't feel overwhelming for the rest of the house. And no, with 18" pulls on the DWs next to the sink, never had a problem with bumping them.

Visually I much prefer the bar handle. I haven't ever hung my dish towel off of it because (like dseng) my 100lb German Shepherd would assume it's for her amusement while we're out of the house. It does stick out slightly so if I'm leaning into the cabinetry right there I am touching it, but I've never banged into it. If you have an immediate right angle of cabinetry adjacent to it (I do right now), you will have to check clearances of any drawers.