This is theory rather than brand names: Put the most money toward the cooking appliances because there's the greatest variation in function there and it has the greatest impact on your enjoyment of your kitchen. Cut the most from the fridge budget as all of them keep cold, and even the least accurate are adequate. The worst of them might be uneven, but you learn to put the milk and meat in the coldest spot, and the butter in the warmest spot. The hood and DW are in the middle: You don't want cheap because they don't function well enough, but you don't need anywhere near top of the line. The hood should probably be at least 600 cfm, perhaps more, given a gas range. Will you also need a make-up air system?

That's a problem with the panel ready. Generally, they only offer panel ready in top of the line, though I think Miele has some in the mid-range that are also panel ready. Of course, they'd cost the same as the others' top of the line do. Miele, Bosch and KitchenAid seem to be the best liked ones. Most people only use one or two cycles, so you probably don't need something that does 14. An extra heat cycle comes in handy though, as does a pot scrubber, and maybe a crystal/fine china setting.

You could spend your whole budget on just one panel ready fridge, so I think if that's an absolute must that your choice is the cheapest one you can find. Remember you also have to pay for the panels and installation unless someone at home is skilled and experienced.

I panelled everything in my kitchen that would stand for it. I get you. But with your budget, I'd spend more for the best works I could get, especially for the oven and range, and give up the panels. In fact, I'd probably go with a big box special. And this is coming from someone who only gave serious consideration to Sub Zero and Miele. I'd save as much as possible on the fridge and put it towards the cooking.

Hmm... panel ready makes this a tough one.

I would buy online and self-install so the cost is simply whatever the appliances run. If you're lucky maybe demonstration units would become available for sale at a steep discount, though tend to take whatever make/model is available at the time when you try to go that route.

Range: Not sure / did not shop those. I'm with plllog on this one.

Whatever range you do get will probably require a fairly good sized vent so that will probably take $2,000 from your budget right there. We went with Prestige, but there are others and without knowing if it will be an insert inside of cabinets or something visible this is hard to answer more specifically.

I would probably drop the single wall oven because the range has an oven
already. It could possibly be replaced with a speed/steam/combi oven
though in order to perform a task that a range cannot already do? (up to $3,000 from Miele/various sources).

DW: We like our Miele / parents like their Bosch (I do too). Decent ones that are panel ready start around $1,500 I think.

Fridge: I'm also with plllog on this. Perhaps something like a trade in or show model would become available though, because panel ready ones are usually a bit spendy.

I would drop the panel-ready fridge. There are different grades of panel-ready. The best - called "fully-integrated" - make the fridge disappear entirely into the cabinetry. No hinges or venting show. This type of fridge will take up at least half your budget. Another type of panel-ready fridge, less expensive than fully-integrated, but still significantly more than a fridge that is not panel-ready, simply tacks on the panels. The fridge's trim, hinges, venting, and water dispenser (if you choose one) will show. I am always puzzled by this choice. The fridge is not disappearing into the cabinetry and is obviously a fridge. Why spend the extra money for that? Just have the fridge look like a fridge, and allocate more of your budget elsewhere.

My question would be how well do your existing appliances work, and which will fit in to your new kitchen design. My first priority would obviously be to replace things that won't fit into the new design, second would be to replace those that don't work well, and third would be to replace those that work but don't have all of the functionality that you would like. Everything else can wait. My understanding is that panels can be expensive, so I would probably avoid panel-ready appliances if budget is an issue.

What sizes do you want?

I have been looking at the Miele DW's. All of their models have the panel ready option, I think. My bottom of the line model has worked flawlessly since we installed it 12 years ago.

As for size, I need the refrigerator to be counter depth but of only basic or standard width as we will have a second fridge elsewhere. The range has to be 36"

The project will be a full gut plus an addition, so I'm not limited to placement or size, but would like to have good bones and assume I can always switch out an appliance in the future when the savings return to green. That said, I would like for that to be as seamless as possible, which is why Im not willing to lose the paneled appliances.

