Recommended appliances for kitchen

[Janet H]

we redid the kitchen not too long ago and I got all new appliances. I also had a tight budget and needed to maximize appliance bang for buck. Here's what I learned:

Go look at all the big box stores - they carry different lines. Sears has lots of models, but they are often custom speced for sears the the motors and compressors are sometimes not the same as you find elsewhere (smaller). Look online. many models are available at big box stores but not on their floors. They will order them for you.

I thought I wanted stainless - I got stainless. But: if it says stainless color - it's high end paint not stainless. And: Stainless costs more than paint and is hard to keep looking clean. I almost went with black and in hind sight could have saved some dough and daily desmudging...

You can save a few hundred bucks by avoiding ice and water in the door of a fridge. Also - you get more interior space in your fridge by doing this. many samsungs have an ice maker in the bottom freezer and ice water just inside the fridge door in a tiny dispenser. I love mine. (samsung, french door, ice maker in bottom).

Get a dishwasher with a steel tub. I got a glass cooktop, downdraft jennair slide in range if we had gas in this area - I would have preferred that. GO FOR THE CONVECTION OVEN!!!! Major time saver and awesome for roasting poultry.

Install the dishwasher as close to the drain (sink) as possible. This is about clogs, good drainage etc. Position it to that you can offload dishes directly into cabinets in one motion.

Get a BIG garbage grinder - no wimpy motors.

Check the cabinet clearance between counter and upper cabinets. Many contractors keep this too short to put large appliance (KA mixer) under.

Have fun shopping

 

[Kayelle]

Here is the stove I want...in Yellow...

48 6-Burner, Electric Ovens, Self-Clean | Bertazzoni

What a beauty PF!!! That's a dream stove. I'll take mine in black, thank you very much.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

What a beauty PF!!! That's a dream stove. I'll take mine in black, thank you very much.

I am going to have a kitchen with a house designed around it.

But I do agree with the choice of a Viking or Wolf for a new kitchen. I think the range would be my focus and other appliances would come in around it.

 

[luvs]

i shop around, prefer overpriced becuase i find them to be quite worth thier cost.
though, price accounted for or not, i'd aim for kitchenaid, as they've great kitchen items; ..... from mixers to things maybe we could get by without that we may still want.

 

[Robo410]

Quite frankly. my views are great for me and may not be for anyone else. But I do like dual fuel--gas cooktop and electric ovens. I like more than 4 burners and want 2 ovens, one convection if not both. A microwave is nice, but I don't cook with it so not a major part of my battery. As I entertain, two dishwashers are great, seriously. Ventilation is essential and a range hood vented to the outside a must if you really cook.

All that said--you do get what you pay for, but the essentials of cooking remain the same whether you have a $400 apartment range or a $4000 Viking. So a lot depends on your budget, and what you're used to and will be happy with. Stainless steel does not make a better appliance or an easier to clean appliance.

 

[Andy M.]

When I bought new appliances, I bought from three different makers. As a result, the only 'colors' I could consider were black, white and stainless. Other colors like almond were a little different from brand to brand so were not an option.

 

[schcrookston]

First, thank you for all the feedback on my questions.
I have another for you...has anyone ever had their appliances
painted by an auto body place or painted appliances with the
appliance paint? I would hate to wreck a new set, but would be
interested if I knew it would work.

 

[schcrookston]

I'm curious how those with stainless steel appliances like them?
Do they fingerprint as bad as some say?

 

[Somebunny]

We built a home about 5 years ago. We installed stainless appliances for a couple of reasons: 1) we were building a fairly contemporary home 2) this was the standard for homes in the price range that we were building at the time, (resale considerations)

On the plus side, the stainless is attactive, contemporary and I really don't think it is any more "trendy" than white would be. The negatives would be the "smudge" factor and the fact that you cannot use magnets on real stainless refrigerators. Neither one of these negatives bothers me much. There are stainless cleaners for the smudges and I really like the look of a fridge without stuff stuck all over it. However, my mind may change when my granddaugher begins to make pictures for Nana.

Our refrigerator, dishwasher and oven are all Whirlpool(because I have over 30 years of good luck with them) Our stove top is a General Electric Monogram gas cooktop(because everything else I wanted was too expensive)! Our microwave/convection wall oven is a Sharp(suggested by the sales person, because you can get custom trim so that you can put it in a bank of cabinets) All of the appliances are somewhat higher end than "middle of the road" I wish I would have spent the extra money for a wolfe or dacor pro range, would have had to reconfigure the kitchen though, our cooktop is in the island.

One piece of advice.....Don't get too caught up in "brands" every brand makes good, better, best. Some brands just have lower standards. Buy the best that you can afford and do some research before buying, check out consumer reports. I know how hard it is to make all of these decisions, they seem never ending, but once it's all done "your laughing" Good luck!

 

[LindaZ]

I purchased Samsung stainless appliances for my kitchen. I love my french door refrigerator with the ice/water feature in the door. The stove has a huge oven, both covection and straight bake, and it's a smooth top and heats quickly. The microwave is good, placed a little too high for me by the installer, but I'm planning on changing that. The dishwasher on the other hand - I have had nothing but trouble with it and it's less than 2 years old. The scews fall out of the top rack and the rack falls breaking the basket lifters on the sides, (and my glassware) - I've replaced the basket lifters for $30.00 apiece + the service call. The stainless finish did not hold up and I only use a recommend stailnless polish on it, the wheels on the bottom rack fall off and I've lost one so the left side dips when you roll it in and out - terrible. Nobody will take responsibility so I'm stuck with an expensive diswasher that is crap. Other than than, I'm quite happy with the other appliances. I would definitely say stay away from the Samsung dishwasher. Also the stainless finish does take more work to keep clean, so if you don't want to be polishing your appliances a lot, don't get stainless. The smooth top range is a little bit more cleaning too, but not bad.

 

[schcrookston]

We built a home about 5 years ago. We installed stainless appliances for a couple of reasons: 1) we were building a fairly contemporary home 2) this was the standard for homes in the price range that we were building at the time, (resale considerations)

On the plus side, the stainless is attactive, contemporary and I really don't think it is any more "trendy" than white would be. The negatives would be the "smudge" factor and the fact that you cannot use magnets on real stainless refrigerators. Neither one of these negatives bothers me much. There are stainless cleaners for the smudges and I really like the look of a fridge without stuff stuck all over it. However, my mind may change when my granddaugher begins to make pictures for Nana.

Our refrigerator, dishwasher and oven are all Whirlpool(because I have over 30 years of good luck with them) Our stove top is a General Electric Monogram gas cooktop(because everything else I wanted was too expensive)! Our microwave/convection wall oven is a Sharp(suggested by the sales person, because you can get custom trim so that you can put it in a bank of cabinets) All of the appliances are somewhat higher end than "middle of the road" I wish I would have spent the extra money for a wolfe or dacor pro range, would have had to reconfigure the kitchen though, our cooktop is in the island.

One piece of advice.....Don't get too caught up in "brands" every brand makes good, better, best. Some brands just have lower standards. Buy the best that you can afford and do some research before buying, check out consumer reports. I know how hard it is to make all of these decisions, they seem never ending, but once it's all done "your laughing" Good luck!

I tend to be to detailed and research quite a bit and often I find that personal experiences people have had are what draws me a certain way. It's good to know if several people have a lot of cons regarding same product. What Samsung models did you get for your stove and refrig.?