I have Bosch dw, a Kitchenaid fridge and a Whirlpool range, but they blend because they're all white. I was like you, as I picked out appliances that appealed to me in terms of function and price. You'll be fine Debbie, as long as they all have a common denominator...as in your case, the color is the same.

I have a Marvel full fridge, a Bosch DW, Capital Culinarian range and some no name built in icemaker. They all work just fine together.

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I have different brand appliances, but my fridge and dw have cabinet fronts so it doesn't matter. I have the rest in black and they blend fine...the two ovens are different mnfctrs but they are on different walls so I really don't notice that the handles don't match. So it works for me.

I did my kitchen almost two years ago. I bought everything based on reviews and sale prices. I have stainless kitchen aid fridge (from the scratch and dent, the dent is on the side and therefore not visible), Bosch diswasher and GE OTR microwave. My stove is the old white coil burner Kenmore, because it still worked. The old fridge was too small and the gasket was going on the freezer, and there had been no dishwasher. The old microwave was replaced with the OTR version and I sold the old one. They look fine; no one is checking the manufacturer. I agree with Anne.

I have an LG fridge, Miele DW, Kitchenaid range, Faber rangehood, Panasonic MW. If anyone noticed that they don't match (which I doubt), they have wisely kept quiet.

My fridge, OTR microwave, range, and dishwasher are each a different brand:

I had to go look at my appliances to see what brand(s) they were; never noticed nor cared.

Since manufacturers often make many varieties of ranges and microwaves, it's strange the fellow who wrote the review didn't compare them before making his purchase if "same brand" was so important to him. I bet he's a joy to live with / work for- - lol.

We have a Bosch dishwasher, Samsung range, xtreme air range hood, lg fridge, Panasonic microwave (in a cabinet), and frigidaire washer and dryer (under the counter and behind doors). I think our kitchen looks great even though nothing is the same brand but more importantly they all get great reviews and seem to work well thus far. The end goal was to have a space that functioned extremely well but still looked nice. Where I had a choice I tried to pick similar design elements. - pocket handle for the dishwasher, shape of the range hood, color of the washer and dryer, and finish for everything else.

I agree with the group. The kitchen does not have to be outfitted in the same brands. When the dishwasher broke, I selected the replacement based on its features and went with white to match other appliances. You are on the right path with choosing for function and eye for some harmony in style. It also just occurred to me that the appliances will look different because they are different. Also think how boring if everything matched.

agree with other, nope doesn't matter. get the appliances that work for you., its your kitchen and u use the appliances. i have a miele speed oven over a wolf full size oven and i don't even notice, think or care about it....

Personally, I never saw a suite of appliances in a home until I looked at tract homes. Builders buy suites. Most people don't do that. I have a Miele DW, LG Fridge, GE slide in induction range, Whirlpool OTR Micro hood and an Electrolux wall oven. I bought what I thought would give me the best value and function. The handles don't match and the stainless does not match on the range and Wall oven. I don't care. If we sell anytime soon, and someone comments on it, then I will be aware that people notice. I think unless you are building in a tract you won't find that to be the norm.

It seems ludicrous to buy all one brand if you are actually someone who hopes to have a well thought out, good functioning kitchen that works for you. Not all brands make all appliances well. Buy what will work for you within your budget.

Go best in class not matching.

We are replacing our appliances --

My dishwasher, cooktop and double oven will be the same - but that's b/c Thermador is running a buy two get dishwasher free.

My warming drawer (under the double oven) will be a bosch, my fridge is a KA and micro GE. Range hood TBD.

I agree with New Freedom. Our home was a spec - we didn't choose anything - and the builder put in all KA.

I've chosen based on price and reviews and what fits in my spaces.

Another one here with mismatching appliances. I have a Whirlpool oven with a GE microwave above it. It never occurred to me that the controls don't match. It's much more important that the controls function. :)

Congratulations, you're buying your appliances for what you anticipate is their function and not their looks. That is unusual for a newbie but really it is the only way to go. So far none of my new appliances have needed repair but I did check to make sure that there were repair people locally for all of them. You should do that too.

In my previous home, my appliances were different brands. Was happy with it.

In my new (old) house, I went with Thermador because it all started with the range I wanted...and they had a 1-2-Free sale. So, I researched their fridge and dishwashers and decided to go with that one brand.

