GE Cafe is very good for cooking appliances. We have had a Cafe electric range and microwave in our vacation home for 7 years now and it works just fine. We also have had a GE Monogram rangetop, single oven and Advantium speed oven in our primary residence for 5 years and have had no problems with them. (The Monogram and Cafe lines are very similar) We especially use the speed oven ALL the time, much more than the regular full-sized oven, and recommend it highly.

As for refrigerators and dishwashers, I'm not a fan of GE. I recommend Bosch for the DW, which I've had for 5 years also, and I love it. It's quiet, cleans very well, and fits flush with the cabinets. I'd say that refrigerators are the trickiest appliance, we went through 3 of them in about 10 years in our vacation home (GE, Whirlpool). Finally got a KitchenAid which seems to work ok, although the ice maker is a problem. My absolute favorite, if you are going to splurge on anything, is a Subzero. My first lasted 27 years, and was still working fine in 2014 when we renovated our kitchen, but I wanted to start new, and bought a new Subzero.

Keep in mind that you do NOT have to match appliance brands. Select the brand and model that works best for you and your budget. Good luck with your renovation!

IMO you buy appliances for how you cook . there is no maker that makes everything well that is why regular old stainless is so nice no matter who makes the item they all go together . I would never own anything but a Bosch DW, I have a Bertazzoni all gas 36” 6 burner range, KA wallovens , fridgeadair all fridge all freezer with the builtin kit and a Panasonic MW they are the best for how I cook , all realiable and decently priced. In 12 yrs with all of them never had a service call and I run a catering biz from my home sometimes 6-8 loads of dishes and pots a day.

My opinion is Wolf and Sub zero are over priced and over rated . I love some things baked in a gas oven like pizza , bread for a couple hence the all gas range, mine has wok burner and a simmmer burner I also have a single induction burner I use for very delicate sauces.

Thank you! I am leaning towards Bosch for the dishwasher I am torn with the Advantium over full size double. Refrigerator is a tough call! We have had similar experiences. Appreciate your experiences so much!

It's just two of us at home, but we love to entertain. Husband does most of the daily cooking and I am more of an event cook. We looked at adding gas, but are leaning toward induction for it's cleaner look and quick cooling feature. We are in Florida. The versatility of the speed oven is intriguing, but I love a double oven for baking and big dinners. Our big GE frig will go in the garage, so we can get by with a bit smaller in the kitchen. Having trouble with spending for a built in frig.

I also recommend the Bosch DW. I put two in my new kitchen and they are fantastic. I also have a Bosch double wall oven. Love that also but have read the glass shatters if you use the self cleaning function so I haven’t used that—too nervous! I have a 36” thermador gas cooktop, which has been fantastic. The fridge....ugh, we bought a Samsung and regret it. I wanted a built in and couldn’t make it work in the kitchen and under the gun bought the Samsung. Ice maker is a fail. I have heard GE has moved operations and gone through significant changes and is less reliable, but don’t have experience with that. I have also had Jenn Air oven and cooktop in the past, which I also liked. I had a friend with a Wolf cooktop and she had problems. Sample size of 1, but just putting that out there. Good luck!

I have the advantium for several years. I hate it. It is not as useful as a double oven.

I read that GE has moved to China as well. It is so hard to keep up with which parts are made where anymore! We almost bought a whole set of Samsung floor models, but the reviews scared us away!

smit2380 - do you have the 120 or 240 Advantium?

I have slowly moved toward all Bosch. I’ve had two Bosch induction tops and three Bosch DWs now in various homes. I now have a Bosch 800 oven which I absolutely love, and sadly, a Bosch speed oven I do not care for. I wish I’d gone with regular Bosch double ovens, and stuck a tiny micro wave in a closet.

Thank you! Which cooktops have you had? Any advice on refrigerators?

BTW the fridgadaire all fridge comes with a builtin kit that makes it look built in without the price of getting a real builtin fridge. I think Electrolux now makes the one I have.

Just want to recommend no GE Profile for cooking if you’re considering it. I had to send one to the junk man this summer at just over 6 years because the board went out and the $400 part that it needed was no longer available. I waited nearly 9 months with an intermittent working oven watching the part go from out of stock to no longer available.

I had selected it because I bought a wonderful Profile range in ‘03 that ran problem free for many years.

Replaced with a Bosch 800 series slide in and I love it.

