Set your priorities and stick with them. IMO, putting a kid through college is at least as high a priority as a new kitchen -- both will bring you and your family much happiness over many years and are both arguably investments, but the college education is a better return on investment. I fell in love with the 48" Thermador ($9000) range but I could buy my son a car for that! I found a 36" Thermador range for half price ($3500) on Ebay; matching hood and DW because I liked them and the price difference between those and non-name-brand appliances wasn't that substantial; but got a LG freestanding fridge because I can't justify spending $5K on a built in fridge when $1500 will work just fine. FYI, the Thermador/Bosch mid range DW is $1250 and very, very quiet; I think I could have found comparable LG or Kitchenaid on sale for about 700-900. Consumer Reports consistently recommends GE Profile (the less expensive GE) above all the pricey brands, so that is another reason for sticking to a reasonable budget.

We got a Kitchen Aid slide in range (looks built in) over the range Kitchen Aid microhood, Kenmore Elite ultra quite DW (love it and seen in many kitchen mags as recommended), and a CD Kenmore Elite Trio fridge -all are stainless steel and we got during a Sears 20% off sale-I also shopped around and found the mircohood cheaper and they price matched it. I love all of them and we spent right under $6000 total. For "regular" appliances these were all rather high end...you could easily do less then $5000 if you wanted to just have SS and didn't have specific things you were looking for other then ultra quite DW! This is my dishwasher-recommended in many mags like I said...I love it-so quite-we have a kitchen open to family room and I CANNOT hear it!

Here is a link that might be useful: My dishwasher

I think the vast majority of people doing renovations do buy "regular appliances". Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, etc are leading sellers of appliances, very nice ones I may add, that aren't "luxury" brands.

This forum, like most forums on the internet, attracts a small group of "niche" users, in this case kitchen nuts. The same could be said for car forums; you won't see people gushing about their Taurus or Camry... both fine cars mind you.

One nice thing about "regular" appliances (besides price) is dependability. They tend to be manufactured in lots 100x that of Sub Zero / Wolf / Viking products, so they have a lot more real-world testing and troubleshooting. Consumer reports rates "regular" appliances, so finding recommendations is much easier.

Ask for opinions and reviews. You'll find good answers and opinions here.

I had KA superba double ovens and a bosch cooktop and a GE spacemaker OTR mw in our last house, oh, and a whirlpool DW. The top oven on the KA would only work in convection mode for some strange reason. The bosch cooktop worked great, but the little rubber feet kept breaking off. LOVED the GE MW. The whirlpool DW was a tall tub design that could fit a ton of stuff but it was noisy and ran FOREVER. I think the cycle was almost 2 hours long on the regular mode, not even sanitizing mode.

These were all "regular" appliances. I buy each appliance separately with an eye to the reliability and capability of each item. I won't get KA double ovens again. Although I liked the bosch cooktop, I want something that has better designed grates and a higher heat capacity. I would buy another GE MW in a heartbeat. I won't get another whirlpool DW because I didn't like the way it worked.

no need to justify choices..or pay up for something not important to you. it is all about decor and priorities. i just redid my kitchen with whirpool and frigidaire. pretty regular. :)

I have a Whirlpool stove (I splurged, and got one w/ a power burner and simmer burner--roughly $600)

I have a Maytag dishwasher--$450.

I have a Kenmore fridge--$700.

I have a GE OTR convection/Micro--$600.

In the future, I'd do it differently. I'd buy the quietest dishwasher I could find, even if it was a Bosch or a Miele, and even if it cost $1,000.

And I'd buy the service contract from the get-go, because every single one of my appliances (wait, no, not the fridge; that was the OLD fridge, the 7-year-old one) has had something pretty big go wrong with it.

Otherwise, I'd be shopping in the same range.

I cannot bring myself to spend more than I spent on these appliances.

Each of them is the right size, has good features, and works well in my life.

I got a whole suite of Whirlpool gold appliances that were on sale at Lowe's and paid significantly less than your budgeted $5k. I'd love a big pro style range but only if we had gas, our current range is electric. We don't plan on staying in this house forever and buying one would overprice our home for our neighborhood. Just putting in granite, basic ss appliances, new tile floors and maple cabinets (not custom but with lots of bells and whistles) has made our kitchen the nicest in the neighborhood. And I live in what is considered a somewhat upscale neighborhood in our town. Go with what you can afford and like.