We just purchased the home and there are existing appliances there that work, but am I really going to build a new kitchen around them? Then again, we just purchased the home + remodel + addition + bathrooms, am I really going to blow my appliance budget on two items?

I may be willing to forego the wall oven since I don't have one now, but I've always wanted one and this may be my only chance. Including one in the future will mean electrical changes (from 110 to 220) which will be less likely to happen after the fact. If it goes in now, even as a place holder, the switch out will be simpler.

Since the sticker shock I've found the following

KA Architect Series II KFC022EVBL for $2900

AND

Bosch 800 series SHV7PT53UC for $1100 or a

Miele Futura Classic G4281SCVi for $1100

That leaves me with $6000 for the range and wall oven. Now what :)

In that situation, I would reuse the current range but size the space and hood for your ultimate choice. Get any gas/electrical stuff done now. Does your budget include the panels or is that part of the cabinet budget? If you can give up on panels (which kinda look dorky on fridges unless they're fully integrated anyway) then you can use any old fridge in a new-fridge-sized hole and any old dishwasher in the DW hole. (The main issue with the panels is that it's harder to add them in the future because you might not be able to get them to match.)

I might also consider not doing all that remodeling at once if you can't quite afford to get what you want. Maybe just do SOME of it now and SOME of it later.

I have a Bosch 800 series paneled dishwasher and it's great. However, Miele is the runaway winner on this forum and among some friends -- since it seems to be an apples-to-apples comparison, I'd probably get the Miele between the two.

"I would like for that to be as seamless as possible, which is why Im not willing to lose the paneled appliances." - then you must come to terms that you will have to change your budget. A seamless fridge, which is a fully-integrated fridge, will take up a great portion of your budget, as has been noted in this thread. So, since you are firm on having the seamless integrated look, I would increase your budget by minimum $6000, and that's being conservative.

If you want to go the cheaper paneled fridge route by panelling a fridge that is not integrated, it will not meet your objective of being seamless, as all the parts of the fridge are visible except the paneled skin.

Another built-in, but not integrated, fridge. I would have said do this so that you stick with your budget, but you emphasized seamless.

You could always design your cabinets in a way so that you have a space for a wall oven and have the wiring for it put in now. That way it would be a simple matter to drop a wall oven in at a later date.

I'm doing something similar with the dishwasher in my kitchen renovation. Someday I'd like a Miele commercial dishwasher, but we have a 3 year-old KA that works fine. I can't really see the point in spending an extra $5K on a dishwasher at the moment, so we're planning to re-use the KA but have the electrician run a 220V cable from the breaker box to the dishwasher space. Then it should be a simple matter to swap out our KA for a better model in the future.

That budget is too tight for what you are looking to do. I can see it getting down around $14k at bottom without cutting too many corners, but that's pushing it at that. Here is my layout

MCR366 - Capital 6 Burner Range Gas Oven

E6436SS - Broan Hood

SHV68TL3UC - Bosch panel dishwasher

HC2060 - Liebherr Single Door 36" refrigerator

That combo would get you around 11K from a dealer.

The single oven is the conundrum, if you don't cut corners you are looking at $2-3K for a good one. A cheap one is still $1500 and up. Bosch HBL5451UC is probably the best value in ovens and that is around $1800.

I am in the same boat! You can achieve your budget with some of these options. I've found mostly good reviews on the following appliances. I don't know about hoods. The panel ready fridge is the hardest part in staying in the budget, and the KA is the only one I've found that allows me to do so. Here is my research so far on my favorite options:

Bosch Benchmark NGMP655UC 36”
Gas Cooktop - $1399.00

Wolf CG365PS Professional Cooktop $2000

Bosch
series SHV68T53UC Dishwasher $900

KitchenAid
Architect Series II KFCO22EVBL Fridge Panel ready $2900

Wall ovens:

GE Profile PT9800SHSS $3600

KitchenAid Architect Series II KEMS309B $3,300

Bosch 800 Series HBL8751UC $3600

*edited to add, I have no experience with any of these appliances, I'm just beginning the research process myself.