120, but my beef with the oven has nothing to do with power. It is unbelievably annoying to have to keep switching between the metal spinning plate for speed cook and convection bake and toast and the glass cooking plate. There are a bunch of other annoying instructions that you do not have with a regular double oven. I suggest reading the manual before buying to see if this will annoy you. If I had, I would not have purchased it.

Wow, it's so interesting to read everyone's unique experiences! Considering that GE has sold their appliance business to Haier (a Chinese company), I'm not sure that the quality is going to be the same :(

The appliance business, like so many others, is being consolidated as large appliance makers purchase smaller ones. At this point, Electrolux and Whirlpool are the largest companies, with Electrolux owning Frididaire, Tappan, Kelvinator and Gibson. Whirlpool owns KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Maytag, Amana and Roper. As noted previously, GE, and all its brands (Hotpoint, Monogram, Profile and Cafe) is now owned by the Chinese Haier company. Bosch owns Thermador, Gaggenau, and Neff. Miele is family owned and only makes their own products. However they outsource their refrigeration!

So it's very confusing and complicated to select an appliance. One thing is for sure, none of them are made to last they way they used to.

I say go to a good appliance showroom and see the options for yourself. Another good source for information is Yale Appliance Blog, out of Boston.

We moved last year and in our new kitchen renovation we got a GE Cafe gas range and dishwasher. The range has been fine so far and so has the dishwasher, really, but in our last house we had a Bosch dishwasher and it’s hard not to compare the two.

Both clean about the same, which is to say that we’ve had no complaints, but the Bosch was almost completely silent, whereas I can hear the GE dishwasher from several rooms away. It’s not a terribly obnoxious sound and we tend to run the dishwasher at night when we’re heading off to bed so it doesn’t bother us much, but the difference is notable. We chose to go with the GE dishwasher because of its drying function, but if we had it to do all over again, we’d get another Bosch. (When we bought our last house the dishwasher was at least four years old and then we used the heck out of it for five years. At nine years old it still looked and ran like a new machine. Super impressive.)

I’m a firm believer in not worrying about getting a matched set of appliances but getting what works for your family. We’re still using our Frigidaire counter-depth fridge from our last house because we really liked it and because the GE Cafe counter-depth fridges stick out far further than we could have in the specific spot our fridge lives. It looks just fine mixed in with the Cafe appliances, even though they have brushed bronze handles. Don’t be scared to mix it up!

You don't have to match appliance brands, just the finish. The fact is no one company makes every single appliance well. For everyone that makes a good refrigerator, their dishwashers might be mediocre, etc. We researched and mixed and matched based on who made the better type of each appliance. If two appliances would be near each other, we kept the brands and model family the same so they coordinate.

Doing that, this is what we ended up with: GE refrigerator and wall oven. Bosch chimney hood, cooktop, and dishwasher. Sharp drawer microwave. Sharp makes all drawer microwaves by the way. No matter what brand of those you buy, it was made by Sharp.

I am really grateful for everyone’s feedback and insights!

I join the long line of people recommending Bosch dishwashers; I've had several and all were super quiet. To solve the double oven issue, I got a Thermador microwave/convection oven. The (grown) children cooked the Christmas ham in the Thermador on convection while using the Bosch range for all of those other dishes. Turned out great.

I also have a Bosch fully integrated refrigerator, which can make very high whiny noises. I think it has three motors (?) and it seems like one of them always wants to whine around 11:00 p.m., lol. If at all possible, I would always vote for SubZero refrigerator and am still mad at myself for trying to save a bit and pick the Bosch this time. I've had SubZeros with absolutely no issues, ever.

BTW, I was told by the large appliance distributor that Bosch and other higher end brands don't do "Buy 3 Save $$" package deals as other brands do. Others have said they do, but I think that might be the dealer doing it, not Bosch. The store I used did knock KitchenAid refrigerator/freezer drawers down to almost nothing, with no discount on Bosch/Thermador I bought at the same time. I guess it all evens out.

Edit: We don't cook (use the heck out of that microwave, lol) but of course we always want double ovens for those few times/year we think we need them. I just couldn't justify the space needed.

I have a Bosch cooktop, oven, microwave, and dishwasher... and a GE Cafe fridge. Very happy with al of them. The GE Cafe line is really nice.

Find a great appliance store.. they know the ins and outs of the brands - who makes what etc. Then look into review after review...None of my appliances are the same brand - maytag, whirlpool, amana and kenmore and unless you are looking at the logo you really couldn't tell.

By the best appliance for the application and your needs - good luck!

