Great decision! I misspoke up topic. I was distracted by your choices. My induction cooktop is 24" (it's from Europe) but has the big double element. Some 30" cooktops don't, but your 36" will. It's great for stockpots, round griddles, bean pots, etc. Thanks! For me, my kitchen is ideal! I suffered with really awful appliances for years waiting for the money tree to shed enough leaves that I could get exactly what I wanted. If you're likely to move during the life of your kitchen keeping a hard line on the budget is a good idea. If you expect to be there to enjoy it, the more you can scrimp on unimportant things and put toward the functional ones, the better. That said, by the time my kitchen was done, I really didn't have the need for speed that I thought the Advantium would be great for and I've never learned to use it to its greatest advantage. OTOH, it's the best microwave I've ever used and, while the operation is weird, running on convection oven mode, it's a really good oven. There's a rack that holds my 17" Pyrex baking dish. In the steam oven, I blanch or steam vegetables all the time, make "convenience foods" like chicken tenders, poach... And sometimes I just have something small that seems to want to go in it. I learned that putting a pot in to finish on convection mode isn't the best idea if the regular oven is available because cleaning spatter out of the combi-steam is a dreadful chore, and my regular oven has the best self-clean function out there. :) If something drippy goes in the combi-steam, now, I try to remember to put a solid pan underneath. In the regular, big, oven, I bake, broil, etc., as one normally would. If I have small things that need to to be oven baked, I often will use the Advantium because it's convenient. That would be the kind of things people often put in a toaster oven, like a tray of borekes (homemade) from the freezer. With the enamelled trays that you can use as baking sheets, and the fact that my Advantium is at the most convenient level, this is very convenient. Rewarming a composed plate of food is nigh on miraculous in the Gaggenau combi-steam. I'm not familiar enough with the other makes to know if they do similarly. There are still things that I zap, like a bowl of pasta or soup for a quick meal, or a sandwich. The Advantium does a great job on microwave mode. If I were making lovely sandwiches for company, however, and wanted to heat and melt, I'd use the steam like they do in the fancy sandwich shops, and if I have more than a single bowl of soup or pasta to heat, I do it on the stove. I chose my warming drawer so that it had a low enough setting to heat plates. My combi-steam will as well. The big oven has a plate heating setting at 120°, which is too warm for my purposes. The warming drawer and combi- go down to 85°. The warming drawer is the most convenient by far for plate heating, however. Because they have these temperatures, both the big oven and the combi- are also appropriate for keeping foods warm. I don't remember how low the Advantium goes since I have so many other choices. So, for the recent Seder feast, I made a kugel (vegetable casserole) and partially cooked the brisket a day ahead. I also had steamed all the root vegetables for the tsimmis (roots and dried fruit). The soup was tomato consomme, and I used the combi-steam to blanch the tomatoes for peeling, and made the soup on the stove, then froze it about a week early. Dessert was French macarons, which I baked in the regular, big oven a week ahead and froze. For matzah toffee (dairy, not for Seder), I melt the butter and sugar in a one quart saucier on the smallest induction element. No double boiler necessary, not even for chocolate. The matzah is spread on parchment on a baking tray that comes with my big, regular oven. It has raised sides and fits six squares perfectly. It also fits perfectly in the fridge (the housing of which is made by the same company as the oven). So the toffee is poured on the matzah, chocolate chips are sprinkled over and heated in the oven, then spread once warm to a complete layer, and sprinkled with dried fruit and nuts mix, and chilled overnight before being broken up. Day of, I sliced the brisket and moved it to the small graniteware roaster and covered with foil, and put it in the combi-steam on convection mode. The gigantabird (turkey) went in the regular oven, and several foiled potatoes for the strange eaters went around it at the appropriate time. I had my stockpot simmering with matzah balls, which I make on the day because they don't come out when I do them ahead, on the big double element, and the soup defrosting in my old Farberware stockpot on the gas flames. On the most powerful single induction element, I had the tsimmis: sauteed the onion, combined all the steamed veg, added the macerated fruit, and tried to get it all combined and hot. This was in my 9-quart bean pot. I had been pulled away from starting it on time, and I knew it would never be hot and well married in time, so I put it in the Advantium for the 1-1.5 hrs. I had before I absolutely had to put in the kugel. That went in the Advantium, on the shelf, just before we sat down to read the story and do the blessings. For boneless skinless chicken, just to make cooked chicken, I put the pieces in a solid pan from the combi-steam, brush the pieces with some kind of sauce or marinade, and sprinkle with a seasoning blend and an herb blend. Steam at 360 for about 25 minutes for tenders (not very full pan) or 40-45 minutes for breasts. Small boneless thighs somewhere between, and an extra five minutes or a little more if there are bones. Instant food, dead easy. Another version is to fill the bottom of the pan with vegetables (mirepoix, trinity or whatever) and put chicken breasts or a whole butterflied chicken on top, and steam for 1-1.5 hrs. depending on the quantity. OTOH, for true roasted chickens, I'll do them vertically in the regular big oven, with some wine in the pan, or else use the rotisserie. I tend to be too lazy for the rotisserie. It's heavy to pull in and out, and messy, and the chickens need to be trussed. They come out just as well on a vertical roaster and if they need tying a silicone "rubber" band or two is generally adequate since they're not moving. I've only done one chicken in the Advantium, which isn't a fair test (Freudian slip? I typo'd "don't" for "done". Easy to do when the mind has moved on to the next word before the fingers are done typing, however it might have been some kind of subconscious warning! :D ). It was fine, but had more of a microwaved taste than I care for. I do use some of the speed programs for intermediate things, but I've underutilized the speed since I really have the luxury now to do slow. :) Favorite thing that I never ate before the new kitchen: Barely blanched blue lake green beans. OMG! I love green beans but I hate blanching in a pot of water with a vengeance and hate using steamer baskets to do it even more. Green beans blanched in the steam oven, but still crisp are SO amazing and fab at any temperature (hot from the oven, room temp or cold from the fridge). My father doesn't like them though. He thinks they're not cooked enough. :) That's a choice. :) For blanching green beans or asparagus or whatever, I take the time to line them up neatly in a single layer, and keep the time short since they'll continue to cook in their own heat. The beans get waterlogged if you ice bath them, so I just run under cold water then transfer them to a cold, flat glass container as fast as possible. For full grown green beans or medium sized asparagus, I do 100% steam, 215°, 6 minutes. For matchstick asparagus or haricots verts, more like 4 minutes. Hope this helps you envision things.

