I think that's fairly true. If your appliances are built in I think the risk of fit complications when you replace are higher than if they're not. I'm getting a new range and I had to upgrade my electrical and move the outlet. There were quite a few options for refrigerators that would fit in my space but in a previous house I had to have the cabinets reworked because anything wide enough was too tall. None of these situations were built ins.

I had this problem. Even thought we remodeled our kitchen and changed the cabinets last year, we decided to switch to higher end appliances after the cabinet order was already placed. Big mistake and lots of headaches and having to reconfigure and or exchange cabinetry for what would work. If you want high end appliances I would choose them first and plan the cabinetry around them.

This is "true". While they aren't wrong about sizes of ovens being different and locations for gas lines being different, with minor attention to detail you can easily make this possible down the road.

For a gas range for instance, make sure you locate the gas line at the bottom of the wall in the center and the outlet recessed low on the wall. This will allow a future range to go back against the wall so you could buy a $600 GE now, and in the future switch to a $5k Wolf or something like it. Basically follow the specs for the future range you want. It should be similar enough to get a pro range of similar style in in the future.

The oven can be accommodated easily if you oversize the cabinet slightly. For instance get a cabinet that has a hole that is 28.5" wide (standard size) and is 55" high or something like that. Than have a face plate made to cover the hole. Then when you change your kitchen, if you have a taller double oven, you just cut that fascia slightly to accommodate the new oven.

Refrigerators depend greatly on what your goal is. If you are going to get a freestanding unit, and then upgrade to a nicer free standing unit, then just build a hole that is 36" wide and 72" high or greater. This will accommodate ANY freestanding refrigerator. Depth depends on your preference, remember that counter depth mean a roughly 24" deep case and full depth means 29-32" deep case.

If you want to go from freestanding to built in, that is very tricky. Many built ins use a standard cut out of 35 1/2" x 83 1/2" roughly...but not always. An integrated model like a thermador will use an opening that is 36" x 84" x 25". This is a common hole...and in theory you could just change that one cabinet around to accommodate it. It's not cut and dry though and you have to make sure the water line and electrical lines are properly placed.

All that being said, while they aren't wrong that it may require alterations down the road...none of them are extremely complicated. Waterlines, electrical and gas lines can be moved with a competent plumber/electrician and without a ton of expense. As long as you don't build a cabinet box that is too small, you can almost always make things work out.

1. Yes, the location of the gas connection for a range and electrical connections can vary from one vendor to another. It is not usually a big deal to change them but it is something to consider when changing units out.

2. If you're talking wall ovens, yes, the cutouts can vary from vendor to vendor. Hopefully a new cabinet would not be required, but a fill strip or what ever may be.

3. Yes, I would suspect that different 'built-in' or 'integrated' fridges would have some changes necessary, if not in width then height. Or door swing, though the built-in's usually don't have a problem in this regard due to rather expensive hinges that move the door away from adjacent cabinets and counters.

4. What Joe said.

I agree. Those points are all pretty true, but there are some points that aren't such a big deal.

Given adequate service (the right amount of power/gas), you might have to have the connection points moved a bit when you replace. Or might not. But it's not a big deal, especially if you're in the high end budget bracket. The hardest one to change is where an appliance requires that the connection be in an adjacent cabinet. You can look at the installation instructions for the high end appliances that you'd buy now if you could and see where they would need those, and put them in now. During the remodel it'll only cost a few hundred dollars, and no added carpentry, and can be covered until you need them.

Appliance sizes are not standard. The closest to standard is dishwashers, which really are made to be able to be swapped out. There are two main sizes for DWs: 24" and the metric version that's just under 24". If you swap the smaller one for the bigger one, you might need to do some cabinet work. Best to have the larger opening, and trim out a smaller DW. The heights do vary, however. The decorative edge on your counter might fit better with one, and another might need to be boosted up on a small platform.