"Regular" appliances for me except the Miele dishwasher which was the only 18" that I could find that was well reviewed by everyone. I have a bunch of Electrolux which is the same the kenmore uses except its cheaper (at least the cooktop was cheaper, kenmore didn't have an oven like the electrolux)

Similar to mysterymachine, if you'd told me a year ago that I was going to spend $1000 on a dishwasher, I'd have said you were crazy! :>0 But, both DH and I just love our Asko DW- we have a Frigidaire (Electrolux)duel fuel slide in range- Kenmore fridge (kept old fridge), Panasonic OTR MW, and our 'fanciest' appliance is my DeLonghi Expresso Machine! :>)By shopping diligently and taking advantage of sales, we spent less than $2500 (not counting fridge which was 2-3 years old)

This forum is great for exposing the pros and cons of all kinds of accouterments for the kitchen, and you just need to decide what your priorities are. For instance after having a latte at my house, my friend said oh my machine doesn't get the milk as foamy- her 'machine' was a dollar store battery operated beater- to her, her 'lattes' were just as good (though not so foamy) as mine :>) Obviously buying an Italian made Expresso machine would not be a wise choice for her. LOL

A "regular appliances" family, here. As much as we would have liked to splurge on some upscale appliances, we really had to stick to a strict budget. My goal was to find the quietest and best dw we could find for about $500 -- it came down to either Bosch or KA. We went with KA, b/c our appliance store offered it to me for $450. Our biggest splurge was the GE Profile bottom freezer fridge for $1200. Our gas range is a frigidaire, and the model was being discontinued, so we picked it up for $450. Our GE microhood was $200. All appliances are black -- so no upcharge for stainless. Total: $2300 plus tax & delivery.

I agree these forums are geared more toward people looking at upscale appliances -- but it's really necessary as consumer reports and the like don't give very comprehensive reviews of these items. Those publications are more for the "average joes." I enjoy reading these forums, though, because in my next life, I'm getting a bertazzoni! :-)

I got all "regular" appliances. Unfortunately, I didn't know about GW before I bought my appliances, so I'm not sure how they rate over on the Appliances forum (and now I sure don't want to look!)

Refrigerator (Kenmore that I bought at our local Sears outlet store 4 years ago)

Dishwasher: Kenmore that was the top rated by Consumer
Reports. It's sitting in my garage right now since we've not started demo yet, but I can't imagine I won't love it. I got the stainless interior, so it was $800

Range: LG gas free standing range. I had them go ahead and install this one since I HATED my old range that came with the house. So far I LOVE it. Has performed very well and it looks fabulous. Only $1300 but it has the look of a "pro" model with nice metal knobs, etc. If you're on a budget, but want to get a really nice look, I'd research this one. I think the model # is LG LRG30355

we bought a bluestar 30" range and are doing a custom hood with vent-a-hood insert, along with a bosch dishwasher with cabinet panel, but we opted to go with a conventional depth amana fridge as a budgetary consideration.

while researching the french-door bottom-freezer fridges, we found that the same exact fridge is sold as amana, kitchenaid, maytag, jenn air, and dacor. the only difference is the handles and the nameplate.

I splurged on a Bosch DW for $1,000 due to the Aqua-stop feature and my paranoia about the new wood floors, a GE Profile convec. range for $1,000, an OTR GE MW for $350, and a Samsung FD fridge for $2200: all came to $5,000 from Lowe's. I do alot of cooking, but can't imagine spending much more than that. My last round of new appliances 13yrs ago was only $3,000, but I'm hoping these will be much more energy efficient, too.

We have KitchenAid ss backless slide-in range, Velos monochromatic otr-combo, KitchenAid integrated ss dishwasher and a leaky Frigidaire refrigerator. We started replacing the new Frigidaire appliances after four years but the frig is still ticking along at seven years although it leaks water all over the floor and the freezer section bottom is solid ice.

