I wouldn't worry. Certain manufacturers are known for quality for certain appliances, Bosch being one of them in regard to dishwashers. Each of my differently-branded appliances (including a Bosch dishwasher!) was chosen based on quality and value and not the "matching appliance suite" factor.

I have all different brands, because I wanted specific things, and no one brand had everything. So, I have a Bosch oven, a Bertazzoni cooktop, a Leibherr fridge-freezer. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest. (My dishwasher is Bosch - the only appliance we didn't replace. The old one was still going strong. It's white, and the rest are stainless steel, and that doesn't bother me either.)

Most of us mix and match brands - getting the most appropriate appliance for your needs is more important than matching labels. Even within a given brand, the finishes often aren't exactly the same anyway.

I wouldn't want a matching appliance set--egads, it would look like a showroom. I agree with someone above who said that you pick the appliances for their individual quality and features. I have a Bosch dishwasher, Wolf range with a Vent-A-Hood Hood and the fridge that came with the house because it works great and was 1 month old when we bought so we kept it, I cannot even recall what it is. So... no to matchy matchy.
sara the brit: I'd love to see pics of your Leibherr, do you have any to see?

i actually have a bosch microwave above a jenn air wall oven (they are stacked). when they first were installed, i noticed that the display light on the bosch was amber and the jenn air was green. i just about freaked out! that was my tko stage and soon i calmed down. i turned the microwave light off and it is no big deal....HOWEVER, at the time, i was upset because it wasn't what i saw on the website and it wasn't what i was expecting........debra, since your appliance are stacked, this doesn't apply to you, but i thought i'd put it out there for anyone else investigating appliances right now!

Get the best of each type, regardless of brand. They will still look fine together, and you'll be one very happy cook in the kitchen!

I'd actually be sorry and somewhat embaressed to have all the same brand in my kitchen. It would look like no thought went into the appliances...buying all in one place, instead of researching and getting the best tht's available.

I have a GE trashcompactor, miele DW, Subzero, and Lacanche. Each purchase for quality (although the miele was purchased because it's smaller than a normal Dw).

The only worry I had was that the stainless on the range and microwave mounted above it would not match, since the finish can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so when we decided on a Frigidaire range, we also got their microwave. The other appliances are at least a couple feet from each other, so we didn't care whather or not they were the same brand.

BTW, am I the only one who hesitates a little at buying a range from "Frigidaire"? How can I cook with frigid air? :)

When Canadian designer Sarah Richardson suggested getting the same brand kitchen appliances, I snorted. Here's a woman with great design sense but no kitchen sense.

If you were to buy a car, in a perfect world you would pick individual parts from different companies. So in your newly planned kitchen - when it may be one of the few times that YOU get to choose EVERYTHING - why would you feel limited by one manufacturer? You should try to choose the BEST within your price points.

That's what we did, after much research, and that's why we've ended up with a Miele DW, Panasonic microwave, Viking Hood, Capital Precision gas range and Kitchen Aid fridge. All different but with the same ss finish.

It never occurred to me to put in appliances of all the same brand. I've never had that in any kitchen, whether I put them in, replaced some, or just moved into what was there. It's never been a problem or a regret. Like others here, I chose each individually and very carefully.

I agree with igloochic (almost always) and sara. Buy the best. We did keep the same material, stainless steel. Bosch DW with cabinet front, GE microwave, American Range, Leibherr frige. Stainless steel sinks and fixtures and it all ties together without the showroom look

We just purchased our appliances and they won't be of the same brands mainly because different companies make different appliances better. If it's the current trend to not have matching cabinets, why have matching appliances? Whatever you decide will be wonderful, as long as you are happy cooking in your kitchen, it will be perfect!

We have a bunch of Bosch stuff because we like it and it's the best we could afford at our price point, but we have some other brands, too. Oven, induction cooktop and dishwasher are all Bosch. Fridge is Summit professional. Range hood is GE Profile. They all look good together.

Sounds like the message of no regrets for not matching is clear. Another reason to *not* have them match is that appliances will die at different times. If you have a matchy suite of appliances and then one goes, the new non-match might stand out like a sore thumb.

I wanted to add just one cautionary tale about making them look good together.

We kept our Kitchenaid double oven and our Amana CD refrigerator from pre-reno. They were side by side in the old kitchen and looked just...okay. Not great, noticeably just okay. I think it was because they didn't blend well and were so close together. The kitchenaid is stainless with a black frame and handles, and the refrigerator has stainless everything.

I kept them because I was budget-weary from a full year of renovation, plus I couldn't see getting rid of perfectly good appliances just because they weren't new. I had decided that if, after the new kitchen went in, they bring the new kitchen down, I'll think about replacing them.

To my shock and delight, most everyone assumes the fridge is brand new now that it isn't right next to the oven.

And the oven works now visually because I have the black soapstone countertops so the black handles aren't the lone slashes of black anywhere in the room.