No one manufacturer makes the "best" of all appliances. Some make the best (or at least better) ovens, others ranges, others refrigerators. etc. Buying all one brand just b/c they're the same brand or look the same is not smart - unless you never use them or are willing to replace some earlier rather than later. This is true even among the high-end manufacturers.

You did your research - congratulations! You did it right!

You should buy the appliance that best suits your needs. I've never had one brand of appliances in any of my homes. In our new home, we have a LG refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, and a Lacanche range. We started with a Sharp microwave and we now have an LG. But, I would have kept the Sharp if my son hadn't turned something in it that we just couldn't get out. These appliances look fine together and I don't think anyone has really ever noticed that they aren't the same; other than the range which does stand out as it should.

BTW -- "Thermador is part of BSH Home Appliances Corporation, a fully-owned subsidiary of Bosch and Siemens Home Appliance Group"

I also have a "set" of non-matching appliances - Fagor oven, Bosch cooktop, Zephyr hood, Sharp microwave (and paneled dishwasher and refrigerator that happen to be Bosch and Thermador - the handle on the dishwasher matches the cabinet handles, the handle on the refrigerator is a Thermador refrigerator handle).

What I would like to aim for is a consistency of handles. But now the plan is to put a stainless GE fridge (my old one) next to a Miele CSO over a 24" Wolf drop-down door microwave next to a Wolf M-series contemporary oven. I guess my theme is 'no two handles can match' now. Just to keep the theme, I'm getting a stainless Miele dishwasher with a comfort handle. Then there's the Bosch induction cooktop (no handle :) ). So I'll 'only' have four brands.

That's a lot of black for your tiny kitchen. Why not do white appliances?

Bananasuit ... MORE PICTURES!!

I never considered getting an appliance package! Bosch DW, GE clearance fridge, Whirlpool slide in range.

as others have said, it's good to select what works vs. matching. You will have a functional space vs. a "showroom" which is a waste of space. so many of the Houzz photos (not the forum from GW) are probably a showroom for families that order takeout. In reality most of us have smaller spaces and want appliances that work!

Ditto, mayflowers. I think I recall you saying your kitchen is going to be white. Black appliances are going to break things up and make your space feel smaller.

Scroll up and look at Carrie B's small white kitchen with white appliances.

Now imagine it like this (ignore my super-crappy Paint job, lol).

ETA - as long as different brand appliances have something like a color, door handle style, or something to pull them together, it will look just fine to mix brands. Go for the best appliance brand for function, not a suite.

I suggest you go with what you think are quality appliances that you like. But, I am not a matchy-matchy type. I generally prefer black appliances with natural/stained cabinets and white/SS with white painted or other light colors.

Banana Suit -- such a tease!

We're painfully close to be doing done. I'll post plenty of pictures and details soon.

We aren't lucky enough to be able to reno our kitchen, yet, but I've replaced all of previous owners appliances over the last 10 years. I bought a Bosch induction cooktop and Bosch DW (SS) because they had the functions I wanted. Electrolux all-fridge, Breville toaster oven, cheap-o Oster MW are all SS. The Gaggenau wall oven is in the aluminum finish, but that blends with my white cabinets really well.

My purchases were guided by function, first. The best I could afford, second. Finish, handles, controls weren't a priority for me. No one notices the brands and nothing stands out visually. Well the black cooktop might, but the average person is used to that.

I ended up with mostly SS because my DW, fridge, and TO aren't offered in other finishes for the models I wanted.

Thanks everybody! I feel much better now. I've actually never thought about this before. I've never been in anyone's kitchen and noticed their appliances were, or were not, from the same manufacturer. I've noticed color and functionality. Funkycamper, you may be right, but I've never been in love with white appliances, yet I've had to live with them most of my adult life (growing up, my parents' appliances were all in the 1970's "harvest gold"). My kitchen will be actually gray, not white, with stained black walnut butcher block counters. However, before I buy anything, I'll be submitting my plans to you and all the other gurus here on this forum. If you all hate the black, I'll reconsider! :-)

FYI it's also very easy to remove the badges from most appliances. You just need a hair dryer, dental floss, and goo gone.

