We got an IKEA kitchen in 2014. Between then and now, I had to replace every appliance except the dishwasher. The oven stopped working on self clean, could not be fixed so I had to buy a GE, which works fine. When they took the oven out, there were black, burn spots on the inside. it could have burned down our house. The fridge began to rust within a week, there was so little coating of stainless steel. We had great contractors who got it replaced for me quickly. It still has some problems so it will probably have to be replaced before long as well. The glass stovetop also had to be replaced. I tell everyone I can, if you get an IKEA kitchen, don't buy the appliances. Buy your own. They will also be cheaper. IKEA's price for the fridge was $2000. That's how they make money when they discount the installation.

John, 1)Did Smart money talk about resale value of the home? Real estate agents/money lenders love Wolf. It is the brand de rigueur for the nouveau riche poseur elite. If you are building your Kitchen to impress real estate agents,potential buyers,and friends then yes Wolf is best. 2)The previous generation Wolf oven had some reliabilty issues. To its credit Wolf hired an outside consultancy to do extreme testing of it's ovens to find weak spots. It completely redesigned some parts while leaving others alone. It has been about 3 years or so since the current generation came out and so far so good. However, both Gaggenau and Miele have long established records of excellent oven reliability. Wolf will "probably" be very good.Gaggenau and Miele you can take to the bank. Having said that there is always some chance you get a lemon,that is why they have warranties. 3)Before I purchsed my Gaggenau I sought friends and friends of friends who had high end kitchens. I live in West LA. My best friend lives in Yorba Linda in Orange County.I have one sister who lives in Anaheim Hills in Orange County and one sister who lives in the Palos Verdes section of LA County. I offered to cook a meal including beef wellington and chocolate souffle if they let me test their oven and monkey around in their kitchen. Checking things out like ranges and such. I found takers that had Thermador,Wolf,Miele, and Gaggenau. Could not find anyone with a Kuppersbusch. I got good results with them all.I eliminated Thermador when I researched and found reliability problems but I like the results in the order of my rankings. 1) Gaggenau 2) Miele 3) Wolf. All are on my recomment list because they are much better than the GE/Whirlpool/Viking ovens that I have previously used. And I really like the side-opening doors. It lets you get real close without fear of burning yourself.

DW used to be an attorney at perhaps the nation's most high power corporate law firm. No one there has any time to socialize, but we did go to a dinner once that included one of the very rare female partners . She was super cool and had many interest in common with us, including, for example, a youthful interest in the trial and execution of king Charles I of England, Saint and Martyr (long story). But what most impressed me is that she actually bought the Dornbracht RainSky showerhead. I had been in love with that showerhead and designed my spa bath around it. --I later wound up not buying it because the American version is crippled and improvised something else (which I must post on the Bathroom forum gallery, and will, soon). But she had actually bought and installed the Dornbracht Rainsky. She's not only the only person I know who has done that, but she's the only person not in the trade I've ever met who even knows it exists. So I emailed her yesterday determined to buy whatever she has and the answer is: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaggenau!

To me, there's nothing wrong with mixing "high end" and lower cost, functional good-quality kitchen components. More important to me is to avoid the waste implied in buying things that will not last or that will certainly become unfashionable. I live in a working class neighborhood, mostly little 1950s houses with lots of retirees, including myself. Although our lot is on a lake, this property will NEVER command top dollar because of the settlement pattern of the community. The recession has really hurt home values here; I thought our house was $275,000 to $300,000 because of previous improvements, but I believe that it's now $220,000 and that was before we launched a major addition, geothermal, and new siding, etc. No matter what we sink into the house, it's for us, not for resale or peer pressure. We have decided to retain the 30 inch refrigerator we bought last year (an emergency purchase) but to put it in a position where a larger unit could some day fit. No wooden housing around it. We are keeping our old electric range, but are adding a portable induction burner that can be set out on the countertop to increase functionality. There is room for another oven on a wall outside our new G shaped kitchen, but I don't think I will be the one to buy it (unless my grown children move back to live nearby); a portable roaster oven will suffice to augment the baking and roasting for large gatherings. We use our outdoor gas grill in all seasons for grilling. My husband enjoys the ritual of being the griller and he shovels the access space before dinner parties. The broiler in the old range suffices if he doesn't want to venture outdoors. We are retaining our existing dishwasher. Our big innovation is to add a second sink to the kitchen. All sinks and appliances are white. My muse is the idea of a "workshop kitchen." I am not trying to reproduce any particular theme, unless it is a farm kitchen that processes a lot of food in season. I do hope to make the kitchen work as a functional, welcoming space for myself and husband now that we're empty nesters and for events when we have visitors, whether large or small groups. Laminate for countertops is sufficient and my ego does not require anything more dazzling on the countertops, although there will be slabs of butcherblock on either side of the stove. Hubby decided to go with hardwood floor and install it and finish it himself, although I was ready to order the vinyl. We have found a local cabinetmaker who said he would meet the price of a sample plan of readymade cabinets from the Big Box home stores. Now, we're adding custom touches to the cabinetry plans, not in decorative features but real utility features, such as tapping the space that was wasted in "spacers" between boxes. All materials are American made, or American harvested. Except for the old siding and walls and flooring, very little is going to the landfill. Furnace went to the scrap metal guy. My own eccentricities will add all the "pop" and pizzaz that this kitchen will need. Fabric, color, laminate choice, color of stain, art, displays of collections-- a creative outlet without a high end price tag. We have splurged on a bank of windows and a few light fixtures (No, we're not putting in "cans" because the ceiling feeds to an attic where we're fighting heat loss.) We are working very hard to live within our means, following the requirements of good sense and ignoring consumer manias. When I get myself too fired up about making a more upscale purchase, I remind myself that the photos, the ad copy, the home shows and the open houses, are all there to facilitate SELLING, not living. Here in Minnesota, where granite is quarried, I know that some of the rock countertops are fairly reasonable, but as I have declared elsewhere on this forum, I refuse to purchase anything that is sold with a "how to care for it" bottle of something and some warnings about how to protect the finish. In many ways, by definition, I am free from the pressures that other posters feel in order to keep up with the neighborhood, to make a kitchen that defines a house value, or to prepare for the brutal house market. I don't envy the young and broke. But I was there once and I not only survived but thrived on it. The original kitchen in this house was painted baby blue without concern for the cathair? gobs in the paint and the kitchen 'table' had a hinge so we could access the refrigerator. My hubby and my carpenter father and a different local cabinetmaker came up with a sufficient re-do that we have appreciated since right before the Bicentennial. I raised two sensible daughters in that modest kitchen. This doesn't mean I'm not agonizing over choices today, though. "Leave me alone, I'm thinking!" is a common mantra right now. Today's musing: Do I want to order fancier cupboard doors? It's always something. Enjoy your day. Florantha