A consumer appliance has a soft open door mechanism. The mechanism may include a damping device with a first end mounted to the cabinet and a second end mounted so as to move with the door. The damping device includes a partial fill damper activatable by an opening movement of the door toward the horizontal position to provide an opposing force to slow the door motion. The damper may be configured so as to initiate the opposing force only when the door has moved at least about 45 degrees from the upright position toward the horizontal position, and/or may be configured so that the damper includes a damping coefficient of about 200 to about 240 lb*s/ft.