For those who gave mentioned it, GE has indeed sold their appliance business to Chinese company Haier. However, GE Appliances continues to operate independently as always, just now as a wholly owned subsidiary of a new corporate parent. Operations have not moved to China. All GE appliance design and manufacturing remains in the Appliance Park facility in Louisville, KY.

That's great to know, Craig!

I have been debating this as well. Love the look of the silver monogram induction...the bosch 800 fridge and dishwasher get better reviews and I love the 800 fridge. Buying all GE Cafe saves money...so keep debating...lol

So much information! I think I am convinced I want a traditional double oven and a Bosch dishwasher. Back to the appliance store on Saturday!

I have a Bosch double oven (side-swing) and Bosch dishwasher. Granted they have been in use for less than a year, but they both have been great. Good luck!

>>Which cooktops have you had? Any advice on refrigerators?

My first was the old 300, which regrettably is no longer made. I loved, loved, loved it. In the new house I went to the 800. It isn’t any better, the top much more sensitive to having something accidentally brush the keypad, and the sounds are much more annoying. But it operates flawlessly and runs blazing fast. I’d buy it again. All refrigerators suck, as best I can tell. Roll the dice on that one.

Nothing stays the same, does it? I remember when Frigidaire was owned by General Motors, Kelvinator was a division of American Motors (Nash and Rambler), and AirTemp (HVAC) was part of Chrysler.

But, then, I remember the moon landing too, so...

Bosch dishwasher for sure. We have the GE cafe range and fridge and they are both 10 years old and we haven't had any issues at all. We've always had GE ranges and fridges over the past 35 years and they are workhorses. Now, I don't know when they were sold so can't comment on that.

One of the reasons that we bought the GE Cafe fridge was because it came in a model that didn't have the water/ice in the door. I wanted a clean look on the appliances.

@MizLizzie - Which Bosch speed oven do you have that you don't like and what do you not like about it? Having to decide between that or a microdrawer soon.

People like their GE Speed Ovens a great deal here. The more powerful version gets better reviews.

Instead of a speed oven many here prefer a Miele steam oven.

Sharp also makes a more simplified and lower priced unit.

I think we have decided on bosch 800 wall ovens and refrigerator (have to settle on handles),flat front, internal water dispenser, have to look more closely at dishwasher options, but a bosch for sure, Benchmark induction cooktop. We have to settle on a hood and microwave/smart oven as well

I am planning Bosch 800 Fridge and Dishwasher w/crystal dry.

Still debating Induction and Double Ovens and Hood.

And 2nd Fridge for pantry. LOL

It's hard to pick.

Trish Walter - so hard to decide! I want the crystal dry as well. 2nd fridge is going in the garage - no walk in pantry for us!

FYI the latest Consumer Reports (March 2020) has a "Product Update" article on dishwashers that's definitely worth a look.

I have the new Cove dishwasher which is of the SubZero/Wolf family and I am in love with it. It is the best cleaning and quietest dishwasher I have ever owned. I would not recommend the Thermador range/oven (I had the 48" oven/steam oven combo installed November 2019) as the noise from the oven fan is the worst I have ever experienced. It is so loud you can't hold a pleasant conversation in the kitchen while it is running. And it will run for 45-50 minutes after shut-down to properly cool the ovens. Many on Houzz are having the same issue - and I've read some on other boards. We are hoping Thermador comes up with s "fix" for this - because as it is, I am loath to run this oven. I had a DCS 36" range with oven and a half before and am kicking myself for not staying with that brand. My new kitchen also got Dacor side-by-side fridge/freezer towers and they are a DREAM - love them! With the solid glass shelves I never lose or forget about anything in there and the door shelves are nice and deep to hold larger items.

How many of you folks decided to buy the extended service plan for your Bosch appliances? Is it worth it or roll the dice?

Our kitchen reno is underway and we are going with all Bosch. Trying to decide if the extended service plan is necessary.

Comes down to your tolerance for risk. Check prices for appliances below to get an idea..

https://www.squaretrade.com/

way back when I had to make a decision because of the cutout sizes I chose GE Cafe. Now I'm pretty limited there are only a few that are <34" cutout. Ugh.

I was changing my mind and looking at Bluestar and others ...can't do it.

I love the SubZero look. But it's >$10k more than the Bosch Fridge. So crazy.

we built our house in 2018. We went with Bosch induction cooktop, wall oven, wall speed oven, and dishwasher. Went with a GE refrigerator. I am real happy with all the appliances especially the cooktop. I haven’t used the speed oven for anything other then a microwave.