Budget appliance/design paralysis

11 years ago

Hello, I have been a lurker as I prepare for total kitchen remodel. Your advice kept me from poorly thought out impulses such as grabbing the beautiful 70% off Viking Design floor model. Guess it is the Jaguar of ranges (beautiful but what a dud!)
We are on a budget so posts like LinelleÃ¯Â¿Â½s $20K remodel have been amazingly helpful. Here are the firm decisions we have made:
+ Layout: Changing to peninsula and getting a range rather than separate units
+ Cabinets: $15 installed Schrock to off white square cabinets
+ Counters: $8+K Pentel quartz Pentel quartz taupish countertops. and Blanco Silgranit Metallic Grey
+ Backsplash: 6 inch quartz, behind range subtle tin tile
+ Floors: Refinishing in same natural multi-tone look

Tomorrow I commit to my appliance order so I have to fix my appliance paralysis TODAY for dimensions. Any suggestions to move me mentally forward would be appreciated. We eat in and I bake a lot so I view my focus as functional and pleasant aesthetically. Two paths with infinite variations.

#1 All GE Slate and have my kitchen cabinet re-sized 5 inches out so full refrigerator doesnÃ¯Â¿Â½t stick out. Gas free standing range is not fancy but adequate. Put a Zephyr stainless hood over range that may not match completely. Like the look but not the best range and no special deals and extra cabinet charge.
#2 All stainless GE Profile or similar, cabinet depth fridge, microwave over range. Best pricing as can take advantage of January discounts and separate vent or microwave cabinet. This is the recommendation of cabinet designer/seller.
+ Any compelling reason to go cabinet depth in my large kitchen?
+ Seems a bad idea to put microwave over gas range if I have room for another place.
I apologize if I am not using correct post etiquette. Thanks. Will post pics next

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Comments (7)

NWRunner
Original Author
11 years ago
Old kitchen
NWRunner
Original Author
11 years ago
New design
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If you are on a budget, it's hard to find better quality for a reasonable price than Amana. Their ADB1600 is the lowest cost DW that I know of that actually has 3 spray arms and can get your dishes reasonably clean. It won't be that quiet, but your dishes will sparkle. It retails around $350/$400. Amana's AER6011 retails for around $700 and is self cleaning with convection. It also has a "dual choice" element that allows you to select the size of the element based on your cooking needs. For an OTR, their AMV2174 retails around $350 and has 1000 watts of cooking power with sensor cooking. THat's a nice feature to have as it keeps overheating you stuff down to a minimum. It's "vent" is only 220 CFM, which is wimpy, but most of the OTRs are pretty wimpy in that department. A better choice if you can afford the room is to put an actual vent above your range and put a countertop MW/convection oven elsewhere. You can get a basic NuTone/Broan for around $150 and an inexpensive countertop one with convection for around $200. That give you more versatility when the MW craps out---as it inevitably does. Now you can afford a nice new refrigerator also. If you want a French door, the Amana AFF2534 is a good candidate at around $1500. It misses being Energy Star by just a smidgen, so you don't get that certification, but it IS "energy efficient" when compared with the older one you might be using from your relative. The ice is in the bottom, meaning you'll have to scoop it out, but it's very sleek and pretty without the ice dispenser on the door. THe temperature controlled drawer is a great feature and it has scads of storage space. The crispers have humdity control, which you don't get on a budget refrigerator. If a side by side is more your style, then the Energy Star ASD2526 retails around $1300-$1499 depending if you can find it on sale. You get the ice and water on the door, humidty controlled crispers, a temperature controlled deli drawer and the standard 25 cubic feet of space. There, you're at/under budget, and you have ALL of your appliances brand new! Several stores are having Earth Day promos and several states are offering rebates for Energy Star appliance purchases which may bring your costs down even more. Put the model numbers in Google and they can help you find the best prices.
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Make sure to install an electrical outlet in there to charge portable devices like electric wine openers, etc. Utilize all of your space up to the ceiling for paper towels and paper goods- things that will not hurt you if they come crashing down on your head. Pullouts on the underside of shelves for flat items like placemats and silpats. Step stool on casters that tucks under the lowest shelf. Bottom shelves deeper for rows of canned goods. Wine glasses hung upside down by stem in the least trafficked area, preferably a corner. Make shelves at elbow to shoulder height with lips curved up to hold appliances like blenders, mixers, coffee urns, vases. Heaviest and bulkiest things to carry should not be stored above shoulder level. That is a good place for cereal boxes, sugar, flour, oils, baking goods. Hooks on the inside of the door. Key/phone crash near light switch in its own seperate cubicle/box although I would not choose to use a pantry for a drop. But if you incorporate a drop zone there, think of using 36 inches width at waist height to put in a scratch resistant counter with shallow drawers for note paper, extra keys, gift cards, coupons, etc. Cork for messages in that area and anywhere you keep glassware.
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Rules of thumb are meant to be broken :) My process was to identify what I wanted (size, functions) and then go review-hunting - consumerreports, etc. Once I had models mostly figured out, then I went price shopping. Between Sears, HD, Lowes, BestBuy, etc. you can "find" several hundred dollars just being a smart negotiator/price matcher. I ended up shaving nearly $1k by being really meticulous about pricing (i.e. Overstock.com for the microwave drawer - with coupons, 8% rebate, no sales tax or shipping - it was $200 lower than the lowest price at any of the stores). Range hood - great deal from Sears online for a $1000-looking hood at a $250 price. By the way ... same deal on sinks and faucets and disposals - all of those I bought online saving hundreds (the disposal was a GW deal someone shared - Amazon deal-of-the-day $100 less than Lowes, and no sales tax). All in all, I spent just over $5k for a 28cuft LG french door fridge, LG double oven 30" range, LG dishwasher, Sharp drawer microwave, AKDY 36" hood, and Insinkerator 1HP disposal). Nothing "uber" high-end, but not entry-level either. Happy middle as I like to call it :) The extra work on pricing let me splurge on other areas that were more important (backsplash, counter). Hope that helps, and good luck!
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Based on this "Definitely a decent amount of stir-frying for all the Chinese dishes." I would consider a BlueStar rangetop. This is a little outside what you are considering but has -high BTUs 22K-25K depending on the model. -star shaped, uncapped burners, allowing the flame to go straight up on high heat rather than more flared like a capped burner. This is better for cooking with a wok because the heat is more to the middle of the pan. Consider 30" vs 36" A rangetop will give you more room front to back. Also consider a Capital rangetop that has high BTUs but three ring uncapped burners. BS has different sized burners. Capital, they are all the same except one small pot burner. If you get a rangetop, you can pick a wall oven separately. You can save money on the oven if you don't use it that much or splurge. Put your money where you cook. Most on this forum would mix and match brands to pick the best appliance for the job for them. A few will stay with one brand either because they want to take advantage of a package deal or they want to have things match. Everyone of my appliances is a different brand. I picked my refrigerator based on layout and placement of the ice maker. I wanted it to be able to accommodate 9x13 pans front to back and had to have 48" width because I could not move a wall. It is KA but not sure if I would buy again. Fit and finish not that great and has required several service calls. I do like the layout though. Dishwasher bought on layout and Bosch gets pretty good reviews. It cleans well and has worked well. Many have the tray at the top giving you an extra shelf. I'm not a "place each piece of silverware in a slot " person but more throw it in a basket type though. Others like Miele. Ovens -this can be a more difficult choice but really depends on what is important. Do you use your broiler? How? I use it to brown half sheets of appetizers so need the wider coverage of an electric broiler. If you broil steaks, you might want an infrared broiler(hot but smaller) in a higher end gas oven so you might choose a range vs rangetop and wall oven. If you bake, you might want an electric oven but if you mostly roast meat and veggies, you might want gas. Electric ovens can have more complex modes that allow you to direct heat from as many as three elements and convection fans but require computer boards to do that. It requires learning how to use them. Gas is simple and the convection is on and off. My range a Wolf DF has been a big disappointment. I bought it for the oven and "settled" for the burners at the time. I ended up really liking the burners because of the great simmer which I use all the time, and even though it does not have as high of BTUs as BS, it has been ok for me, but I don't stir fry that much. I also use wide pans so the flare of a single ring burner is not a bad thing for me. The oven worked great but the blue enamel chipped off and it can't really be fixed so can only be used with covered dishes. KA has also had this issue of chipping with blue enamel. This is why I would get the oven and burners separate.
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Bunny
11 years ago
NWRunner, thanks for the shout-out about my kitchen post! Although I'd do some things differently next time around, now that I have some GW wisdom under my belt, I don't regret sticking to my budget and not spending more than I could afford.

