I used to think that having the appliances match was important, but have come to believe otherwise. When I got my new appliances, one of them had to be returned and I did not want it replaced with the same model due to the issues it had. If I had gotten it as part of a "matching set," I'd be in trouble. Besides, all of your new, matching appliances are eventually going to need to be replaced, and you will likely do that one at a time, rather than all at once. So they aren't going to match then, anyway. All black, or all stainless, or all white ... yes. All similar handles ... sure, why not, if it's possible. But all "matching" and from the same manufacturer ... not important.

I'm no expert either, but after looking at the options available in higher end appliances, we selected the Wolf 36" stove top with griddle, the Miele d/w, a Wolf 30" wall oven, a Wolf micro/convection and a 36" Sub Zero. We are also buying a new home and the builder let us choose which ones we wanted. I really loved the Wolf oven with the roll out racks. I've had Sub Zero before So I knew it. W as what we wanted. Go to a good appliance store and check out the appliances first hand. I think it's the only way to tell if you'll like it.

No problems with going with different appliance brands for each appliance. That's actually exactly what is recommended here on the forum. No one manufacturer makes an excellent total line (i.e the references to the GE fridges above). On the GE Profile question--I have the GE Monogram, which the dealer said the oven was actually the same as the Profile line just with a Pro-look exterior and name plate. I have been very happy with my ovens so far. My sister has the Profile double oven with convection and she loves hers too-bakes evenly, roasts beautifully, broils nicely & self-clean (you can even leave the racks in during the clean cycle) to boot! What more could you ask for? So, I would go for the Profile ovens/range. My sister also has the Profile smooth top electric cooktop with built in downdraft vent. She really likes it as well. She says the only challenge she has with it is when she's sprinkling spices into pots on the cooktop and has the fan on--it is so powerful, it sucks the spices right in--however the same can be said for many over the range vent hoods too. DW I would opt for Samsung or KitchenAid. KA DWs have a solid reputation, many come with hard food disposer, heated dry, are quiet and they have a very broad range of prices and features. However, many of the reasonably priced KAs now vent out the side vs the front--the vent opens 6 hrs after the end of the cycle unless you open the door before the 6 hrs elapses in which case it opens immediately and releases steam into adjacent cabinetry. Since I didn't realize this before purchasing, I tend to run the DW right before bed so no one is opening it too early. If I run it during the day, I simply crack the adjacent cabinet when I turn the DW on just in case DH or DS come through & open it. Samsung DWs offer most if not all the features KA does but with a fan assist dry and venting out the bottom. Easy to stack, hard food disposer, reasonably priced and quiet. I would definitely recommend either of these DWs. Refrigerator--word on the forum is stay away from GE. I personally only know of 2 people with GE fridges that are happy with them (although 1 of my friends has had to have the repair guy out 3 times!). I would recommend Samsung, LG or a Kenmore badged Samsung or LG. Food stays fresh for much longer than standard fridge, LED lighting, ice maker available in the door, in the freezer compartment or in the fridge portion depending on what model you're looking at. We have the Kenmore Elite badged Samsung counter depth SxS and love it. It's got a 60/40 split between the 2 compartments which means plenty of room for larger items like frozen pizza boxes, turkeys, etc in the freezer. Fridge side is plenty roomy with nice sized bins, standard dairy/butter compartment, gallon size storage on door, built in wine rack & soda rack. I would definitely buy the fridge again. Just a heads up on where you can snag some deals--In Oct, Sears usually runs a 1/2 off wall oven sale for just a day or two, so be on the lookout for that. Also, you can get Friends & Family pricing at Sears anytime--just ask for it (make sure its a better deal the one they're currently running, though). Lowes and HD will often run model year end clearance on their floor model ovens--some really deep discounts are applied. If you find one in a high volume Lowes store, see if they'll hold it for you and then check with any surrounding lower traffic/volume Lowes/HD stores as they will often have a better discount. Hope this helps!

thanks for the responses. Lyfia, interesting idea about doing open shelves instead of uppers in order to get the bank appraisal. I will ponder this. Trebuchet, the builder actually worked with us and the bank throughout the loan process. They get their draws directly from the bank. They know we need the appraisal, unfortunately. Aloha2009, in our state (Florida), the buyer comes up with the difference. We just had friends who bought an existing home and the appraisal came in less than the sales price. The seller wouldn't lower it at all. Our friends really wanted it, so they had to come up with an extra $15,000 to cover the difference. The seller was under no obligation to lower the price. According to our bank, if the appraisal comes in low, we must cover the difference to get to the purchase price. If we can't, then the loan would fall through and we would lose the house to the bank. Crissyb, we couldn't get someone to install a different kitchen before the appraisal because as weissman said, we do not own the house yet and the builder is under no obligation to let any other trades in to their work site. I also do not like the thought of the waste of tearing out the builder's kitchen after move in, which is why I was considering still using the boxes and just replacing the doors and professionally painting them. SparklingWater, thank you for your pricing comparison. Did you have upgrades like dovetail drawers, soft close hinges, plywood,ect? Our current quote includes none of those things. Weissman, The mortgage was already approved, but with new construction there is another step at the end where a second appraisal ensures that what was specified in the contract is what was actually built, which protects the bank. We cannot walk away from the deal at this point.