I recently purchased the 36" GE Cafe CD fridge, and the 30" GE Cafe AG range . I initially was going to buy the Monogram fridge but GE Cafe was over $1000 cheaper for more or less the same look. A big negative to note is that it has an annoyingly loud cycle that lasts about 1 hour and it goes through that cycle at least twice a day. If it starts when I am preparing dinner, I find it very annoying. I considered F&P in that same price range. I had read that F&P is loud and had decided not to buy that, but GE Cafe has the same problem. If you are going to buy the Monogram, find out if it makes a lot of noise. The GE Cafe AG range also has one big negative; the burners are a pain. The problem might be worse with the Cafe range specifically, but I think it is more or less open vs closed burners issue. The flame comes up the sides of the pan and it feels like it doesn't heat the bottom of the pan properly. All my pans are burned along the bottom sides now. The bottom line is I am still able to cook my meals but it is not a joy to cook on that range (although the oven works great). I could have bought the $2500 BlueStar from Canadian Costco, but I just didn't like the looks of that at all; too commercial-looking. I thought GE Cafe was the nicest looking one in that price range and there were not too many negative reviews about it, but if I ever get to buy another range, I would pay more money and buy something that doesn't have burners like those on the GE Cafe.

"How did you determine how much you can afford to build / how much you need / etc.? We started with discussions on desired lifestyle and goals for house. What activities did we need to plan for? What sort of space would they need, and could it be shared? You need to have these discussions before you start drawing up floor plans. Many of the construction details and materials are driven by the desire to use minimal energy for heating and cooling, to have low ongoing maintenance, and to minimize water usage. Did you say, "We can build this many square feet", or "We can spend this much money"? We have an upper limit, based on wanting to fund the building out of the sale of the current house ... square feet is determined by life style. And we're not into McMansions, we're into efficiency. One goal is to get it into as small a footprint as possible. Did this change much as you built and your budget dwindled? We've identified places where costs can be cut, and what can't be cut. We could do some DIY, and leave some things unfinished, use less expensive finish materials. Did you start with your wants and downgrade as necessary, or did you start with the budget and determine what you could have for that money? After the "how do we want to live in a house" discussions, we started with the dimensions of and the desired view from a California king bed ... seriously that was what has driven about half of the floor plan. The plan was radically revised a couple of times as the possible lot to build on changed ... you HAVE TO take the site into consideration. To get the view, the bed has to be placed against an inner wall on the second floor, facing a large, low window or a door, aimed in a certain direction. To the bed's dimensions we added clearance for access (in a walker or wheelchair - we're geezers) and the desired bookshelves and small wardrobe. Bed placement determines door placement ... which controlled bathroom placement, which controlled ... you see where this goes. To get to the second floor bedroom, we needed stairs ... and the SO's size 14 shoes controlled the tread depth, and the building codes controlled the riser height. That in turn controlled the height of the main entry. Kitchen size was determined by appliance sizes, workspaces, need for certain size walkway, etc. We will have a large pantry because it's a small town. Need to buy in bulk and have a place to store it. It's mostly been lifestyle, activity and traffic pattern driven after that. The need to "age in place" meant that one bedroom and full accessible bath had to be downstairs. ============ Some of the things we are doing to keep cost down: * Square floor plan with almost no hallways (American Four Square influenced) * Kitchen designed to use "standard" appliances - niche for frig instead of counter-depth, etc. * Straight run counters (galley kitchen) and simple layout, simple cabinet design, probably local cabinetmaker. * Standardizing bath fixtures and finishes (you get a better deal on the tile, and the contractor doesn't go nuts remembering what goes where) ============= I could easily increase the cost of the house by 50% by using the fancy stuff: designer tiles, "pro" appliances, ornate trim, and expensive lighting fixtures. I'd rather spend the money on books, art, and travel. =========== What about resale value? Screw resale value. That's the heirs' problem :)

First I want to ask, have you gotten a chance to see these appliances in person? If not I highly recommend you do so. Just looking at appliances in person will often reveal "deal breakers" that you may never have found online. This is a great way to narrow your list quickly when you're overwhelmed with choices. I've been reading a little more on hoods on garden web. From what I read, it seems a 600 CFM should be sufficient and 24" depth by 42" length would be best...does that sound about right? If we go with 600 CFM we won't need makeup air correct? What do you think of vent-a-hood? Looks like that would not require the separate blower.Or do you think baffle is preferable? I think there may be confusion here as to some of the terminology. Baffle refers to the type of grease filter in the hood. It is the same type of filter as found in commercial restaurant hoods. The alternative to a baffle filter would be a mesh filter, which are mainly found in lower end hoods. Baffles are what you want, especially for a more powerful hood. Internal vs. external blower is a separate issue. Internal blowers are cheaper and easier to service, but external blowers can be quieter. Most inserts can be ordered with either an external or internal blower option, including the Faber you were quoted, so you don't need to go Vent-A-Hood to get an internal blower. I have never owned a Vent-A-Hood, but my overall impression of them from reading Gardenweb is that some of their advertising claims ("Magic Lung") may be a bit far fetched, but that they do make a quality product. It is true that best case scenario, the hood should overhang the cooktop by 3" on each side, so yes 42" would be the optimal width hood for a 36" cooktop. As for depth: remember that you are NOT buying a hood here. You are having your hood custom made, and buying an insert to put into it. The depth of the insert for example, could be 19" like the Faber you were quoted, but the overall hood depth would be 24" which is what you ultimately want. Still no idea on the fridge. Thinking of probably doing the 36" french door style and having a second cheap one in the garage or pantry (would add in the future, not now). There are too many options for french door! It is completely overwhelming. Do any stand out? Do you think the columns would look nicer than a typical 36"? "Nicer" is a subjective word, but the columns would definitely give a higher end look than a typical 36" (even if in reality they cost about the same). You're right that the french door options can be overwhelming. If you go that route, start by narrowing down your options. Do you want it to be counter depth or do you need the extra capacity of a standard depth? Do you want ice and water thru the door? If no, do you want an internal water dispenser? If yes, do you want dual icemakers? Which ones do you like the layout of the most? Work from there. Thanks again for all of this guidance. Sorry for all the questions. We have a very short time line to figure everything out and I am starting out with a knowledge level of close to 0. No problem. You came to the right place!

So, you are saying, CR only looks at data that they can easily quantify and compare, but it ignores other information. Don't outright dismiss anecdotes. They are quite useful. Every appliance has bad reviews. In fact, they are usually the first thing that I read. If the reviews don't include bad anecdotes, then you probably haven't found a representative sample set just yet. But there are very real differences in both quantity and quality of negative feedback. Of course, that is difficult to put into a chart. And it is even more difficult to compare between two very distinct products. But that doesn't excuse skipping over this information. A recurring pattern on Houzz is that people complain how CR measures things that are irrelevant and uses testing methodologies that skew the results away from real-life needs. E.g. they didn't tell us if they used the correct size pots for these burners. And given that Wolf and LG have very different burner layouts, it's quite possible that identical pots behave very differently on both appliances. It is possible to correct for this problem, but it takes more effort; and I don't see that CR did that. As a consumer, I need to know all these things. I also need to know if my appliance is going to be difficult to use. I need to know if it is difficult to clean. I need to know if it is likely to break at the end of the warranty period. I need to know if customer service is reliable. I need to know if people are generally happy with their appliance years later. I need to know whether it easily lends itself towards the type of cooking that I do. And yes, I also need to know the simple measurements that CR took. But that's only part of the bigger picture.