I'm not familiar enough with the grades of appliances you're after to offer suggestions, but you might try one of the online appliance dealers to get ideas about what is available.

You can then go to a local appliance dealer armed with a little information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Universal Appliance

If you like your current microwave and it isn't a giant, you can have a shelf built for it and just stick it under a stubby cabinet so that the total length is even with the other cabinets.

I'm not picky when it comes to laundry equipment because most is fine if it has enough capacity. I think all dryers will have the low heat option. The laundry forum might help with particulars.

Cheaper dishwashers tend to be noisier but wash just as well. If the bedrooms and/or family room are far enough from the kitchen, who cares about the noise? If you don't remodel BEFORE moving in, try the current DW (if there is one) and see if the noise bugs you. Actually, it's a good idea to live in the kitchen a few months while planning it anyway--that'll also help you decide if you want bigger or fancier appliances or if the old ones are more than you need or if you just want to keep the existing appliances after the remodel and replace them later.

Cavu has a great suggestion. It's much easier to do your online comparisons at a store like that than any other way!

Cavu,

thanks for the suggestion. I just went to look at that site. OMG, I don't know what I am looking for. When I selelct ranges I get a list by brand. I don't know what brand does what. I did figure out that Viking and Wolf in not in my price range (like I did not know that before).

This is just so overwelming

Welcome to this forum, Skepka.
I am sure you can get some good information here about appliances. I don't know much about refrigerators and ranges, since we are not going to replace ours anytime soon.
We will buy a new dishwasher this fall and we are looking at one of the Bosch Evolution DWs for approx. $600. There are some cheaper DWs out there, it all depends on what features are important to you. We want a fairly quiet and very energy/water efficient DW with a good build quality.

Regarding washers and dryers, you could look at the laundry forum. A FL is a very good choice, but make sure you get one with an internal heater. I understand you are on a budget, but the heater is something that is worth the extra money. You may not need a matching dryer and could save some money there. Most dryers will be able to dry clothes on various temperature settings. Make sure your laundry area is big enough for large capacity FLs, they are pretty deep. I think something like a Whirlpool Duet HT or Bosch Nexxt would be a good choice. But like I said, you can learn a lot more about washers on the laundry forum.
Good luck with your research!

Hi Skepka - welcome.
I understand where you are coming from. It can be overwhelming. I've been here a couple of years & my advice is - keep reading! The appliance forum, the laundry forum & the kitchen forum. Lots of nice people & good advice from people who have been there done that & have no financial interest in selling you brand A over brand B. Go to manufacturers web sites (i.e. Whirlpool.com, Maytag.com etc.) If you haven't bought your new house yet all the better - you can keep this info in mind while you are looking!

A few comments regarding your list:
Fridge: We're also going with french door, but no water or ice on door. Instead we're doing under sink filter with fill spout over sink. Can fill pitchers etc. much easier. You can get them with cold and/or hot water but we're sticking with just a room temp one. We generally drink water that way & can add a couple of ice cubes if we want colder. As for ice capacity, you can get a separate ice maker but they are pricey & require their own plumbing.

Stove: OK, I won't be much help here since my range is my big splurge. I'm going with all gas instead of dual fuel. I bake bread & cookies, but not a lot of delicate/fancy cakes & pastries. There are some very nice looking ranges out there in stainless steel. Sort of a pro-look without the cost.

Vent: Had recirculating in last house. Never again. Only thing it was good for was removing steam from immediate cooking area. You could walk into our kitchen in the morning & smell what we'd had for dinner the night before. Grease accumulated on the walls & cabinets near the stove & were a pain to keep clean.

DW: There seem to be a lot of good choices out there. Quieter machines & those with more cycles cost more. Some people have had problems with european design machines (they don't have a heated dry cycle) & dishes coming out wet. Others have no problem at all. Check out rack configuration - its hard to do online. For some reason the web sites don't have very good pictures of interiors. Many here have suggested bringing a few dishes with you when you make your final decision. It sounded strange to me at first but after moving last year I found I get many fewer dishes in this dw than the last. I'll be bringing a few with me when we choose.

Microwave: there are some that are meant to be hung under an upper cabinet. We're doing a microwave shelf as part of a cabinet. Decided against built in as then would be more limited by size when mw needs to be replaced.

Washer/dryer: Read the laundry forum. Folks over there know so much about laundry its mind-boggling. FWIW I've got choices down to Duet or Bosch.

Good luck & have fun!

You might want to poke around this forum to see if there's still a thread named "Where are all the Average Joes?" (or something pretty close to that). It's a bunch of people discussing appliances that generally don't cost four figures. :-)

I suggest you look at Consumer Reports. They have a website, and you have to pay to subscribe to the website, but I think they have a 30-day deal for maybe $5 or so.

The site has lots of info on the low- to mid-range brands of everything you are looking for, although it is not especially helpful for folks wanting the high-end brands (no mention of Blue Star, etc., and a healthy dose of skepticism regarding what CR considers to be the 'hype'). For you, CR may be just the ticket, although it definitely isn't perfect.

