Not sure about the "Consistency" of my good friends advice here. First He recommends the SZ, by now most folks know about the copper problems(2004-2007) that contributed to their bottom ranking by Consumer Reports--even one of their marketing guys admitted that. He or another SZ type also said that another reason for the low rating was they had a 2 year warranty, instead of a one year. Now I don't know bout you, but I don't get a "warm fuzzy feeling" knowing that enough SZ's needed warranty work in the 2nd year to contribute to their low reliability ratings. We haven't seen these types of posts recently regarding SZ problems--so--I guess we can assume you feel they corrected the problem/problems and hence you recommend. Take a look at recent posts about Elux Fridges (within the last year or so), most are now positive---so why not "Forgive and forget" like you do with the SZ. I, in fact, had recommended not buying Elux Refrigerators, due to the earlier posts, (alto I'm very happy with my other Elux appliances)----Now I am keeping an open mind, due to some of the imformative posts by the Ladies above! We can learn a lot from these Ladies (Above), if we keep an "Open Mind" Cheers! Gary

Had a minor issue with the drain in the back of the fridge. Contacted customer service and they were responsive and very helpful. I think customer service is on Mountain time so I was able to reach them after work on the East Coast. The problem was resolved in about 5minutes. Discovered a blueberry had rolled into the drain. Poured bleach down the hole and it was resolved. I actually love the ice maker. It's makes small ice cubes which I actually prefer because most of my glasses are tall and thin. The only issue I have had with the ice maker is that when you aggresively scoop ice out of the drawer, ice can come out of the side and prevent the drawer from being pushed back completely. This prevents the contact switch from activating for more ice to be made. Just watch out for this and it should not be a problem. One other thing I wanted to note is that I have always hooked my ice maker up to an Everpure filter. I have not had any issue with scale build up or any of the general ice maker complaints. One of the comments I see on the board all the time is how flimsy the Liebherr plastic drawers look like. This is one area where I think people judge a book by its cover. They are lighter and sleeker than conventional drawers but they are very sturdy. I have dropped them many items when cleaning them without damage. Good luck!

Bluestar is one of the most expensive gas ranges available. Although it is a very nice unit I don't really know what you have budgeted. (Not sure of pricing on their cooktop) Ventilation is important if you use gas. Lots of people have a 30" ranges with just microwave fans over the top and they have been fine. So you do need something but it doesn't have to be a ton of money! Or a huge vent hood unless you have some serious heat! There are so many choices out there today if you want a cooktop in the island. My friend has a 36" Jenn air down-draft cooktop and loves it. It has great power and is easy to clean. I believe Kitchenaid now has one identical to the Jenn-air for less cost and it also comes in a 30". Kitchen aid 30" Only issue with a down draft is how it is vented. They do suggest several options but you should look at the manual. Or if you are getting a vent hood just get a GE Cafe gas cooktop. They have really great reviews and aren't as pricey as the PRO cooktops. I do agree with others that you should have the cooktop protected so that it is safe. You do need substantial countertop behind it or a tiered island like in the photo below. Of course you don't need the seating behind it. Just a protective barrier ;) I debated a cooktop in the island but I decided that I wanted some seriously powerful burners (Went with the GE Cafe 36" range) so I needed really good ventilation. I called GE and they said even with LP conversion you don't lose BTU's the way the burners are made. All six are 15,000. Even though my layout isn't perfect I wanted an uninterrupted island and my range on a wall so it can be vented easily. Best of luck and Happy New Year!

To add to Anne’s comment, why are you considering a Liebherr in the first place? Both Maytag and KitchenAid do have similarly priced “counter depth” fridges but they are 30” deep rather than 24” deep. The Liebherr is also pretty bare bones despite the price, if you need a water dispenser or ice maker you’ll need to look elsewhere. Personally I have the 72” tall version of this Liebherr and love it but we also had a hard requirement on the fridge actually being true counter depth at 24 inches rather than the the common “counter depth” of 30 inches and it being no more than 34 inches wide. We have no interest in water dispensers or ice makers so that was a non-issue for us. We are moving soon to a house with a bigger kitchen space that we will be remodeling and we are planning to get another counter depth Liebherr in the 84” height model or the 36” wide French door model because we like our current fridge so much. With regards to the brand itself, I’ve heard servicing can be difficult but we’ve not needed any work done in the 5 years we’ve had the fridge so I cannot speak to that aspect. It’s very quiet unless the freezer gets out of wack by overfilling it with warm food; emptying the freezer for 24 hours solves the problem.