I am replacing the dishwasher, gas stove, and microwave in my townhouse kitchen. It's for me for the next 5 years, 15 years, forever or maybe just a little while. Time will tell. I am leaning to the OTR microwave for space reasons in a condo size kitchen but have concerns since I'm only 5'2". Plus, one of my favorite things to cook is a big pot of soup and wonder if there will be enough space. My microwave choice has been a real stumbling block to finalizing my kitchen cabinet decisions. Then I think "KISS" - just do the obvious and put it over the range and move on- HELP! As a teacher I need to be budget conscious but want to enjoy my choices for looks, reliability, and function. I liked the GE cafe range for looks (and the bottom drawer for small pots, etc) but have read so many horrendous reviews. I have one friend who is happy with her Cafe range and OTR micro but I've read so many complaints. My mind is swimming - NCR, Bertazzoni, Electrolux, GE - at least I know I want stainless - but oh, those red ranges - OK, time to snap out of it! Stay focused. The resale for my townhouse has dropped about $40-50,000 but it's my home and my kitchen is important to me. My home is not just about resale and HGTV and I'm walking that fine line between what I want and what makes sense. PS - I cook in spurts, am not much of a baker but love to be in my kitchen, do family holidays, and have friends over for impromptu meals. Plus you see the kitchen as soon as come in the front door. Even without being an avid cook it's a room that I'm in every day. I am counting on Garden Web to help me clear the clutter of my mind and get back on track so I can finally DO THIS!!

Friedajune, I still mixed. I have Gaggenau, Miele, Monogram, Wolf and Marvel. People only buy all of one if the designer chooses the appliances or if they're buying the name rather than function, even at that level. :) You can still get a discount if you're buying a bunch of different brands, especially from an independent appliance store, but possibly from the big chains as well. Most builders and designers are afforded a discount, but they'll also let you have the discount if you pay the store directly (the purpose is to cover their overhead, which is nothing really if they're just signing you on their number). Additionally, the store will usually bargain with you if they don't have other discounts. They could give you free delivery and installation, or a free dishwasher, for instance, even if they can't give discounts on the appliances themselves.

Thank you for all the feedback, I think I need to do some more research on blk stainless. I had a Samsung stainless fridge and it scratched all the time. I love to cook and bake but not a professional. I really value ascetics and function and got sold on the Electrolux years ago by a local high end store and we all know that was crap so I’m a bit hesitant on my choices. Thank you. Keep it coming, this is my first discussion. 😀

The advice you'll see most often on Houzz is to tailor your purchases for each appliance to the quality of the product which you can often determine by researching recent reviews. Brands don't need to match, but in your case with a color issue going on, it might be safer to purchase the same brand to get the same color, and you can look into discount packages for buying together. Beware that black stainless steel is a problematic surface due to adherence issues of the coating used to make the stainless black. There are some companies that do this more reliably than others. Your best approach may be to research the brands that do the best, most durable black coating and go from there, as I think that's going to be your first point of failure with some of the less expensive brands if you are trying to limit the budget. BlueStar ranges and hoods are a favorite on this forum. Lacanche does ranges in all colors, but these are getting up into the luxury price ranges. There are a lot of things you can do to colorize your appliances, so maybe don't necessarily cross off the idea of doing a panel-ready dishwasher and refrigerator and a custom cabinetry vent hood with insert to get those colors you want. Futuro and Elica do some interesting work with vent hoods that are black.