I also suggest you look for ding and dent bargains and floor models, as long as they come with a full warranty. I am in the Chicagoland area, and Sears has a couple of appliance outlets where some decent buys can be had. I always buy my washers/dryers at such places, and I bought a big fridge there once as well.

As for me, I am planning to get a 36" induction cooktop (never thought I would switch from gas!) and a separate electric oven (speaking of bargains -- I got a Wolf electric convection--not at Sears--with a couple of dings on it for $900 -- its a $4000 oven!). I mention this because the separate cooktop and oven may be an option for you -- I wanted a high-performance cooktop but figured I would scrimp on the oven, which turned out not to be necessary! You can install the oven right under a cooktop if space is an issue.

My last suggestion is that you put more emphasis, budget-wise, on getting a good stove/range or cooktop/oven, and scrimp if necessary on the DW and fridge. Arguably, a DW is a DW, pretty much, but it won't be easy finding a cheap stove that can power a decent stir-fry.

Good Luck!

Check out scrath n dent and clearance and/or outlet centers. I too was on a budget when replacing my appliances. My cooking style sounds similar to yours except when I stiry fry its more of an American Stirfry I suppose.

For me a dishwasher was the most important as I use it daily and wanted a very quiet, well cleaning machine. I knew I wanted a hard food disposer, delay start, very quiet. I wanted a large capacity and three spray arms. I narrowed it down to Bosch, KA and LG. Bosch doesn't have a disposer and KA didn't have the upper spray arm AND my dishes didn't load well. So I bought a $735 LG with hidden controls. I really like it! Much better than the $600 6 yo Maytag it replaced.

For the fridge I needed a SxS counterdepth SS. With ice and water. Other than that just wanted it to work well and last. I found a KA Architect on clearance 50% off. Score. Got it for approx. $1400.

For the stove, I wanted a slide in, and needed all electric. With a smoothtop and kinda wanted convection. Again, found a 50% off stove. The Bosch Integra for approx $1200. It sounds like you want gas so I will leave it up to others to reco a gas stove with electric oven.

For the micro I went with a microhood and chose the LG again. I found one with the highest wattage that allowed recirculating and exterior venting. Got it for 30% off. It came ot approx $250...so much better than the 6 yo whirlpool it replaced.

For the washer my sister has the Whirlpool front loader and really loves it. I havent had a chance to compare washers, but again check out the clearance areas.

Your budget. I understand that you don't know what you are going to buy yet, but you mentioned that you are on a tight budget...do you know what your maximum amount for a kitchen will be? This is a number that is good to know before you start to look at all of the appliances or anything else. This is also a number that can be adjusted up or down as the process continues but you need a starting point.

Does this maximum budget amount include kitchen cabinets, flooring, lighting? You mentioned a vented hood..are you prepared to pay to have this vented to the outside if the current hood is not?

There will be trade offs. If you want cabinets XXX, and flooring YYY what is left to spend on appliances?

If you want appliance XXX what is left to spend on Cabinets, flooring....so on.

You mentioned a washer and dryer. Are these going to be in the kitchen or are they in a separate area. Can you live without them until you get your kitchen completed?

So do you know what your maximum budget amount is and are now looking for appliances? Or are you looking at appliances to try to figure out what your maximum budget amount is? Somehow I am not sure that latter method works out too well unless you have the ability to increase your budget amount easily.

Anyway I think folks on this forum will be a great resource for you. Many of us have been through the remodel, tight budget madness. As others have mentioned also check out the laundry and kitchen forums.

When I read Consumer Reports rating, over and over again the Kenmore & GE products come up as very highly rated. Sears is also very smart and has worked on styling.

I went high end with my appliances in our house and while I love my oven & DW, I must say the trouble we've had hasn't been worth it in many respects. There was Kenmore and GE in the house when we bought it and when our power failed recently, I had a $900 repair on the Viking refridgerator and the old GE side by side in the garage, which had been in the house, was thre, doing fine and we moved all the food into it.

A friend of mine has the LG French door fridge and loves it.

Check the Kenmore DW and the Bosch -- see what the insides look like and the noise ratings, then compare prices.

I like a gas range. I'm sure Kenmore makes a good basic one and I know GE does as well. My husband's nephew has a Bosch and likes it a lot. It's a very pretty range.

With all the posts on this forum over the past few years, I've rarely heard complaints about Kenmore and GE.

Congrats on your house! Don't fret over the appliances. You can do that next time.

Forgot to add, my sister just bought the Frigidaire front loaders and likes them a lot. Someone else I know has the Bosch and likes those as well.

OMG, I go away for a few days and come back to all this great advise.

Thanks everyone.

I will need to sort through all of it and start figuring out what my budget will be. Looks like that should be the starting point.

Thanks everyone.

I am sure you will hear from me again in the near future