No need to get all of the same brand. Buy whatever fits your needs best, assuming they look OK together, and don't worry about brand matching. No manufacturer seems to be good at everything!

No, most of this on the forum buy different brands. No one brand makes all the best appliances. You're much better off doing research and picking the individual appliances that meet your needs and fit your budget. You can still get a set of appliances that look good together.

By the way, Kenmore doesn't make any of their own appliances. They just rebadge appliances made by others such as Whirlpool or Bosch. A friend of mine has a Kenmore Elite DW (made by Whirlpool) that she's very happy with but you need to do your research. Good luck.

I've never heard of a rinsing problem with Bosch and certainly never had any issues with any of ours. (7 yrs experience at our old house and 15 months with 2 of them in our new house)...But I agree with the others: Choose each appliance by how it performs and what it offers you, not by matching brand name. In my kitchen we have Electrolux Icon hood, all-fridges, and all-freezer, Wolf rangetop, Bosch dishwashers, and Fisher and Paykel dble oven. It never occurred to me to match brands, but only to find the appliance I'd like best for each function in my price range.

We bought different brands; I think most here do. We have a mix of panelled & stainless steel appliances, & paid attention to placement and handles. We have SubZero, Gaggenau ovens, induction & teppanyaki cooktops, DCS range, GE Monogram speed cooker/microwave, Miele dishwasher (& laundry), Ventahood, Insinkerator batch disposal, & Mountain Plumbing instant hot water.

If you are worried about matching appliances just use a rental property trick: buy a couple of extra nameplates(badges) and apply them so all your appliances match. Yes, it is cheating, but it fools everyone that comes to my house. All my appliances are badged Wolf even though I have a Subzero, Gagg., KA, American, and Miele.

I'm wondering if my friend's bosch doesn't rinse well because we have well water. In our shower we have to use a squeegee daily then wipe with towel and it still leaves a film. I'm thinking it is considered hard water but not absolutely sure. I don't like the idea about adding a 2nd product to the wash out of time/laziness. Ultimately I'll do what it takes to get the best working, price and longevity of product.

My appliances are all different brands and styles(they're mostly hand me downs and beggars cant be choosers) but I found a site that has some pretty cool options to make all your appliances look like they go together at http://www.applainceart.com. they have magnetic and vinyl coverings in a variety of colors, patterns and artwork that go over the facade of the appliance. Obviously its not as nice as getting a new appliance but it seems like a good alternative to making all my different appliances seem like they fit together.

Here is a link that might be useful: appliance art

Adding the rinse agent to your DW is something you do maybe once a month -- really not a big deal. If your water is that hard, you might want to consider a whole house water softener.