Hey, rednecksmama, we should be comparing notes! I also have a small galley kitchen and a relatively low budget. Agonized over appliance selection for some time, but finally pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered everything. (Yay! One more thing crossed off the list!) For a 30" bottom freezer fridge, I was *going* to go with the GE Profile - it seemed the nicest quality. To cut a few hundred dollars, the Maytag seemed good also. If you have 31" and want counter-depth, Fisher & Paykel make a beauty for about the same price as the GE Profile. (I didn't have the extra inch!) When it came down to it, though, I went for the Frigidaire Professional top freezer. I'm used to a top freezer, was afraid the bottom freezer drawer would seem too clunky, plus the Frigidaire was half the price of the GE Profile (and is still quite a nice refrigerator!). I bought a gas range, so can't help you with electric, but brand-wise I decided on GE over Frigidaire. The Frigidaire I was considering would have given me a lot more features for the money (convection, 5th burner), but that actually worried me that they would have cut on quality to shove all that extra stuff in. (And the cheaper Frigidaire range without the fancy features didn't have SS handles, which was a deal-breaker for me. ;-)) I also got a fairly simple GE OTR microwave to go with the GE stove. Heard not-great things about Frigidaire microwave noisiness and reliability. If I'd had room for a 24" dishwasher, I was going to go with KitchenAid. Seems to be great quality and features, only a little bit of a splurge. The Sears web site is great for looking at user reviews of appliances, btw. They have a good comparison engine, too. I had decided not to consider Kenmore appliances since I've heard complaints about Sears' repair dept. I think your budget is perfectly reasonable.

I've mentioned this a million times, but if you want a 36" all-gas or dual fuel range, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a Fratelli Onofri. Look at all the positive reviews on AJ Madison. The link below is for the dual-fuel, and here's the link for the all-gas: http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/FRPN365.html But from your reference to Boxing Day and the fact your prices are in dollars, I'm thinking you're in Canada, right? If that's the case it might be a good idea to mention it, since some brands available in the US may not be available there, and also because the exchange rate would help put your prices in perspective. Here is a link that might be useful: AJ Madison 36-inch Fratelli w great reviews

there isn’t one type of burner that is the best. I mention the BS star burners because many do not know about it. It isn’t for everybody. Some people nix it just on the cleaning or industrial look. :-)) It isn’t the idea of my preference for one or the other but how your individual cooking needs fit what you are buying for your kitchen. There is a lot of marketing hype. I have the Wolf dual stacked burners and they work well for me. The simmer is great on all of the burners. I believe the Monogram has the dual stacked burners now as well. The Wolf being a capped burner has more flare on high heat but that works well because I use high heat on wide frying pans. I have heavy aluminum and copper pans which also distribute heat well on the single ring burner. Some people want the high BTUs and heat distribution from the BS star burner. I asked about your cookware because if you like cast iron or steel or even some stainless, the star distribution makes up for poor heat conduction of those metals. For high heat cooking, it keeps the heat in the footprint of the burners. It is not the same as Thermador‘s star which is a capped burner. BS star, top That star flares out as you turn up the heat. If you are interested in a combination steam oven, it acts like convection oven but it controls the humidity. I would read the Gaggenau manual to see how the oven works. It goes into detail. I don’t have one because I need my two full sized ovens and I can add humidity myself to whatever I need to. Food itself adds a lot of humidity. The Gaggenau manual explains all of this. I think there was someone talking about taking a long time to get parts with Miele and Gaggenau might be that way but ask wherever you are buying it. I think I would like the biggest CSO I could get. Gaggenau has a new model and I would consider Miele. I like my Bosch DW. I would try to get one with actual buttons. The one I just bought has touch pads and is finicky with wet hand and requires more touches than the one I had with buttons. They make both. I got mine because it has a 30 min and 60 min cycle available.

I am building a new home and am struggling with what appliance brands to go with. I don’t mind paying for “premium” products if the quality/durability/ performance is better. I would like to choose the “best” brand for each item rather than all one brand. I would say I am an average cook, but enjoy nice things. What brands would you choose and what would you avoid? Would you include a steam oven? Induction or gas cooktop? In addition to all kitchen appliances, I will also need a washer/dryer. Thanks!