Appliances were not in my 20K, figuring I could get new ones as the bank account recovered. My Zephyr hood was very affordable. I'm very glad I didn't do a MW/hood combo. I got an unfitted S/S fridge and it's fine for me. I also got some S/S craving out of my system. When I read about high-end appliances with big headaches, I'm thinking I may just hang onto my very dependable low-end stuff for a little while longer.

I like my G-shaped kitchen (with peninsula). It looks like you will have acres of counter space. Good luck with your redo!
User
11 years ago
You didn't ask, but I really want to warn you about Pental. We had Botticino installed in September out of their Portland warehouse. It was etched with drip and can marks, from soda size to 5 gallon can size. The marks are visible in the light from our dining room chandelier. We looked at the slabs in their warehouse and the marks weren't visible at that angle. I don't think the slabs were cured right in their factory in SE Asia. I see you have two windows to reflect light on the countertop. That concerns me.

Even worse was their response. I spoke to the warehouse manager. He said he'd call me the following Monday. Never heard from him again. I called two weeks later. No apology, just asked when he could come out. Came and looked and was at a loss to say what caused the marks. Seemed more concerned with the mystery than the customer and didn't apologize or reassure us they'd make it right. Said he'd be out the following week to take photos. Never showed or called. That was about 2 months ago. Have been treating the countertop with Dupont granite cleaner and some of the marks seem to have faded, but it could just be it's not as visible in the winter light.

Your price seems high. Pental sells by the slab and our slabs were about $900 each. We have a large peninsula but short counter runs. Two slabs installed was a little over $3000.
NWRunner
Original Author
11 years ago
Thx for warning about Pental. Our local installer is a high volume business and I will discuss with them - I believe they will stand by their product if we have an issue.
User
11 years ago
No way would I pick something as faddish and as likely to be discontinued as the GE slate colored appliances. And no way would I do a "suite" of any maker's appliances. Pick best in category. You'll get better function.

If aesthetics trump function to you, then go with a counter depth refrigerator. LG or Samsung. If you prefer function, then I'd still say LG or Samsung, but their full sized french door models instead of the counter depth.

For a range, the GE Cafe or maybe the NXR if you do high heat cooking.

For a DW, a Bosch or Kitchenaid. Kitchenaid if you want a heated dry.

Tradewinds for a hood.

Any cheap off the shelf MW just placed on a shelf, but Sharp and Panasonic if you actually cook in the MW.
NWRunner
Original Author
11 years ago
Appreciate the opinions. I will go with the full depth fridge and adjust cabinet panels. GE Cafe out of our price range but will keep it in mind if I see one on scratch and dent clearance.

Budget appliance/design paralysis

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