Appliances can definitely be gently removed and stuck in the garage (or where ever) to await their new kitchen. We did that with several, because of course appliances don't always wait for the remodel to die. :)

The floor you just can't do anything about if it's already in. Tile is more likely to avoid damage than other materials, though. Hope for the best and plan for the worst. The bigger problem would be getting the new cabinets in exactly the same spot. Having a few spare tiles would be a good idea, just in case.

From my experience, it will be just fine. You will have to have your appliances sitting in an adjacent space, or in a garage, after demo and while your new cabinets are being installed. This is not such a big deal. You would have this anyway if you order them online and they arrive before you are ready for them. The important thing is to know the exact measurements of all your appliances when you plan and order your cabinets, which you will.

As for the floor...our contractors taped down some kind of paper once the tile was done so it didn't get messed up when they were installing the appliances. I'm not sure what it is called, but am pretty certain they got it at HD. It was a brown/red color and they used blue painter tape to tape it down.

Fori, Splitrock and Joaniepoanie - thank you all so very much for your helpful and reassuring responses. I feel so relieved! We do have spare tiles, whew.
Now I can happily shop for the appliances, yaaay!

I'm not only a newbie to kitchen remodeling, but also new to this site ( I did post once about 18 months ago when we thought we could go ahead with the complete renovation, but couldn't for various reasons) and am not sure if this is a place to ask for recommendations for cabinet makers/installers/appliance retailers. If that's not a problem, any recs? We live in Los Angeles county ( San Fernando Valley). We like KraftMaid cabinetry and engineered stone countertops.
Thanks again, all!

Absolutely! I bought the fridge and DW 2 years ago before I knew I was going to remodel. The GC carefully moved the fridge into the DR for the remodel. When done it will all go back. He put down lots of floor protection. Good luck

Sure you can...we bought our appliances 9 mos before they were installed. We held off delivery (I rescheduled it 4 times). Finally I felt I couldn't call them one more time--had them delivered and they sat in the garage. They were all boxed and setting on pallets.
For our floor, they laid big pieces of cardboard (like refrigeration boxes cut up) and covered this with big sheets of this reddish heavy paper that comes on a big roll. Taped it together with none other that duct tape. Held up great. Not a scratch on the wood floor underneath.

It's okay to ask for recommendations here (and the appliance forum). I recommend it! Of course you might not get much, but you're in a big town so it's worth a shot.

This is all I've done so far with my kitchen remodel. I am not ready to do a full remodel, but several of my appliances died, so I replaced them. One thing to note is that if you intend to change appliances sizes (30" to 36" range) or types (free standing to slide in range) you'll run into some trouble. Right now I'm regretting my range purchase and thinking that I'll end up swapping out a different range when I can finally do the full remodel. I can sell it on CL or something, but still it will be a loss.

I also regretted my range selection after I bought it..it hadn't been delivered yet so no problem. Just cancelled it and reselected.

Well yeah you have to be sure you want to keep that size. And color. I had to get a dishwasher early, but having made no decisions on kitchen ended up getting a (un)paneled one so I could match it later. I kept the oven that came with the house even though it was ugly, didn't match, and was sort of ummm downscale for the area. Darn fine cookie baker though! (I'm not really an appliance snob, honest.)

You are all so nice! Thank you very much!

a2gemini: we are hoping to get the new cabinets and countertop/backsplash within 6-8 months after we put in the new appliances, so it was reassuring to know you didn't have any damage despite remodeling 2 years later.

Peonybush: Ditto! ( substitute 9 months for 2 years :-)).

Fori: Your post encourages me to ask away :-) - you'll probably regret your recommendation! I didn't even know there was an appliance forum - duh. Thanks for making me think about future paneling for the new dishwasher. I'm in two minds about getting stainless steel appliances ( we have black right now and the surfaces are so hard to keep streak-free - which I heard can also be a problem with SS). Plus I keep wondering how soon some new trend in appliance material will pop up and make stainless steel passe.

Pricklypearcactus: Thanks for the heads-up. Luckily we won't be changing sizes or types. Best of luck - I hope you are able to sell your range with minimal loss.

Finally a note to Joaniepoanie: I saw the pictures of your new kitchen on another thread - it's beautiful! Thanks for posting them!

Hi,
We also bought our applicances about a year before the remodel. The only thing I regret is not getting a slide in range, as we just replaced the stand alone.

We got Kraftmaid cabinets and LOVE them! We bought them at Lowes, as the doors we liked were on "sale", and the 18 months of FREE financing. We did NOT use their installers. Way too expensive. We were lucky to find an ex. contractor who did a fantastic job!

Have fun with this trip. It's easy to get obsessed. I certainly did! It's almost been a year, and we still don't have a backsplash!

Good luck! :0

Thanks, Sandesurf. I first saw the Kraftsmaid cabinets at our local Lowe's.

We got our fridfe and range WAY before starting on the reno. Like 6 months before. They were really, really on sale at a Sears that was closing. We couldn't pass them up. As others have said, the appliances can easily be moved out of harm's way when the cabinets and counters are done.

The only thing that you need to consider is if you're going to want to change the dimensions of the appliances in the reno. Do you want to go from a 36" to a 42" range? Do you want to go from a free-standing to a built-in fridge? If so, then it's not going to be so easy.

You'll also need to be comfortable with the finish choices.

When it comes time to move the appliances or cabinets, you can put down thin plywood sheets ('luane') on the tile. You can tape it together with duct tape. Then let the wheels of the appliances, dropped hammers, cabinet corners, etc, chew it up instead of your tile.