The appliance dilemma has caused a great deal of flip flopping on whether we should go with less expensive/quality on cabinets for future remodel with higher-end appliances or better quality more expensive cabinets and nice middle of the road appliances. With appliances rather short life expectancy these days and no immediate plans on moving, the latter is starting to make more sense at the moment. It all takes so much thought, I mean the new buildings in my neighborhood are huge homes well over 1.5 million, then there is me at the near half way point, then are are the teardowns. So, IÂm thinking mostly regular-ish appliances with a possible exception of a built-in frig (old one to give out any minute) due to clearance to island and entry issues and, nicer a bit more expensive long lasting simple classic cabinets. This way when and if I ever decide to move, the cabinets will be good and I may be able to get away with a few minor upgrades such as appliances or other.

In a perfect world and money to burn I would do both high-end appliances and high-end cabinets. However, to tell you the truth it would probably take me forever to learn how to cook with some of that stuff. The real luxury for me will be to have counter space and appliances that work.

Range - Frigidaire gas, self-cleaning $649 at Sears (in 2004)

DW - Frigidaire $356 on sale at Lowes

Microwave/Convestion - Sharp, countertop $250 on Amazon.com

Fridge....Have my eye on a GE Profile french door with water and ice through the door but we're still living with the rusting ivory Frididaire side by side that came with the house.

Our appliances are black because I like the way they look with the new cabinets.

I'd love high end appliances but we don't have the budget for it and we only cook about 3 times a week.

I've got all "regular" appliances at my house and don't feel like I'm lower class or anything, lol! I did get higher end "regulars", tho! I've been a homeowner for almost 30 years and have averaged 10 years per refrigerator and often get a new stove at the same time. I had a trash compacter when we moved to our new home and absolutely hated the sight of it (looked like a smaller dishwasher).

I personally like the white appliances more than the stainless steel look so I'm keeping them and updating what I don't like (kitchen counters). Best wishes to you!

We just went through appliance selection for our new home, with a 6000.00 allowance. I decided I wasn't going to go too far over, because I seem to be going over EVERYWHERE else.

I got a Maytag washer, Maytag dryer (top loaders!), Jenn-Air convection micro, Bosch dishwasher and Bosch counter-depth refrigerator, all for 4800.00 (incl tax). I'm sure you can get decent stuff for 5000.00, since you aren't replacing your cooktop, washer or dryer.

We went overboard with a 36 inch Bertazzoni stove and hood, for another 4000.00. I tried to talk DH into something cheaper (GE Cafe?), but he wouldn't budge.....

PennyLaney

I researched and researched and researched :) And got the best appliances I could afford. I have a KA dishwasher, GE trash compactor, Panasonic Microwave (that's not been purchased but we needed specific sizes and that's the one we'll get Sub Zero fridge and Lacanche Range. The only thing I would have prefered be higher end would be a Viking trash compactor, but size was an issue there.

One thing I'd NEVER do is buy all KA or SZ/Wolf or Meile etc. I wanted certain features in each item and made sure that the items we purchased met all of those needs.

So I got a mix of "regular" and "unique" but really it was more about getting the ones that did the most for the money, and sometimes that's not the fancy brands, and sometimes it is.

I just bought all GE Profile appliances in black. They're in boxes in a warehouse somewhere right now because we're under construction. However, we had Kenmore appliances before - and they worked great. Just wanted new for the new kitchen, and I like the way the Profile line looks. Another suggested website for pricing comparison shopping is www.epinions.com
After you figure out what you want - to to epinions and plunk in the model # of what you're considering - and it'll give you a list of prices to shop from.

Regular? Heck, what about low end?

The top rated gas range in Consumer Reports is my $450 Hotpoint, which is the low end model for some other maker - GE? And I've seen it in a few pictures posted here, too.

I'll bet my food tastes as good as that coming from a giant industrial monstrosity.

I think appliances are the least attractive part of a kitchen and should be minimized and downplayed, in favor of tile and granite and wood. I'm also really stingy.

I had your same budget but also needed a cooktop. Stainless was a must for me and as much as I LOVE and DROOL over Subzero and Wolf could not afford them for this reno. I think everyone wants their kitchens to look nice but when priorities and budgets are set that's when each person must make the hard decisions as too what's most important to them.

For my complete gut kitchen on a SHOESTRING budget, I knew the most important aspects for me were good work flow and good appliances that met my needs within my budget.

