I think the only time appliance brand would affect resale is if you had a really high end kitchen in an expensive house. Then you would expect to see Wolf or subzero and one of those really fancy french ranges. In a regular nice home, (sorry...I don't mean that the way it sounds...) GE or Whirlpool or Kenmore...shouldn't make a bit of difference.

Also, you don't need to stick with one brand - most of us mix and match to get the best appliances possible.

agree.....mix and match, but do be careful of handles and finishes. I used matching appliances if they had handles (my wall oven and refrig are GE profile). I chose a Broan DW with no handle. Also be careful of finishes. If your refrig will be very close to your DW, for instance, be sure the finish matches. Not all stainless looks the same!

"I think the only time appliance brand would affect resale is if you had a really high end kitchen in an expensive house. Then you would expect to see Wolf or subzero and one of those really fancy french ranges. In a regular nice home, (sorry...I don't mean that the way it sounds...) GE or Whirlpool or Kenmore...shouldn't make a bit of difference."

I agree with ccoombs -- who tap-danced very nicely, I think ;-)

The other issue is appliance age. In 5-10 years, all of your appliances will be 5-10 years old -- so 'dated' to a certain extent. It's hard to predict how public opinion will regard 5-10 year old appliances in 5-10 years, but in an economy like we had 18 months ago, 5-10 year old appliances of any type other than the elites would have been a 'strike'...

Get the ones that work best and are easy to care for, then cross your fingers ;-)

I agree with everything the others have said: Mix and match for your best result, 5-10 (especially 10) yr old appliances might be considered 'ready to replace' or, at least, 'replaceable', and with all the things to consider in choosing a home, the actual appliances would not make a huge difference. Of the ones you mentioned, the only ones that would make a positive blip in listing the attributes of a house would be Monogram. The others wouldn't necessarily be negative, just would know 'the house comes with appliances.'

The bottom line is that a 5-10 yr time period means that you should choose appliances that work best for you, and not think about resale. (Besides, in my experience, time flies so fast, 5-10, might easily turn into 10-15) I think the best approach is to install what will work best for you anyway...Even if you plan to sell in 2 or 3 yrs. If you like the choices, it's likely someone else will appreciate them, too. You can't ever guess or meet the preferences of every potential buyer, and you only need one. It's difficult enough to decide on the 'right' appliances to meet your own needs. No reason to let future unknown people add to the stress. :-)

I agree with what others have said - in 5-10 years either you'll be replacing the appliances, or you'll sell the house with the existing appliances, and the buyers will want to replace them. Get what you'd like now for you to use over the next 5-10 years and don't worry about them affecting resale.

The BIG exception is your kitchen exhaust arrangement. People are more and more conscious of indoor air quality, and that trend will continue. Consequently, an over-the-range microwave (instead of an appropriately-sized hood), or ductwork that only allows a downdraft, or worse, no exhaust ductwork to the outside, could make a buyer move on to the next house that has good kitchen exhaust. While you are doing your remodeling now, make sure you have an exhaust duct that is not less than 8" or 10" in diameter and exhausts up (i.e. not downdraft) and to the outside.

I too will agree mostly with everything that has been said here, but I mostly wanted to compliment everyone for using tact.
And, I particularly want to let Pillog know that I really enjoyed her outsnob turn of phrase.

I think 95% of mid range home buyers are grateful to get clean and functional appliances. Even a couple years after remodel, I'm out of touch with what brand means what.

When one hangs out here too much, one starts to think that normal people all know what color the knobs are on a Wolf. It isn't so.

In a similar vein, does the *size* of the appliance affect resale? We are renovating a very small 10x10 kitchen and if we install even a 30" fridge, we are severely limiting counter space and/or cabinetry. Considering our easy access to fresh food, it seems like a no brainer to "skimp" on the fridge. But then I get to thinking about the darn holidays...those 6 or 8 days out of the year when you really need space. On the other hand, you have to store your dishes and gadgets 365 days a year.

I also wonder if "too high end" appliances have a negative affect on resale in a nice, but not high end, home. Like I said, we are renovating a very nice but ultimately very middle of the road house, and even high end homes here aren't going to have Sub Zeros (although that is changing), so I wonder if I'm crazy to install a $20-30K appliance package when a GE suite would be more the typical expectation.

I really cook so the equipment performance matters to me.

>I also wonder if "too high end" appliances have a negative affect on resale in a nice, but not high end, home

No, but you need to accept that they don't add much, if anything, to what you're going to get in most cases, so be aware that you're doing this for yourself and not resale. Around here gaggenau and miele would be regarded as weird and foreign rather than upscale by the average would-be buyer looking in our complex.

I totally understand your fridge size dilemma, but you need to consider a couple of things: what's the shopping situation where you are? If you're in a major city where everyone shops every couple of days, a small fridge is more acceptable than if you're in deep suburbia. I have a neighbor who's been wrestling with this--she'd be quite happy with one of the 24" models except for two things;

1. We're in an area where it's at least a 13 mile round trip to the store, so frequent shopping is not appealing, and 2. The downside to the narrow fridges is that they are very tall, so you lose the over fridge storage. For my neighbor that would mean losing the only deep storage for tall items. This last may be something that would have an impact in your kitchen if it's small.

5-10 years, I say get what you want, are comfortable using and can afford. I know a while back on this forum if one is going to splurge on one thing it seems the range is what most will splurge on. I also agree with select each appliance based on it's own not all one company.

