Don't think I will be much help, but I am walking in your shoes! I am doing a Reno, not a new build, but the folks here have convinced me that induction is the way to go. While everything is pretty much a moving target for me, I am liking the Miele induction cooktop. I found an amazing deal on a discontinued Gaggenau combo steam convection oven that I plan to pair with a Gaggenau convection oven. Can't help you on the DW. I am going with Miele because for me, it's tried and true. My next decision is fridge, and it looks like Thermador columns over Sub Zero because of the 50% price difference. I'll stick with the In-sinkerator because it works, and have yet to decide on a hood.

Good luck in what you decide!

We put our $$ into appliances - a Lacanche Volnay and also an ebay last model Gagg combi-steam oven new in box with 5-year warranty for half off. I'm not sure what my second choice to the Lacanche would have been - maybe Bluestar (lots of fans here) or Miele. We have an older Bosch dishwasher and are very happy with it. Miele is considered by many to be a top line dw. We just replaced our wine fridge - got a Marvel floor model for a discount. If you search and are a bit flexible, you can get discounted appliances (except for the Lacanche). You'll need a range hood. We got a Vent-a-hood which has nice style for our vintage kitchen. I'm most pleased with the lighting above it. It was the quietest one I tested but it's a range hood so by definition it makes noise.

Thank you all for the input so far! Lots to think about. For those that went with the induction cooktop and had multiple ovens - did you or are you planning to place one oven below the cooktop or keep the ovens in stacked pair?

My preference is to do the ovens stacked so I don't have to bend down as far, but am also open to having the regular oven under the cooktop.

I am in design phase of a lake home as we speak as well. So, I am going to follow your posts. I have opinions, but feel that others on here may be better qualified. Good Luck!

we stacked our ovens, speed oven on top. i didn't want to bend down into an oven and i LOVE having my pots and pans under the cooktop....so easy and convenient...
if u go this route, make sure u have a "landing zone" for things coming out of the oven..

I'll chime in with a partial opinion: I have 30" dual ovens and a range top with heat lamps under the vent hood and would match that config again if I were to do it again. Sure I would go with a 48" instead of a 36" in order to add a grill, but feel the warming drawer is unnecessary due to the heat lamps and the oven capacity. The ovens as warmers or proofers offer more flexibility in terms of capacity - say if I am proofing two racks of pizza/bread dough or I need to warm many dishes for a big meal.

Sure you can have drawers, dual ovens, heat lamps... but if you need to make cuts, I'd start with the drawer.

Best of luck as you part with bucks for appliances which no longer are made to last.

Chilling. 1). have a 501R sub zero 36" all refrig. No longer made 20+ yrs old. Had it serviced twice and it runs well still. ALL service folks tell me that for the price these days (5-6x what it cost in 1994) to NOT buy. So I went to liebherr on a second home remodel and LOVE it totally. 24" all refrig column with BioFresh drawers. Performance has been excellent, quiet, price is lower tier of upper end, unit is 5 years pls. 2) have had total misery with full freezers. Each one gets out of skew and frosts up around door. THREE of them so no more run of the mill models for me. Am looking and will either go Miele all freezer 30" 15cuft or Marvel 30" 19 (it is taller) if I can get some reviews... Noise and longevity performance being key... Not for the money but for the hassle of redoing things !

Cooking. 1) installed 36" iron grate blue star cook top 5yrs ago. Could not be happier. LOVE it. Heat, iron top cleaning, and yes that drip pan is old fashioned but the whole thing works, and the controls are away from the heat. 2). Super dislike the glass top 5 burner thermador gas cooktops. Mine is failing though in fairness it is old, but the cleaning a hassle and the BTUs are unimpressive, 3). Went to the capital factory in Calif when visiting there. Very good stuff comparable to blue star. Did not like that they mix st steel and iron on the burners and grates... Cleaning not as easy. Other features nice. IF I were choosing range vs components, then I would go capital over blue star on the range