The moral of this story is that you do have to take care, esp with your pieces 12" apart, to make sure they look very good together.

Anita

Not sorry at all - in almost every decision of this reno, we tried to stick w/ "form follows function". Hence, our frig. and freezer are Electrolux Icon, double ovens - Kenmore Pro, Bosch dishwasher, Dacor cooktop, Thermador downdraft, and Kenmore microwave.

I identified features that I knew we wanted, researched brands for repair histories and user satisfaction, considered price, and tried to find finishes and hardware that would blend, but not necessarily match. Granted most of these have yet to be tested as we are still "almost there". But I am hopeful that we will enjoy many good meals with them.

I'm mixing and matching. I agree, it looks great when all the pulls match, but no single manufacturer had what I wanted for all the appliances we need. I am going stainless in everything, so that will match. Personally, I would not get the same manufacturer across the board for aesthetics alone.. I'd definitely evaluate if each appliance has the features and functionality you need.

You should also remember that the Kitchen Obsessed are a small minority of the general population. Most people will not notice small details like that.... I had so many people ask me in my other kitchen if my Stellar Snow Silestone was granite.. I can't imagine a more synthetic looking surface (it has little pieces of mirror and other non-natural items in it).

We went for what we thought best matched our function wish list for each appliance and are very happy with our choices. We have SubZero, DCS, Miele, Gaggenau, Monogram, & VentaHood.

However, design is important, so we fully integrated some of the appliances and went with stainless for the rest.

The one area where we decided to match appliances was our oven stack. I really liked the Miele Masterchef, but ended up choosing a Gaggenau convection oven because the best place for it was under a Gaggenau Combi-steam oven, which we wanted most of all. Now that we have them, we love the way they perform and the stack looks great.

I agree about the oven stack. It certainly helps if they all match, but if you check around this forum you'll find that people mix and match the microwave/wall ovens/warming drawer all the time and it all looks great.

I am also looking for the best not matching. Its more about matching color vs brand.

rhome410

I see in photo's of your kitchen you went with the wolf rangetop. But, what brand/model is the double ovens? of of curiosity why not wolf?

Todds, I don't know how to tell this in a few words to explain adequately, so here's the long version:

Our oven is the Fisher & Paykel AeroTech dbl oven. I didn't even consider Wolf. They were considerably more expensive for no more benefit that I could see. They weren't really on the short list of ovens most raved about on the appliances forum. The F&P ovens had the cooking modes I thought I'd really use and, as a bonus, the appearance I liked best (I prefer knob controls over glass touch panel). The only thing they lacked that I really wanted was the full-extension, ball-bearing racks which the Monogram ZET models have. That feature, the knob controls, and their price also put them (the Monograms) on the top of my list. The only more expensive ovens I considered was the Miele, for their quality of construction (very high quality control within Miele manufacturing), their accurate performance, and their customer service. In the end, the F&P were close on those points, had the style I like, and the far better price. (I found ours on Ebay for under $2200.) I also didn't think I needed or would use the expensive Master Chef and rotisserie features on the Miele. I think the Wolf was in the same price range as the Miele without any added benefits or as many rave reviews. (Not necessarily any bad reports, but just not as many great ones to indicate great value in the price.)

For rangetops, I wanted powerful BTUs for use with propane, 8 burners, and good reputation for consistent performance, durability, and customer service. That put Wolf, BlueStar, and Capital Precision on my list. I believed I'd like open burners most, so crossed off the Capital, and Wolf's customer service swayed me in the end. I also thought I'd like their burner style better, but actually think I was mistaken in that. Knowing that, I would still have a hard time choosing between BlueStar and Wolf, because there have been more negative reports about BlueStar recently, and I've been happy with the rangetop's performance and Wolf's customer service. It's also great that it has a 2 yr warranty while, I think, others have 1.

That probably tells you far more than you wanted to know... :-)

Feel free to email me through 'my page' if you have questions.

I have a Viking rangetop, Ventahood hood, GE Monogram ovens, a built-in KA fridge and a Bosch dishwasher. No regrets. My fridge and Bosch are hidden by panels. The ovens were the toughest choice because they needed to be a certain interior size and I wanted the handle to be a certain way. All the stainless seems to match, nothing is side by side so it's hard to tell.

The place you most often see all matching appliances is in model homes. The reason is that builders get a discount for purchasing all the appliances from one manufacturer when they are building a bunch of homes.

For those of us who have the opportunity to pick each item out, it makes much more sense to pick out each appliance according to ouer specific needs and likes, and according to which manufacturer makes the best quality.

I bought a GE profile refrig because I wanted it to match the oven which was right across from it. The handles needed to match, and they look great. The rest of the appliances, I chose exactly what I wanted (no handles to match). I got a Bosch DW (with no handle), a GE monogram cooktop and a broan hood. The stainless all looks fine together!

Thank you one and all! These thoughts are so very helpful!