Barja99 - I have a Wolf CSO above a Miele Speed Oven. The Miele has 2 different handle options and one of them looks pretty similar to the Wolf. Before they were installed I read a thread here that mentioned appliance clock colors not matching. I thought "uh oh." They don't match but it doesn't bother me at all.

romy718 - Originally I wanted to get both a Miele CSO and Speed oven, then reserve the right to put in a full-size oven in a base cabinet later if the small ones didn't suit me. I had an appliance wall plan that was quite smashing with all its symmetry and such. That plan changed when my contractor told me that I only have 3-220s available to use in my kitchen. One is already being used by my induction cooktop, so I had to decide between a speed oven and a full-size oven. The full-size oven eventually won out -- it may not have if that Wolf M Contemporary weren't the sexiest appliance I've ever seen.

Practigal and buehl, thanks for the encouragement! Banana Suit, LOVE your sneak peek and can't wait to see more! AKTillery9, you already know how in love I am with your kitchen, and believe me, there is not one single thing that looks out of place. Mgmum, we have an appliance store here locally that also has a "ding and dent center." I definitely plan to check it out! If I can save a couple of hundred dollars on something that has a ding in an area that can't be seen, I will go for it! I think Sears has something similar in the area as well. CarrieB, I love those glass doors! Llucy, I agree. Whirlpool makes a ton of microwaves, so I don't know why the reviewer didn't check them out before buying the oven... I would never just assume that someone would have the exact item I was picturing in my head...maybe he was having a bad day. Barbja99, haha! "No handle left behind." Your kitchen sounds very nice, a dream to cook in! Nightowl, exactly! Matchy-matchy is a no-no in fashion- "It doesn't have to match, it has to GO together." So perhaps the same is true in the kitchen. I don't want my kitchen to look like a catalog showroom, but rather something inviting and comfortable to cook and eat in. But I'd definitely get in on that Thermador deal if it were in my price range!

Another vote for non-matching appliances. Also, many brand name logos can be removed from the front of your appliances if they are held on with adhesive by slowly and patiently peeling them off. I like the cleaner look of no logos.

My current kitchen has a bosch oven and cooktop, an electrolux hood, a samsung fridge, a KA dishwasher and a sharp microwave. No one has ever walked into my kitchen and said, oh your kitchen is ugly because your appliances don't match. (BTW: It can be currently seen in the Selling my condo thread in the Buying and Selling a Home forum)

I'm building a kitchen which will have:

a Frigidaire induction oven (SS and black, already purchased due to a great sale)
a Whirlpool DW (black)
a Magic Chef microwave (black; it is moving up from my current home)
a Kenmore or a Whirlpool fridge (black)

buy the appliance that has the features and the reliability you want. Seldom will these all be from the same manufacturer.

With that fridge that will be either the Kenmore or the Whirlpool -- the deciding factor will be price when it comes time to buy, unless I get word that one or the other model is less dependable. I've already selected the potential models I will choose from.

None of our appliances are from the same manufacturer!

Bosch DW, GE stove, Whirlpool fridge.

"Matching" appliances makes me think someone was more interested in how something looked (vs. how it worked) or getting a "good deal."

The guy who was having the hizzy-tizzy fit needs some serious drugs! Get what does the job you need it to do that fits in your budget and space. Period.

You wrote " kitchen will be actually gray, not white, with stained black walnut butcher " .......and then black appliances.

Gotta tell you if you put the house on the market and I saw a photo of a kitchen like that I wouldn't even bother to look at the house and if for some reason I did look at the house and liked it enough to consider it, my offer would go down for amount that it would take to get rid of the Bat-Cave/Vampire dark.

You always need to keep in mind that you may decide to sell and how a potential buyer would respond. Median price in my county is $400,000 with 1/4 of the listings being in the $1 -2 million range. Never see anything like that.

Might ask a realtor whether they thought gray cabinets with black appliances and dark counters would turn off buyers and make it harder to sell if you needed to sell.

It mattered back when one company's harvest gold was different from another's.

Debbie, I am chuckling here. We have a white Kenmore gas cooktop, paneled Miele DW, SS Amana wall oven, SS Kitchenaid warming drawer, white Samsung fridge w/ stainless handles, SS Jenn Air microwave/speed oven, and Japanese (can't remember) brand SS hood. LOL. Nothing is the same, not even the finish on our appliances. though our handles are the same shape, except for the microwave, but that is on the other side of the kitchen, so it isn't an issue.

The only place where I cared about matching brand was my double oven. It would have been weird to have two different brands on top of each other.

