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I'm looking to purchase all new appliances in my kitchen. Fridge, dishwasher, stove and overhead microwave. Opinions are appreciated...
1. Any favorite brands?
2. Stainless Steel - Love it or hate it? Anything better?
3. French door fridge or side by side? We want the French door but is it worth the extra money?
4. Lowes, Sears or somewhere else?
5. Stove top - I have to buy electric, so flat top or not? I heard the flat tops take a long time to heat, stain and discolor over time.
6. Dishwasher - Does anyone have the type with the controls on the top of the door, rather then the front? Any issues with that?
As far as brands go, I wouldn't get Fridgidair. I have not been impressed with my Frigidair appliances at all. They work fine, but they just seem to be too basic and the materials seem to be a little cheap. Plus the dishwasher is way too loud for my taste.
I have owned Kenmore in the past and they were GREAT! Especially the dishwasher. I have never had problems with the flat cooktop staining or heating slowly. I prefer these because they look nicer and are easier to clean. Just get a razor blade to clean the bad stuck-on messes. If electric is the only option, the flat cooktop would be my only choice. Coils are simply outdated and ugly IMO. And if you have the budget for stainless, definitely get it. You won't regret it and it updates the house so much better than basic black or white. If you can afford the no-fingerprint stainless, get that too. I don't have kids, so finger prints are not a problem for me.
Something to consider with the french door fridge is whether it has ice and water in the door. I have seen many that don't have this as an option for some reason. Maybe the setup doesn't allow it.
Second the Kenmore recommendation. However Kenmore is other brands with the Kenmore name tacked on it. Sometimes they make small improvements. Much of Kenmore is whirlpool, but with minor improvements and better prices. Make sure that the underlying product is well rated before choosing which kenmore to buy.
Once you know what you want, find a sears scratch and dent warehouse. Not everything there is a deal, but there are some great deals to be found if you take the time to shop around. A dent or scratch in the side of an appliance is usually irrelevant since the sides are rarely exposed.
whirlpool, kitchenaid, or kenmore! I sold appliances for years, and these are the brands I would buy.
French door fridge; the compressor has to work harder, cold air does not want to go up, so it has to work harder, fridge will not last as long, same as any other fridge with a freezer on the bottom.
Stainless is OUT! Every designer I know,( I am one myself now) has not used stainless in a year, or more. White, black, and to a much smaller extent bisque, are what all us designers are using.
I love my roomy French door fridge and prefer the fact that the water is inside rather than outside the door. It is Kitchenaid and works fine, we also had an LG at our old house and it worked fine too.
Our former dishwasher was an Asko and was excellent, it had controls on the top of the door which were easy to understand. Our current dishwasher is the Kitchenaid dishdrawer (two of them)--I have not been overly impressed with its cleaning ability but am learning...one good thing is that I can use different cleaning cycles for each drawer. It too has controls on the top of the drawer which is absolutely fine.
Stainless steel would not have been my first choice, but it has actually been fine--no big deal. I don't clean anymore than I used to.
Microfiber cloth is helpful.
Lowes was where our stuff came from, but we shop Sears too.
I've had to replace most of these in the last 2-3 years (minus the stove and ovens). Here is what I've found:
1. Any favorite brands?
From what I've found out by research and asking friends that have built new homes (VERY UPPER END homes) that KitchenAide is a very good brand. I've seen it myself in a majority of upper end homes. My dishwasher I bought 2 years ago is a KitchenAide and I LOVE IT!!!
2. Stainless Steel - Love it or hate it? Anything better?
The built-in appliances in our house (pre-existing when purchased) are black. I wanted SS but went w/ black for my dishwasher since it would match everything else. Well, minus my WHITE fridge that I only had 1 year when we bought this house . I make friends feel at ease when they have the same dilemna, sad.
3. French door fridge or side by side? We want the French door but is it worth the extra money?
I NEED a new fridge. Not because of the white one standing out like a sore thumb but because the extra one in the garage is out. URGH!!! I was REALLY leaning towards the French Door models because I like the nice WIDE shelves. Want to fit a turkey in a fridge sometime and the current side-by-side just does not. After looking last week I found some VERY nice and wide side-by-sides I really liked MUCH better than the FD models. MUST have ice in the door and the other poster is right, some models don't have it, YUCK! Guess those people have a built in ice maker??? I also did not like the idea of the bottom bin turning into just a pile of stuff that you have to dig thru. If everyone in the house is not a neat freak and puts it all back in w/ some order it will be a mess and a PITA. So I'm going w/ the side-by-side again instead of the FD.
4. Lowes, Sears or somewhere else?
I have found the best deals to be at a locally owned appliance store. They beat everyones prices, they KNOW their stuff (how often does the teen boy at Lowes actually USE the kitchen??? Our local guy is great. I can be in there finding out what I want and then when I'm ready I can pick up the phone and call him, give them the model # and they will deliver it that day if possible or first thing the next. I did this w/ my washer & dryer as I'd already been out talking to them and researching. So the day hubby gave the okay I just picked up the phone and called. Same thing w/ my dishwasher. They also told me more than the other places on the dishwasher. On the KitchenAide you can switch out things you like and don't like. Pretty cool. And they haul off the old one if you want them too. When we were looking at tv's last week we were in Conn's and they had some good deals on fridges.