A nominally 30 inch cooktop or oven, might be anywhere from 28" to 31.5" in width. If you're planning on switching, it's best to have a trimmed out space for them. It's much easier to make a new face frame, than a whole new cabinet. You can even have a space face panel made now and keep it where it'll get some of the same light that your kitchen does, so it'll match in better. The hardest part is the cooktop, if it is set in stone. Altering the stone in place could cause it to crack, removing it to alter could cause it to crack, and nothing is making your hole smaller (changing to high end means you don't want a wood and metal filler put in).

Similarly, refrigerators have a couple of inches of variation from their nominal size to their actual size, and have different requirements for door angles and clearances, etc. Swapping out a freestanding fridge for another isn't a problem if you have a roomy opening, such as you see in builders' kitchens, which will accept any unit in the approximate size range, but if you have it trimmed out for a neater look, you will probably have to adjust the trim, just for a seven years down the road similar replacement model.

If you're going from freestanding fridge to built in, you can plan on the built in and find a cheaper fridge that'll fit in the space, but you may well have to go down a size to do so.

So here's the unsolicited part of the advice: They built a cheap, basic firehouse near where I grew up, before I was born, which was supposed to make do for ten years until they could build a new one. It's still there. No one much remembers that it was supposed to be temporary.

The same is true of kitchens. Whatever you do now is likely to be the kitchen you keep as long as you keep your house. Down the road, you'll probably replace appliances only when they fail, and when you do, you'll get what fits because you can't spend three months without a fridge or an oven. If your appliances all start getting sad around the same time, in, say, 10-15 years, you might do a "light remodel" and freshen up the look a little, replace other things that are worn, and do all the appliances at once. Between now and then, however, there will always be something that's more important than high end appliances. The kid needs a special school or coach or program that costs thousands more than you ever expected. A tree falls on your car as soon as it's old enough to stop carrying comprehensive insurance. There's a family emergency. You've always wanted to go to Rome but the only way you can justify it is by giving up your Miele fund. The expected inheritance all goes to caring for the loved one, and all you get is the cat.

Remember, in the long run, no matter what features, qualities or efficiencies--or looks--that high end appliances have, all fridges cool and all ovens heat, and if your great-grandmother was happy with an ice box and a solid fuel (wood or coal) range because they were such advances from an open larder and a fireplace, you can make big box store appliances work for you. You just learn when to turn things in the oven, and where not to put the lettuce lest it freeze. (My appliances are all top end, and I'm very happy with them, but if I didn't have them, I'd be fine.)

I did some waiting until the money tree grew more leaves so I could have the kitchen of my dreams. It can be done, just living with that which is old, mostly dead, and difficult. But once you have good enough, rather than awful, it's a lot harder to put more money towards it. Better to make some compromises now, and put a little more money toward appliances you really like but can still afford, than settle for those you don't really want and wish you had something nicer.

Thank you, everyone. As Plllog implied, selection of appliances definitely has an aspirational value as well as functional value. From functional value perspective, I have some criteria:

- Dishwasher: definitely want a long living, sturdy and well functioning appliance, because if it fails, I am doing dishes by hand. Not looking forward to it.

- Hood : definitely good quality hood because otherwise food smell travels through the house and ruins linens etc.

- Refrigerator: would like to have a good quality one, although I don't quite understand bells and whistles. My only expectation is that my refrigerator preserves foods at a pre-set temperature, and freezer freezes :-). So sure, reliable but not necessary to have a Subzero.

That said, when I mentioned to the Sales guy that I am vegetarian, he pushed me hard towards Subzero, even though subzero does not mention any specific features to preserve produce. I was hoping to find some specialty crisper type refrigerators but I got to see giant, massive units instead.

- Range/cooktop : if it fails, we get to go out to eat. Yey!!! Definitely not very important to have Wolf. Now that said, sure, if the budget permits, I would love to have it, but this would be the first place to compromise.