Therefore, I chose (all stainless):

GE Double ovens
Kenmore Pro 36" cooktop
Kenmore Elite Euro Hood
Kenmore Elite 25 cubic foot French Door Fridge w/water in door
Kenmore Elite adjustable shelves quite dishwasher (one model down from CPang74's)but also highly rated

I purchased all from Sears on Sale plus rebates for purchasing so many appliances AND free shipping! My total w/o warranties came to $5,100.

The Manager at the Sears where I purchased my appliances suggested purchasing the warranties ONLY on the Fridge, cooktop, & ovens and reminded me that I had 1 year to cancel the warranties with a full refund (which if there are no problems in the first year I intend to do as I also have a home warranty which includes appliances). The philosophy is that if you get a lemon or something major is going to go wrong with the appliance it will do so in the first year. Thereby, giving you the ability to request a new appliance instead of having it repaired.

Sorry for such a long post, but wanted you to know there are many truly magnificent kitchens on this site that are on the high end. BUT there are an equal number of truly magnifent kitchens on this site that were done on a tighter budget as well.

Good luck in your search!

Honestly, I'm not even tempted by high end appliances. If I had no budget limitations, I'm sure I'd probably get higher end than I've got - but I still doubt I'd get the "best". Whereas if I had no budget limitations, you'd probably see me spend a ton on tile, stone and cabinets!

Maybe it means I'm a shallow person much more impressed with style than function but I'd rather spend the money on granite or great looking cabinets. LOL, I'd probably be more likely to spend money on a great "looking" stove than a "loaded stove" too. It's just that I've never really found any of my cheap stoves to be a problem - they did what I wanted them to do and if I'm honest with myself I am not such an extra special cook that I need some extraordinary stove!

I've found the "regular" brands to be very reliable for stoves and fridges. Maybe in dishwashers it makes a difference; still I hear that the lifespan of all dishwashers, pricey or not, is pretty short. I'd hate to pay double and have it break down in the same number of years!

Reading through these posts a couple of things occur to me. 1) Many people with 'regular joe' appliances to save money have granite countertops, which I would consider a non-necessary luxury. That's not at all a judgment, just a difference in priorities. We also built our own cabinets...Our budget for cabinetry for our whole house was $10K. The point is, I guess, that someone who spent more than you might on appliances may very well have spent less somewhere else.

2) Besides family differences (how many people, how many meals are eaten at home) and cooking style differences (gourmet cooking and/or prolific baking vs heating easier dishes), there is probably a big difference in how people choose appliances based on how long they intend to stay in their homes, and related resale concerns...Whether it's buying up to increase value or whether it's buying down, because you won't be using it for that long, or maybe it's getting the appliance you've dreamed of, because it's the last you intend to buy.

Again, though, I think it's a mistake to assume 'regular joe' appliances cost less than others whose names are less familiar or European.

My range cost $60. In 1949. ;-)

A bit of a tangenty but another thing that struck me as unusual about this forum is how many people have separate ovens and "cooktops". In my life, I've only come across a few kitchens that didn't just have one stove for both functions - and usually a free standing stove, at that.

The concept hasn't tempted me too much in planning for my own someday renovation because it seems like having them separate would mean giving up either some of my current cupboard or counter space!

LOL, circuspeanut!

Rhome, you're totally right about the trade offs. We're looking at ikea cabs and middling appliances for now, but I'm going to spend the bulk of our budget putting in a full glass door wall and a new deck for an indoor-outdoor space, tearing down a wall, changing ceiling heights, and moving plumbing, electrical, gas and vents. My plan is to pay for the big structural stuff now and when the ikea cabs and low-to-medium priced appliances wear out, by then I'll (hopefully) have recovered enough to put in the fancy appliances -- but for now the more important thing is fixing the work flow and the structure.

High end appliances are beautiful to look at and a pleasure to use, and we all enjoy having nice things. ( I must admit that I get a small thrill every time I pull out my Le Creuset pot that my husband got for me using his Amex rewards points. I could never justify spending $225 on a single pot!)

Still it seems to me that the best tasting food comes from Grandma's (or Mom's) old kitchen with it's beat-up, dated appliances.