5. Stove top - I have to buy electric, so flat top or not? I heard the flat tops take a long time to heat, stain and discolor over time.
My mom has had the flat tops and really likes them. I've never really cooked on them so I can't really help you there. This is when a good local reputable appliance store can REALLY help you.
6. Dishwasher - Does anyone have the type with the controls on the top of the door, rather then the front? Any issues with that?
The KitchenAide I bought I was able to get one w/ the black front, stainless inside, SUPER QUIET!!! (hubby accuses me of not starting the dishwasher standing right in front of it while it is running. It is THAT quiet). I could have gotten all of the controls on the top or mixed. I got the controls on the top EXCEPT for the "start" button. It is on the front of the door. It was cheaper to have the "start" button on the front of the door even though the rest of the controls were on the top. I like it but the only thing I personally have to watch is the settings to make sure it did not get messed up. If someone has little kids it would be great as they could not accidently push the buttons on it w/ them on the top. No problems so far after two years.
Good luck w/ everything. It is amazing how much these things REALLY matter when you get down to it. We use them EVERYDAY! So it really pays to research them well. Also pays to get the one you REALLY want if it makes life in the kitchen easier. Now if I could only talk my hubby into replacing our double ovens (nothing wrong w/ them). I just want the WIDER ones AND a warming drawer underneath them
I'm looking to purchase all new appliances in my kitchen. Fridge, dishwasher, stove and overhead microwave. Opinions are appreciated...
1. Any favorite brands?
2. Stainless Steel - Love it or hate it? Anything better?
3. French door fridge or side by side? We want the French door but is it worth the extra money?
4. Lowes, Sears or somewhere else?
5. Stove top - I have to buy electric, so flat top or not? I heard the flat tops take a long time to heat, stain and discolor over time.
6. Dishwasher - Does anyone have the type with the controls on the top of the door, rather then the front? Any issues with that?
Thank you!
1. I have always had whirlpool washers and dryers with no problems. As far as kitchen appliances- I buy them at lowe's in a package deal, all the same manufacturer, the same color, and the best deal I can get. Usually I ended up with Frigadaire b/c of price. I never had any problems but I also never stayed in a house very long.
2. I love the stainless steel "look" in a kitchen. I would not get real ss b/c it is too much work to keep nice and fingerprint free. Second choice would be white even though it is so,so bright and stark.
3. I really like the refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom. It seems more practical b/c you are in the refrigerator(top) so much more than the freezer. I have no idea if they are efficient as another poster said. What is a French Door refrigerator? Never heard of it.
4. I love Lowe's.
5. Flat tops stoves are the way to go. We had one about 10 years ago and I loved it. Next house I was too cheap to pay a little more and went back to the coils(huge, huge mistake). Flat tops are super easy to keep clean, they look nicer than the coils, and I think they have improved over time.
6. Sorry, can't help with the dishwasher b/c I don't use them. We always added an inexpensive one to complete the kitchen but that's it. I used them for storage.
We have slowly replaced all of ours over the last 5 years...heres my 2 cents...
First - we went with white. Why? Because i really don't care if someone walks into my home and thinks my kitchen appliances are "trendy" or not. You can't go wrong with white - classic, simple and should appeal to the masses as far as I'm concerned. The few people we know who have stainless - sorry to say they always looks dirty to me especially around areas where you are more likely to touch - handles, buttons, etc.
We have a maytag stove which has performed well for us, but we know many people who have maytag that have had nothing, but problems. Given that we probably wouldn't buy one again. As far as the heating. I found that the newer flat tops stoves (including ours) actually heats pretty quickly so I don't think we lose much time there. Our other appliances are all whirlpool. Very happy with them. No issues at all. We bought a more expensive whirlpool dishwasher that is very quiet and performs very well for us. The whirlpool fridge is the newest appliance we have and we are very happy with that as well. We went with a counter-depth side by side which is plenty of fridge for us.
I'm gonna buck the trend here and recommend GE appliances. I've found them to be very reliable. Same with Kenmore or Whirlpool. As I replace stuff, I'm buying black appliances. Someday ... soon, I hope! ... my kitchen will be red, white and black. I just got a Kenmore dishwasher and am wildly happy with it. It's a mid-priced model, and is quiet and efficient.
As far as where to buy, I'd go to an appliance store. You get better service all around, and the salespeople know their stuff. When buying a built-in dishwasher, I use an appliance store that has in-house installers instead of one that uses contractors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kshe95girl
White, black, and to a much smaller extent bisque, are what all us designers are using.
You mean the 15-year-old bisque fridge I inherited from the previous owner is back in style? *shaking head*
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, so it has to work harder, fridge will not last as long, same as any other fridge with a freezer on the bottom.
. I make friends feel at ease when they have the same dilemna, sad.
even though the rest of the controls were on the top. I like it but the only thing I personally have to watch is the settings to make sure it did not get messed up. If someone has little kids it would be great as they could not accidently push the buttons on it w/ them on the top. No problems so far after two years.