Baking. Disclaimer. I don't bake. Hence until 5 years I was a low use oven owner, (1) after Install of Blue Star GAS FRENCH door 30" wall oven that all changed. I can't tell you how super this huge honker is. The cavity is huge and don't discount that as you look at the high end ovens. The French doors are so damn convenient to get right up to a pan and turn or check it. The racks glide nicely. It has convection. I suppose the down side is not really a broiler of great acclaim. Do be aware that the unit, being nearly counter depth takes a lot of space above and below, (2) therefore am going with BLUE star French door wall oven again, in Electric also 30" in a remodel am about to start and am 'dumping' my traditional 30" electric thermador under counter (or wall I suppose) unit . The electric blue star French door is more compact than the gas

I am not a range lover, Preferring to separate the large items (DW bake and cooktop) so that we can work in zones. Also drop down oven doors, wall or undercounter, aren't so convenient

Important addendum. The blue star or any high but cook surface does better with a hood with decent CFM. But careful, to not over engineer. We went with a Franke with the blower etc exterior mounted, thinking we would achieve real quiet (NOT!!). There were two Franke options ... I wish I had opted for the lower CFM. I followed blue star and other GW advice to right size the CFM to the BTU. But I am not running all 6 burners all the time at full heat very often so this was not necessary

This is a high ceiling open shelf kitchen country style, WITH a slightly raised fireplace for heat and cooking. That Franke can create enuf draw to pull smoke down from the chimney ... Which happened when I had all doors and windows closed to the kitchen, a fire started in the hearth, and I was setting about a cooking session "quietly" before the whole house awoke. Suddenly my kitchen was filling with wood smoke. The other aspect of my hood, especially since it has the blower etc outside , is that it can convect super cold air from newengland winter back into the kitchen... Because the dampers (2) are less immediate to the interior, So the cavity seems to chill and if there is a string breeze or wind, we can feel cool air drafting in, We have solved this with two work arounds but something to bear in mind espec if u are in cold country and contemplating an external blower

Thanks to all - still in planning/research stage, but you all have helped quite a bit.

Dumb question - for those who went the induction route, other than the pots/pans, did you have to adjust your cooking style/approach at all? I have seen that implied, but maybe I'm misunderstanding? I don't know what it would be, but want to make sure.

I tend to be the one passionate about cooking and the kitchen design in general. My wife wants a beautiful aesthetic and understands/supports my focus in this area. However, I wouldn't want to go so niche, that the kitchen isn't user-friendly to her either.

Urbicoastal: Hope you are still out there lurking on this thread. Just wanted to ask why you are eager to dump your Thermador wall oven for the Bluestar French door. How old is your Thermador and except for the drop-down oven door, what other complaints did you have?

Mark: I'm building, too, and have made the decision to transition to induction. I tolerate heat off the cooktop terribly and look forward to NOT avoiding cooking things that make a big mess of the cooktop! (BTW, I cooked on a Lacanche Cluny for 9 years and it is one of the nicest gas range tops to clean).

Anyway, the major things I've seen here about cooking style are:

— lifting ones pot to flip food or shake one's pan can possibly have the hob turn off, but probably just on older units, as the newer ones sense the pan when it is put back down

— you have to be careful not to drag the pan over the glass to avoid scratching

— your pan bottom needs to be smooth for the same reason

— if you cook in a wok, you may want to switch to stir-frying in a sauté pan or big saucier-style pan, instead, as with induction, heat doesn't transfer up the sides much.

Hood...your local code will limit the cfm unless you get make up air...and if the run from hood to outside is too long you'll need an in line fan....people are frequently quoted a fortune ($3K) for MUA but a recent post indicated it should be under $500...

did you consider all the drawers:

• refrigerated drawers for produce..
• dishwasher drawers
• microwave drawer
• warming drawer

$3K sounds closer to correct for a good makeup air system. If you have a leaky house anyway and just need the makeup air to meet code though, than the $500 system should be fine.