Two children through college and the baby just turned 21 and a junior. Old habits die hard. We've scrimped for so many years and I've pinched so many pennies that I have permanent blisters on my fingers. Shopping for value wins out. The new build will have mostly GE monogram appliances but a Samsung french door refrigerator and a Sharp microwave. The KD rolls his eyes but agrees that if it suits me then his opinion or the neighbors or the SIL don't count. Someone posted earlier about blending the appliances with the cabinetry and counters in a total design and I couldn't agree more. The overall picture and function of each applicance matters, not the brand.

I just purchased "regular" appliances. Nary a Bosch or a Wolfe but I think I got solid appliances thanks to advice here and elsewhere.
Im not big on bells and whistles so I did the research and bought reputable brands but went mid-range in those brands. Not top of the line- not bottom either.
There are ways to economize as I learned here as well: scratch and dent appliance places, craigslist and my local appliance place has a basement where "misordered appliances are sold at a bargain price. My sales guy there was tryingto help me save and called me when a refrigerator came in there that he thought would fit what I needed. Good luck!

It all comes down to personal priorities I suppose. If you look at my before and after, not only did I not get new appliances we even spray painted our old range because it was perfectly fine except it didn't match well. It looks brand new all because of about $10 in appliance expoxy. I attached the link so you can look if you choose.

Here is a link that might be useful: my before and (almost done) afters

We have a frigidaire double range and microwave, kenmore fridge - it is a counter-depth with panel but I only paid $950, and a whirlpool (I think) dishwasher - got the best deal on it. I just didn't care what brand as I figured most only last 8-10 years so why get the best as then you feel guilty wanting to replace them. I wanted white.

The only fancy range I loved was an AGA, but it would have looked funny in our tiny house and for the price, I just didn't care. I would have loved a blue one... but the money looked much better being invested in my retirement as I care much more about retiring well than what I cook on (as long as it wasn't the range that came with the house that scared me).

Now, where I will spend money is on structural items - I will spend money to buy good windows - we put in Marvins as I plan those will hopefully last 30 years and we did them DIY to save money and stuff like that.

Sometimes I feel like a dope for buying fairly expensive appliances. My Fisher & Paykel oven has NEVER worked (installed last November), my Liebherr refrigerator has an ice maker problem, my imported dedietrich induction cooktop is making funny noises, and my contractor just could not install my Miele DW correctly (although it is working beautifully now). Perhaps I was unkind to appliances in a former life.

I would also say that since I live in a very rural area, I should have stuck with appliances that are more familiar to the repair people.

You won't feel good about springing for expensive equipment if you have other, likely more important, financial demands. And you'll really feel rotten if your luxury items fail.

janwad wrote: I think appliances are the least attractive part of a kitchen and should be minimized and downplayed, in favor of tile and granite and wood.

YES! Finally someone who thinks along the same lines as me. That is why I selected black, rather than SS. I wanted the "stars" of my kitchen to be my granite & cabinets.

Everyone has different tastes.. how boring it would be if we didn't! :)

I chose black for all my appliances, too.. I went with Kitchen Aid . After four years,I have had good luck with all of them so far.

I agree boxiebabe!

We have an expensive range (Lacanche) but $700 seems to be our price point for other appliances. We paid $700 for our 300 cfm Vent-A-Hood, we paid $700 for our single P&F dishdrawer and we paid $700 for our KitchenAid top freezer fridge.

We're moving the Lacanche to another kitchen in the same building and replacing it with a 24" gas range. If there was a nice "regular" range of that size we'd give it a close look. All we've found are low-end ranges intended for small rental units and high-end ranges intended for rich people's small apartments. Unfortunately, we have a rental budget and rich people's tastes.

We're doing a modest kitchen remodel, and *gasp* aren't even getting new appliances. The old ones are all perfectly functional, and I can't justify putting them in a landfill. They are white, and in reasonably good shape, even the 12 year old fridge.

We're getting the highest quality all wood cabinets we can afford. That's where we want to put our money.

I read the Consumer Reports articles and other product reviews, and it seems to me that the high end appliances really don't cook any better. My sister spent a fortune on top of the line appliances, and having house-sat for a couple of weeks, I prefer the way my old ones function.

I don't like the look of stainless. I think "morgue" when I see the appliances at the stores. Not to insult all of you with your high end stainless. If that's what you want, that's wonderful.

Hey circuspeanut--I have the same one! I always wondered what it originally cost. I've never seen yellow knobs and handles though!