Otherwise, I just try to match handle and color since everything is bought on discount. Check craigslist a lot for your appliance. It's how I found several brand new items at amazing prices. Outlet/clearance center too.

Well, I think the answer is pretty clear by now huh Debbie? LOLOL!

Great question though. I actually wondered that myself at some point. Seems the answer clearly is that it doesn't matter if you do different brands.

Now putting a $10,000 plus range with a 20 year old nasty fridge that may or may not work might be questionable. Certainly raises some flags...;-) I loved your post on that thread!

I think I said this before, but you are a gem! I love your sweetness, but with a hint of "tude". Hope you stick around here on GW even after your project is done.

cpartist, I just finished looking at your condo on the other thread. Stunning! Your new house plans look and sound amazing too!

All of you have certainly convinced me that the guy whose comment started this whole thing is the silly one, not I for looking at appliances from a workability standpoint. Shelayne, speaking of functionality, how do you like your microwave/speed oven? I've rather tentatively decided on a micro/steam oven because I steam veggies nearly every day, but I looked at some micro/speed and was curious as to how the speed oven works?

Fori, you make a good point. Not all harvest golds were the same, nor were all avocado greens. Now, unless you can get something really speciality or retro, you're basically choosing amongst black, white, and SS; sometimes bisque.

beachem, yes! Craigslist is my friend. I almost never buy anything at full retail price. Everything goes on sale if you're patient. But "gently used" is great, and there are some good deals to be found on Craigslist.

Rebunky, you're not so bad yourself! :-) I really appreciate how you and everyone here have been so nice and have taken an interest in my little project. As for the Maytag...don't get me started, lol!

I do think its important to remember that this crowd is unusual. Some non TKO people find non matching appliances, especially in mid to low range brands where builder suites are common, to be unusual.

I'll offer up a slightly dissenting view. As others like beachem have pointed out, the place where it's somewhat important is when the appliances are lined up in a stack. Appliances like warming drawers and microwaves don't have a big variance in function, performance and reliability. Thus having three different brands stacked on top of each other starts to look like an appliance showroom. The question then becomes, why would you get a different brand in the adjacent stack unless there was a functional difference that wasn't available in the coordinating primary piece.

(Disclosure: my appliances don't match! Only two are alike -- the refrigerator and warming drawer, which are next to each other --- and the WD was practically free.)

Jesus God. No. Go with appliances that suit your needs. For instance. I went with a Thermador Range, 2 Bosch dishwashers, 2 Miele speed ovens, 1 Miele Steam oven, 2 Gaggenau convection ovens, 2 Miele CVA coffee systems 1 with pods and one for fresh beans, Dacor wine server and a Sub-zero ice machine. My husband and I picked out every single one of them based off of the features and individual qualities. We entertain a lot and needed professional appliances that suit our needs. We have recently listed our house for sale and had an agent open house. One of the realtors asked why we had mismatched appliances. My agent replied that we obviously took a lot of time and effort hand selecting those kitchen appliances and if they can't see that then maybe they had no business showing this house because they'd be horrid at selling it. Look at it this way. Samsung makes great tv's, phones and washer and dryers. They make horrid dishwashers and fridges. It's all about preference. They don't need to match brands, just finishes.

I just finished my kitchen reno/expansion, and none of the appliances are the same make (but all are SS). I picked the features and quality I wanted within my budget, and that was that. My kitchen looks grand, even with an LG range under a Kobe hood, with a Bosch dishwasher and a KitchenAide fridge: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4751866/my-reveal

I realize this was an older post that a couple of people are responding to today, but I also know that people read old posts when they are looking for answers, so I’ll add my 2 cents: Some people are adamant that appliance brands match for various reasons (color, sometimes handles, and sometimes just the name tag). I, also, am not going with brand-matching appliances. For us, we feel it wiser to pick for our needs and preferences, and pay little attention to whether the brand is the same.

We're going almost all one brand: Miele oven, plumbed coffee system, vent hood, speed oven, induction cooktop. With the exception of the cooktop, all in PureLine Brilliant White. We really like the look. The Miele fridge and dishwasher will have cabinet fronts, as will the non-Miele wine cooler (they don't make one in the size we need). Over the years and through various kitchens, we've come to the conclusion that Miele products do last longer and their service is very good in our area. I did lose a spouse battle over a silvery Thermador cooktop - gorgeous but you can't win 'em all!