Re the fridge for Grl: YES!!!! If you want to know for sure watch House Hunters International. Even where small fridges and tiny or no ovens are the norm, people get excited over full sized fridges and ovens. This was true 25 years ago when I was living abroad, and it's even more true now. In Europe full height fridge/freezers, like the Liebherr, are becoming the norm. Ikea makes panel kits for them. It used to be an under counter unit about double the size of a dorm fridge with no real freezer at all (just that little box that would more or less hold the ice cream until after dinner, but not overnight).

If you're doing it for yourself do what you like, but if resale is an issue at all you really should have a space for a full sized fridge. You might fill that space with a smaller fridge and some removeable storage, but make it possible to easily change it out for larger. Similarly, if you want to save space on the oven, a range, rather than separate cooktop and wall ovens, is the best way to do it.

OTOH, I did see this amazing mansion (over $2M) with a tract house sized kitchen, nicely finished with granite, etc., but a small sxs fridge and a standard range. Those appliances were a big turnoff to the people who were looking to buy. I believe the words "sow's ear" were used! So if your small kitchen is in a deluxe mansion, absolutely you need proper deluxe appliances. If you have a normal sized, normal nice home, normal sized nice appliances are just fine.

plllog, we are renovating a 100 yr. old former corner store into a residence. About 2300 sq. ft., so comfortably sized, but surely not a McMansion. :-)

I can shop daily if I wanted since we have several markets nearby or within walking distance. My husband just thinks that if we go with the 24" option people are going to say "where's the fridge?" when the time comes to sell whereas I think "geez, do you really expect me to prep dinner on 13" of countertop?"

I guess that's the difference between the sexes! And the difference between how we view the kitchen.

On the other hand, the far back wall of the kitchen -opposite the range- is going to have two tall cabinets to either side of a window seat so I will take that tall deep storage into consideration there. Good point.

Oooh! Interesting project! If you're in a commercial district and it's still going to look store-ish--that is if the house can be called "funky"--it gives you a lot more latitude. People don't have as many expectations when they're coming into a former store, or school or church or whatever, as they do in a standard house. Even in similar aged houses where there didn't even used to be a kitchen, people in North America expect full sized appliances. The only latitude I've seen in this attitude is in mid-range in Manhattan. There "petite" appliances are acceptable--but people are still thrilled with full sized.

My brother had a 24" standard fridge when he was in college, and people actually did say, "Where's the fridge?" Since you're doing a whole kitchen you can make a design where the fridge looks good. Have you looked at Euro models like the 24" Liebherr? Use the cool factor to make up for the lack of size?

I've had a full sized fridge and range in many places a lot smaller than yours. It's easier to relocate lesser used items to alternative storage than to tell buyers that they have to shop more often. :) But you also have to do it for yourself. If you're going to be there at least 7-10 years, it's less important, as was noted above, because your buyers are more likely to want to make their own kitchens.

> If you want to know for sure watch House Hunters International.

I'm not saying you don't have a valid point, but there's as much reality in those shows as in any reality tv. :)

I have a good friend who spent a lot of money on a DCS drop in range, DCS double 30" ovens, Miele dishwasher, and a Dacor outdoor built-in grill. After 5 years, I doubt he would be able to sell the house for even a penny more then if he had standard white appliances, as the condition of the appliances are horrible. Neglect in cleaning them, and all of them now look very old and "dingy", and no buyer will notice them, unless it's in a bad way.

I have to admit when I bought my home 10 years ago I never even questioned what brand the appliances were. There was a Jenn Aire stove top, a GE double oven and MW, a Hotpoint dishwasher, and of course I brought my own Kenmore frig with me. Forward fast 10 years, I have remodeled and I did buy all GE Monogram appliances(dishwasher, double oven, advantium MW/Speedcook oven and built-in frig) with the exception of a Wolfe rangetop. I will say I shopped around and got GREAT prices (paid under $8000 for everything). The built in frig retails for that alone. So you can get slightly higher end, if I can consider Monogram in that category, simply by shopping around(I never heard of Monogram until I went shopping so I am not sure a potential buyer would even know the difference, they may just see GE).
I will say I am the type that likes things to match somewhat like what was mentioned above with the handles.The only thing that doesn't per se match is the frig handles. That's already bothered me but its only been 2 days since the appliances arrived :). Here is a pic so you can see matchy matchy :)

Writersblock, you're right--it's just easier to recommend a TV show than ask someone to crawl into my memories ;) There are parts of the world where people live the way that Grlwprls suggests, going to the store often. In North America, we have a more countrified tradition of wash day, shopping day, etc., and generally lay in at least a week's supplies in one trip. New York is the best known exception, and there are some other pockets of similar. But even in those places, in European cities and NY and similar, where people have a tradition of tiny kitchens and bijoux appliances, they still love bigger ones and get excited about them just like on the TV. And the smaller appliances are generally in kitchens that laugh with giddiness over the thought of being big like three meters square (10x10).

But, again, it's not the appliances themselves that matter, but the place to put them. If there's room for full sized with an easy change out of a smaller unit plus storage, then you have a flexible space. If you build in cabinetry for small your buyers are stuck or have to redo immediately. Many will walk on to save the hassle, especially if they're pushing the tops of their budgets.

And if you're going to be taken out feet first and don't care how easy a time your executors have selling, none of this matters a whit!!

>f there's room for full sized with an easy change out of a smaller unit plus storage, then you have a flexible space. If you build in cabinetry for small your buyers are stuck or have to redo immediately.

Very true. I myself am thinking of a small fridge and making a broom pullout from the extra space so that I can stick a big ol' cheap fridge in there if I ever have to sell. :)