I had the glass oven door on mine changed to a plain one, because I preferred that look. Here she is, with her top up. I paid $800 for her--including delivery and install. She hasn't been refurbished--just "cleaned, calibrated, and guaranteed." She is in great condition, but her bakelite handles need to be sanded/cleaned so they are white and not tan.

For my kitchen, the most important stove considerations are: power/high btu's (stovetop and oven for pizza making), and appearance. I got both with the 1955 stove. I especially love that my oven has a temperature range of about 125 (great for rising dough) to about 650 (it might get hotter, but I've been scared to try). No self clean though... I'd love something snazzy and French though...if I could afford it. Even if appearance were not an issue (I have a vintage kitchen), the "regular joe" ranges/ovens don't seem to get hot enough.

We've purchased Kenmore appliances for two houses now, and I'm still happy with our choices. In the latest remodel, we went with SS, and chose our first built-in DW. All very exciting. The fridge was a floor model that I fell in love with (~$1600), the range (~$700) has a sealed element and a warming element (never used!), but is similar to the white one from last house, so we stayed with what we liked. Choosing the DW was exciting! We had a small portable in last house--and that was only once we put it on the market (keeping the sink clear). Our new (old) house had an old Kenmore DW that I really liked. Even though I lusted after the hidden control Bosch, I went with the SS Kenmore (~$800) because it offered an interior layout that suited our needs better. And that's what it really comes down to, isn't it? Finding something that suits your needs, regardless of fads, trends or any other consideration.
They may not be high end, but they are soooo much better than what was here before:

to answer your question, yes. we have a ge side by side fridge (something less than 1K), a GE gas range (the cheap one), GE microhood (also the cheapy), and a GE dishwasher. they are not GE monogram. they are all fine, except the dishwasher which is no good. i feel like our 300$ was wasted there. must find another soon...but it has to be white! i am not a cook, but i like the water in the door of the fridge, that is a huge luxury for me. my hubby is a great cook and as long as the range is gas, he doesn't care what kind it is. francy and circuspeanut...i love your ranges! we had a 24 inch wide version in an apartment once and it cooked a turkey (a skinny turkey) just fine! plus it heated the house up. kren

I splurged with the $3200 DCS range but I definately made up for it by getting the KA fridge and matching dishwasher on clearance and the matching hood on sale and the microwave on clearance. Paid just under $6000 for EVERYTHING I wanted. It saves to be patient and shop around.

My appliances are very 'regular'! LOL I just bought all Maytag appliances - french door fridge (regular depth), gas range (with convection! and continuous grates!), and dishwasher (big splurge - hidden controls and SS tub) for under 3K (not to mention $200 Maytag rebate and $200 HD gift card - yes I am a bargain shopper). And I bucked the trend and bought white. I must be easily impressed - I love them. So much better than the bottom-of-the-line top-freezer fridge, 15 yo range (that we'd already sunk $200 into just to keep it working) and 30 yo (!) dishwasher that sounded like it was going to take off to the moon.

We went very regular as we knew we wouldn't be here long and would leave them all behind. We have all Fridgidaire SS and I'm been quite happy with them - we've even considered them for our new house. I was able to get a dual fuel range w/ warming drawer, counter depth s/s fridge with water/ice in the door, deep bin d/w and otr micro for about $3200 from an ebay store.

We are getting a GE AG Cafe range ($2500) and I would have been perfectly happy with a GE or Frigidaire slide-in ($1600), but DH is "splurging" on the Cafe. We want a panel-ready DW, so that's going to be about ~$1000, but it will probably be a KitchenAid or something. We are looking at a few different standard depth SxS frigs in the $1500-$1800 range, all very ordinary. We are leaving shelf space for a GE convection MW ($500), but may make do with our $120 Sharp for awhile longer. Our Faber Cristal hood ($550) is Italian (ooh-la-la) so I'm not sure if that's regular or not, but fairly inexpensive. Altogether that's about 6K - less if we can make some smart buys - and I can't say I feel like I'm doing without. All you have to do is look at the Sears flyer every week to see what most people can afford.

DH and I briefly toyed with the idea of a Lacanche range because they're so darn beautiful. The more we talked about what else we could do with that $$$ (mostly outfit the kids gameroom that is part of this addition), the less attractive the Lacanche looked to us. We also would have felt a little silly, because we're really just "regular" cooks. Our friends who are "good" cooks all manage on ranges less expensive than the Cafe. If we really step up the cooking when we retire 20 years from now, we may revisit that beautiful Lacanche though.