That doesn't fit what was requested. The Kitchenaid KFCO22 is not flush, plus it has a fairly unsightly black door/trim so from the side it will have a large black surround. In a white cabinet, it's pretty ghastly.

Your other options are very nice, but original poster was looking for a 36" range, not cooktop/wall oven

As noted, if you truly want a flush look, you'll need to look for an integrated fridge. To achieve that, you'll have to make some compromises on the rest, as people have pointed out.

Liebherr 36" panel ready, fully integrated $6100

Bosch 300 $760 (it's OK, but missing the third rack of the 500)

Kobe or Zephyr Hood, 600 cfm, plain style $700

Bosch Single Electric Oven, 30", Convection $1800 (or Elux)

That leaves you with $2,650 to spend on a 36" range (12K budget). That's not enough on the 36" size, as you know, for a "pro style" range. You could downsize to 30", save some money, and upgrade your DW and other items. And, as people note, this doesn't cover the cost of panels and appliance handles (can be easily another $1.3K, depending on your source).

You can also search for closeouts and floor models, especially on a fridge --

For 2k more (14K), you can do the Thermador 1-2-Free deal and get a 36" gas range, Bosch made DW (free), integrated 36" fridge and free hood plus the Bosch single oven. Or the combo above and have $4.6K to spend on a wider selection of ranges (but not all, like the BS)

Joseph you are correct I missed both those points. Well the fridge issue is definitely a pickle then.

The 30" range point is valid. The MCR304 from capital would come in under $3k and has a massive oven still. Would bring you too $12k roughly with a Bosch oven before tax.

This is all very helpful, actually.

We have decided to move forward with updating the electrical, so a wall oven is in my future. That said, we've also decided that we need to allocate more money to this budget since our original thoughts aren't entirely realistic.

The cost of panels and hardware are part of our cabinetry budgeT, so despite the added expenses, they won't affect appliance choices.

I didn't know the differences between a panel ready fridge and one that is fully integrated (still not sure I do.) while fully integrated is what I believe I wanted, I don't know that I *have* to have that if a paneled one may save me some dollars. A local appliance store did offer me a Miele KF1901 vi floor sample refrigerator for $5700, however.

Assuming I now have $5k for the 36" range alone, what might be the best (smartest) option for that price? I cook, bake, and I like pretty things and good quality, but I do not need a top of the line range. I will have dinner on the table either way, but it sure would be nice to have the process made easier.

That's a good deal on the Miele. Flush means that it will be completely even in a 25" deep cabinet. Basically it will looks like 2 wood doors with no refrigerator showing at all. Panel ready will have at least the trim that holds the panel showing and some units with have doors and hardware showing. Not as clean of a look

You say you still are not sure you understand the differences between panel-ready and fully-integrated fridges. Please look at the photos on this thread of the fridges.

A panel-ready fridge simply tacks the panels onto the fridge, and the fridge's trim, hinges, venting, and water dispenser (if you choose one) will show. Also, as Joe Henderson pointed out above, panel-ready fridges usually have black sides, so you have to be sure your cabinetry will cover the sides. A panel-ready fridge cannot be completely flush with the cabinetry, because the hinges are on the outside of the fridge, and there have to be a couple inches sticking out from the cabinetry so that the doors can open. As I mentioned, I do not understand the purpose of spending money to panel this type of fridge. IMO, it looks nicer just to have the fridge be a fridge.

Alternatively, a fully-integrated fridge means the fridge disappears entirely into the cabinetry. No hinges, trim, or venting show. The fridge is totally flush with the cabinetry, and the hinges are hidden. With a fully-integrated fridge, usually the homeowner installs the same handles as the rest of the cabinetry (just bigger - cabinet hardware companies sell fridge handles exactly for this purpose). When a fully-integrated fridge doors are closed, it is hard to spot where the fridge is in the kitchen.