On a more practical note, BTU's aside, my current 10 year old range (VERY basic), cooks just fine; so I am not sure if I would need any more high power cooking power. Rarely need simmer or high BTU options.

- Ovens: at least in my case, definitely used sparingly. Most of my cooking is cooktop style.

- Microwave: Use a lot, and need a good quality/reliability. That said, current MW is at least 15 years old, so any microwave will look like massive improvement!!

Sounds like you a good sense of where it makes sense to splurge vs. save. I'm in a similar situation. We are choosing to splurge on the pro-range top and wall ovens, because I am an avid cook and my wife an avid baker. But, the fridge, dishwasher, and microwave will all be pretty basic models. Reliability is our only criteria for them.

If a sales guy "pressures" you to buy something completely out of your budget or needs, don't be reluctant to tell him to back off. If your criteria for a fridge is that it holds temperature and he shows you high-priced sub-zeros, then he is making it pretty clear that he cares far more about commission than you being happy.

Not necessarily. SubZero, Miele and Liebherr, in particular, are known for their abilities to preserve produce longer. It's a combination of even, accurate cooling, humidity control, and some fancy dancy filters. The question comes in, even if it's perfectly good, as in crisp and not rotting anywhere, how much do you want to eat a cabbage or broccoli that you've had for three weeks? And something that hasn't been specifically studied, as far as I know, is how many nutrients are lost just sitting there. I'd actually think that a vegetarian, unless eating mostly legumes and grains, is more likely to plow through the produce than a meat eater, so is super-longevity of produce even a concern?

Plllog, I do remember reading that proper refrigeration does not cause loss of nutrients in vegetables and fruit. In fact, in particular, (remember reading that) frozen berries have more nutrients that are beneficial to the brain than fresh ones (although they taste decidedly blander IMO).

That said, I admit that I do store a lot of produce (buy large sized salad bags etc.) and without proper refrigeration it definitely goes downhill faster. We are talking about "refrigerated" versus "frozen" as in freezers here. Properly refrigerated salad greens and fruits are definitely much nicer to eat than those that are not.

I'm not sure if we're talking at cross purposes, so just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that refrigeration causes nutrient loss. I've read (but not found authoritative confirmation for) that just sitting there in the fridge for weeks can cause nutrient loss in the same way that sitting in cool, dark, unrefrigerated storage would, but I have no expertise in vitamin loss and the like, so only brought it up as something to think about. Any decent fridge should hold your produce for a week or two. The question is how long do you want to push it, and will a seriously more expensive fridge do it for you? And if you're talking about $3-5000 difference, how much "that's going in the soup" produce will that replace over the life of the fridge?

Re the berries, if frozen helps it's because the freezer is breaking them down. If that's the case, are there comparisons to a high impact blender, for instance?

Plllog, point taken. I agree with you in that one should not buy a more expensive refrigerator so that you can eat 3 week old spinach now instead of 1 week old spinach that you used to eat. I think that is where ultra high end refrigerators begin to lose charm for me (unless of course the budget is generous, in which case, aspirational value kicks in).

Then regarding your question on frozen berries versus blended: I came to know of this information while reading a book on brain foods, but I am no expert in nutrition. So your logic makes sense to me but I have no clue about studies etc.

It is a very bad idea to build for one set of appliances and then look to retrofit. Sizes change over time. The cost of a b-i refrigerator nearly doubled over 10 years.

I can say that because I've had to replace appliances . The oven opening size was altered and it was just lucky I had ordered some extra painted wood for shelves from the cabinet company -- that was used to make the fix look good.

The refrigerator, also, bi was replaced. Again, I was limited by cabinet depth and height though I still had a good range of choices. But the installer had to alter the bottoms of the cabinet and did not do an impeccable job.

Sounds like you understand your needs really well. Budget willing, get the best of what you want in each category. My hope for you would be that all the choices will be excellent and you won't need to make changes going forward.