Speaking of "regular appliances", can anyone explain to me WHY a separate built-in oven and a cooktop costs 2-3 times what a range costs, when all a range is is the two appliances in one piece? I first thought about a built-in oven, but at $1000 for the oven and $600 for the cooktop (when a similar stove is $600) I went for the "old-fashioned" look. It's a plot, I tell you!

Carla in Sac

I could kind of get the 2 appliances costing more than the 1 combo...Sort of like how it's easier to sew a dress than a blouse and skirt. (How's that for over-simplification?) But what amazed me was that I could have bought two 30" ranges for significantly less than one 48" range! (Of course, the cost of the hoodvent for such a plan would suck up that savings in a hurry.) The salesman said it had to do with the difficulty of insulating between the 2 ovens. Doesn't sound like enough to make the difference to me...

We did the same as rhome410...put the money where you think you'll enjoy it the most, then use "regular" appliances around that.

We put in a Wolf rangetop/griddle and Wolf hood, then saved a ton of money with the FP double ovens (bought on sale in Lancaster PA and shipped to Seattle, thru a tip someone posted here in THS, and still saved about 1K!), LG FD fridge (bought with the Wolf, so they could discount it), and the Asko dishwasher (super quiet, efficient).

The total for the package of appliances was very reasonable for a mid range kitchen remodel, and lower than what I've seen many folk in here average for appliances.

But you're entirely correct in trying to stay within your budget and spending the money on your kids' education...that's much more important than a kitchen!

Another thing you can do is to remodel the kitchen, but keep your old appliances (if they are still in good condition). Or you can buy a really cheap set at Best Buy or HD...get things like the $450 GE electric stove and the $750 LG bottom line fridge. Use them for several years until your kids graduate then upgrade to nicer appliances. You can donate the used appliances to charity.

I bought all new appliances for our new house at Sears. I got the Kenmore All fridge but not the all freezer mate. We will be using our current chest freezer in the basement as before. I bought a Kenmore convection wall oven and electric glass top stove and some old dishwasher ;) I have no idea about the dishwasher and the receipts are packed. I also bought Kenmore He washer and dryer. Oh, and a hot water heater too for the domestic hot water. I'm in Canada so consider the difference in prices but I spent about $6000 on everything. I know my stuff isn't the most thrilling available but I like it and I'm not going in debt to buy it. It's within my means.

Now if I could afford more? I probably would! LOL

brunosonio:
The house is only 6 years old, so a kitchen remodel is out of the question. I have granite countertops, and though my cabinets are the dreaded oak, they are good quality with new pulls. I have nice 18" tile floors.

I am going to start by replacing the range hood. The lights don't work anymore, due to a faulty motherboard which would cost more to repair than a new hood.

Eventually I will add the other appliances. We are thinking of selling in 3-5 years, and stainless seems to be the standard in our neighbourhood. Our house has more than doubled in value (it was triple at one point, but values have fallen), but now there are at least 5 houses in foreclosure in the subdivision of 50 houses. It's a bit scary. We are fine, we bought what we could afford, and have a fixed rate mortgage. That's another reason I don't want to spend big bucks- the appliances stay with the house, except for the fridge.

From what I can tell, only a couple of owners went with top of the line appliances. The separate cooktop and wall oven were standard features, meant to give the kitchen a more upscale feel.

I will definitely stick to my budget, as tuition is our main focus for the foreseeable future.

Wall oven- I looking at a GE Monogeam 30" ZET1 wall model oven. Great unit. Thought about new Jenn Air pro series, but won't fit into my standard cabinet depth. Like the dial controls on both units. Simple and easy to use.

Range- Bought a 30" gas range/conv oven by Capital. Real nice unit. 5 sealed burners. All 19K BTU burners, PLUS 25K BTU center wok burner. Simmer 160*F on all burners.

Range fan- Purchased a Vent-a-hood range fan. Domestic product out of TX. Read great reviews and liked their way of thinking/design.

Dishwasher- had to go with Miele or KA, since wife wanted top silverware tray. Only offered by these two manufacturers.