No, that wouldn't bother me. If they were different surfaces, I think that would depend as well. If they were all stainless and you had a white microwave, or something similar, I could live with that. But mainly I would want them all to have the same color, either all black or white or stainless. Trying to buy an entire 'line' of appliances would seem impossible to me. If you want the best appliance, you're going to buy whichever brand that is and rarely does any one brand have all the best.

We have a Samsung refrigerator, an Electrolux range and an Asko dishwasher. All in stainless. The minor differences in the handles and finishes does not bother me at all.

I've got a sub-zero fridge, a bertazzoni range and wall oven, a viking microwave, viking hood, and a fisher and paykel dishwasher. The stainless between these brands is almost indistinguishable from each other. Also the handles are really close in look (all tubular-ish). It doesn't bother me.

It would however bother me if there was a black fridge, a stainless dishwasher, and a white range from varying eras for example.

Same as everyone else - different handles don't even strike me as unusual, but different colors would. I currently have a Thermador fridge, Bosch DW, Fagor oven, and Sharp microwave drawer. None of the handles "matches" any of the others, but the stainless (that shows) is all similar.

Elux fridge
Wolf oven
Advantium speed oven
Miele DW
But wait - one match - wolf cooktop!

Love them all for different reasons and no one has popped into the kitchen and said they don't match. Instead they usually ogle on the features of each without realizing they are different brands.

They are all SS. The wolf and advantium handles are close in style.

Sorry but I disagree completely with the above. Any handle in my kitchens must match whether they be on appliances or cupboards.
I think mixed appliance handles just look 'kitschy' but I understand that it costs $ to match them.

I'm the exact opposite of moebus -- I think if they all match, it looks exactly like what it is - that someone bought them for their looks, not for their function.

I don't care if they match whatsoever. I read somewhere that the all matching appliances "suite" concept comes from real estate developers who bought cargoes of appliances from one manufacturer which saved money for them due to both volume and to ease of installation since every kitchen could be installed the same way. So, when I see a kitchen with all matching appliances, my impression is that it's part of a cost-saving effort, and/or the homeowner did not care enough to shop for the best appliance of each brand, but just bought the appliances in a hurry.

No manufacturer makes all appliances well. Some are better at ovens or some are better at fridges etc. You are not really making the best decision if your first priority in buying appliances is that they all match.

Matching appliances remind me of tract homes, where the builder got a package deal regardless if the dishwasher cleaned, or the stove cooked...

Agree, matching makes me think someone got a ''deal'' and homeowner did not take the time or care to determine the ''best'' stove, fridge, DW, and MW. Would be bothered more by them all matching.

Buying all one brand will save money as there are usually manufacturer incentives for doing so. But is that savings worth it if e.g. the oven cooks unevenly or the fridge has flimsy drawers which annoy you every time you open them? Same thing with matchy-matchy handles - will you even care about the handles when the range you bought cause it matches doesn't cook the way you want?

A better way to save money in your appliance budget is to decide which appliances are most important to YOU. So if, for example, a fridge to you is just a box to keep things cold, but you wok cook every day, buy a lower cost fridge and spend on a powerful rangetop. That's just an example, but you fill in where you want to spend - i.e. perhaps you really want a Miele DW but are fine with a lower-priced Samsung fridge (which are quite good BTW). In any case, don't worry about getting all matchy-matchy appliances.

If one buys different brands for different reasons, it's an indication that the person making the decisions "owns the kitchen" and generally doesn't care what anyone else thinks. If that person is also an accomplished home chef, guests enjoying a sumptuous meal will probably not care about the appliance brand choices. If another wants matching handles or some other look of uniformity, that's his or her decision. Likewise, guest opinions shouldn't matter. Do what you want and don't worry about what others may think. It doesn't even matter when it's time to sell your home. The prospective buyers will always find something that is no to their liking anyway.

i agree with everyone for all the reasons stated - except moebus...

Thanks everyone!! I appreciate it so much, you all saved my sanity today!! Got everything ordered, after MUCH deliberation with my husband. The original LG fridge I wanted was on backorder until January at least. Our second choice was a samsung, but I guess they are next to impossible to get serviced where we live. So we ended up with Whirlpool fridge, maytag dishwasher, and whirlpool range. It was nice to end up buying stuff that was all made in America.

Y'all are confusing brands with handles ( or look). The only handle that generally needs to come with a brand is on the oven. Any cupboard, panel ready fridge, freezer or dishwasher can have a handle to match the oven.
The function definitely comes first.

Actually, no. I have a paneled fridge and dishwasher and they share the same 'look'. But the oven and microwave handles are very different, and it still doesn't bother me. Nor do the fridge and dishwasher have handles that look anything at all like the pulls and knobs on the cabinets.

Count me as another vote for the "don't worry about matching" camp. No single appliance maker makes everything perfectly.

Here's a thread from a little while ago... similar topic:

Clipped GW Thread - Matching appliances

Liebherr fridge + freezer
Miele wall ovens + microwave
Futuro Streamline hood + Bertazzoni PM36500 gas cooktop

This post was edited by terbaskin on Wed, Nov 12, 14 at 15:40

>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.

Actually, moebus, I think you are speaking only of panel ready appliances, like refrigeration and dishwashers. In that case, you are matching cabinetry handles, not appliance handles--you've hid the appliances. I've never seen a paneled microwave, stove, oven.

Agree with hvtech. When I briefly considered matching appliances, at least one of the components (and more often 2) had poor ratings.

My non-matching kitchen - with better appliances - actually cost less than the package 'deals' because I purchased most pieces on sale. (Abt generously, at no charge, held my fridge bought on sale for 6 months before I had it delivered.)

DH was a stickler about this. We ordered all different brands of appliances but will have matching handles, except on the wine fridge which is on the back side of the island and not visible from most areas. We ordered handles for our integrated fridge to match our ovens. No handle on our DW. 4 matching handles total (2 freezer drawer pulls + 2 ovens) + 1 wine fridge handle. No cabinet pulls - we are using a channel system. The fridge door has a channel as well.

Architects and designers routinely make sure that everything matches or is, at least, compatible. That's how to get a uniform look in the kitchen.

But it also depends on the kitchen. A modern kitchen, with flat cabinets and sleek lines shows much more variation in things like handles because everything tends to be minimalistic.

Traditional kitchens have much more leeway because there are more line changes, more silhouette changes and busier surfaces.

Like most things today, there are no rules or even norms. It's individual and it can really depend on specific choices.