We have this Miele Optima dishwasher: http://www.miele.com/usa/dishwashers/product.asp?cat=2&model=505&series=120&nav=20&snav=70&tnav=73&oT=125 It is very quiet. It has the built-in water softener, which I know you don't need, but you can turn it off from what I understand (we use ours). May seem like a waste for you, but it is still well within your budget. It holds quite a bit. The bottom racks can be modified so you can play around with the configuration to find what best suits your dishes. We had an old Maytag before this one and I think it did hold slightly more, but not much. I really like the cutlery tray (it really only takes a second to put the silverware in there) and I would buy this dishwasher again in a second. The dishes really do turn out beautifully. Oh, and it is fully integrated. Looks perfectly flush with our inset cabinets. Good luck!

I do! I do! I have a 27" MW/convection (without the oven underneath). I can tell you the good and the bad about it. Mainly I bought it because it matched my KA slide-in range and DH would not let me get another conventional oven. To me, it is a really expensive toaster oven. Here's the bad: - the microwave is underpowered. 900W is less than my old OTR microwave. You will notice it's lack of power when you go to pop popcorn - it is extremely hard to clean the faux stainless steel interior. The ceiling of mw has gunk on it that I just can't get off. - one of my pet peeves - no button to turn the turntable off (maybe they've changed this since I bought mine). To put a 9x13 pan in there you have to physically dismantle the turntable to the pan will bang into the sides of the oven. The good: - it pre-heats really fast (much faster than a conventional oven). - comes in handy for baking frozen snacks for the kids (I would never cook any kind of meat in there though, because it is too hard to clean the interior walls. I have had a few service issues with it in the five years: The interior light burned out. Requires a service call to fix it! Costly light bulb replacement. The rod in the door hinge has busted two times. You know when this happens because you hear "snap" when the pull the door down and there is no longer any tension in the door. Let me know if you have any other questions.

It probably depends on the maker. Every one I've seen comes without a front panel. You can use it. The works are enclosed enough, but it's machine cowling, not a finished panel. This is different from my panel ready warming drawer which came with a front panel and handle ready to be removed. My theory is that they don't sell enough panel ready for it to be worth running separate inventory, that it would cost more to do than the savings from the panels. So there might be some dishwashers like that. Regarding research, panel ready dishwashers tend to run on the high end, mostly because it's a low demand item, due to the extra work and expense panelling is. Still, they're the same dishwashers as the same model that comes with a panel. Perhaps you should choose a major maker, like KitchenAid or Miele, and look at what's available at what price for panel ready, and how much you could save getting a standard finish like stainless would save you. Small carpentry jobs can cost more than each piece of a larger job, but I'm guessing it would be a few hundred dollars plus materials from a good carpenter. Maybe a bit more if there's a minimum. Added to the higher end DW, it might not be for you with everything else that needs fixing. If it's insured at replacement cost, it might be worth a splurge. If you can salvage the old DW and at least give yourself some breathing room before you have to make yet another expensive decision, that would be best. Other possibilities: You can buy ready made dishwasher panels from cabinet companies, especially for integrated models. They do require installation, however. You could see if one was close enough. You could also just use a nicely finished piece of plywood, and stain it as close to your cabinets as you can, paint it with chalkboard and/or magnet paint, or bright red, or, if you're talented, trompe l'oeil paint a kitchen matching drawer stack and handles. Or you could wrap your plywood with sheet stainless or copper or something else interesting. You do need an installer who can fit and instal the custom panel no matter what. It requires being able to follow instructions, drill and use screws. They usually provide a template. Some appliance installers will attach a panel for you and many won't touch it, so it takes being a bit handy. Doing something like that, that you can do mostly yourself, and worrying about the carpenter down the road, is also a possibility if you think you'd be happy living with something different. Best of luck with all your repairs. Sorry for rambling. :)

"Halloween mask" is a great description of this fridge. It sticks out a mile if installed between regular depth cabinets, so I really don't see the point of the panels unless you can plan your kitchen around it with everything on that wall shifted forward to accommodate it. Otherwise it's the stupidest looking fridge you ever saw. (A good friend has it and you can't believe how dumb it looks in a retrofit.) EDIT The fridge works fine, though. She's happy with that, and she's the kind of person who doesn't see any discrepancy between expensive custom panels on the front and seeing the dark plain ol' sides showing. This post was edited by writersblock on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 13:25