>Not sure if I'm breaking a big rule by going with different brands or styles, or if it even matters as long as they're the same color. I'll turn the question around. Do non-matching appliance bother YOU? This is your kitchen, so the only rules about what you can and can't put in it are going to be set by you, not by the rest of us. You're going to be the one living and working there. I would also add that if you're trying to impress someone with the new kitchen, think about who you're trying to impress. Do you want to impress people who are just going to ooh and ahh about how stuff matches, or do you want to impress people who actually know their stuff? Personally, if I walk into a kitchen with matching appliances, they won't impress me. I may be impressed by other aspects and design choices of the kitchen, but not the appliances. Matching appliances suggests to me that either they didn't bother doing research before they bought, or they just cared more about looks than function. Some say "the matched ones were cheaper" but honestly, I can think of some low-end/midrange mismatched packages that will outperform and outlast some high end matched packages.

I fear the organization mavens on the boards will want to ban me completely for this confession, but I have everything out on my counters, which range from 30" to 36" deep, specifically to accommodate deep built-ins and appliances on the counters. Magimix, 27 year-old Dualit toaster, 30-year-old Kitchenaid mixer, food scale, small food processor, cutting boards, breadmaker (sometimes two), single portable induction plate, blender (in summertime). In the butler's pantry, electric kettle, coffee grinder, coffee press. Also cooking implements in two crocks. If these items aren't out, I do not use them, and they are there to be used. Right now, various canning-related devices are out, as well, because I made both pickle recipes I received here (YUMMM to the one that we've been able to taste, Loves2cookforsix) the other has a couple of weeks to go), and today we're making jam. At least ninety percent of the folks here would probably think it's too much clutter, but I like things at hand. I can lift to clean, but if I have to lift, carry elsewhere, put away, then do the reverse to use these things, I just won't. Especially, with various physical issues. My kitchen is for cooking. It was designed to be used, and I don't feel a need to cover up its function. DH has a deep fryer that has to live in the laundry room when not in use, but it's only for turkey when the weather is too bad for outdoor deep frying. Certain spices and oils are gathered on a tray so that they can be away from direct light and cooking heat, but readily accessible while food prep is going on. I had to move everything out when I resealed the granite and marble before Thanksgiving, but, within a week or two, it was all back out on the counters as each item was replaced in order to use. And then there's this--a bit outdated because it's a few years old, but you get the idea. (The bottle of Aleve isn't always out) ; This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, Mar 16, 13 at 8:57

My 0.02 (worth what you pay for it :) ): Don't buy any built-in appliances. By that I mean anything that doesn't have dimensions standardized across the industry and needs to have cabinetry or countertop cut to fit it, like cooktops; some wall ovens are also like this. OTR microwaves are more expensive than countertop ones, and they require labor to install/uninstall, so if I were you I'd get a countertop one. We used to have our MW on the counter; after reno it's in an upper cabinet. It was more convenient on the counter. (It's better for us to have it where it is now, but there is no doubt it was easier to reach on the counter.) As for the convection/microwave combo: that is an optional convenience but definitely not required. I cook for a family of 4 every day, usually from scratch, have been cooking for a couple of decades, and have never had one of these. My mom is an excellent cook in her 70's and has never had one either. Would it be nice to have? Sure, and so would a lot of other things. But as a pp said, they do have a learning curve and cost more than a plain microwave, so buy one if you think it would be fun; but it's not a must-have. Re. countertop oven: my mom has one and finds it more convenient than her range oven sometimes, when she's just cooking for 2. But she also has a TINY kitchen and it takes up counter space that she really needs for other things (in fact she has moved it to her back porch). So in your case, if your kitchen will also be limited on surface area, it would probably be more sensible to get a normal 30-in range. If I were you I'd stick to the basics: 30-inch range with an inexpensive range hood (ours was from Lowe's, works fine), smallish upright fridge (the kind with the freezer on top and no ice dispenser in the door), countertop MW, either 18- or 24-inch DW depending on your space. Or no DW if you don't wash many dishes; it used to take me most of a week to fill mine when I was single, by which time -- yuck. Would be a good idea to have a 24-inch cabinet near the sink in that case, so it can be swapped out for a DW later on if needed. We've bought appliances at Sears in the past, no trouble for the most part (you probably realize that Kenmore appliances aren't actually made by Sears). And we have an Ikea kitchen and I love it. Good luck!