Software
Houzz Logo Print
krisbry

Preliminary Appliance Decisions...

9 years ago

We're in the design phase of a new house and are trying to make initial appliance choices for our contractor to use in his estimate and our architect and kitchen designer to use in more detailed kitchen planning. In a couple of categories we have first choices (if they work in the budget) and second choices (if we need a less expensive option). Do these choices make sense? Are there others we should consider, or places we should consider upgrading/downgrading, budget-wise? Thanks for any info you can share, appliance gurus!

Induction Cooktop: 36" Bosch Benchmark

Double Wall Oven: 1st choice - Miele convection oven and Miele plumbed steam oven; 2nd choice - Bosch Benchmark Double Wall Oven (standard doors)

Dishwasher: 1st choice - Miele G 6625 SCU AM ; 2nd Choice Bosch (not sure which model)

Refrigerator/Freezer: Frigidaire Professional 30" Freezer and 30" Refrigerator

Microwave: TBD by best location

Vent Hood: TBD - I know next to nothing about this area yet

Comments (7)

  • 9 years ago

    All of these are good machines, but unless you tell us use cases it's hard to say whether they are the best fit for you. If you could definitely cook pretty much whatever you wanted with that setup, but depending on what you often cook advice could change.

    For example if you make pancakes or use a grill pan a lot, consider a range top that has a grill griddle.

    re: hood, get something at least 6" wider than the cooktop/range underneath. I'd say get 1200 cfm if you can. MAKE SURE YOUR CONTRACTOR DESIGNS THE VENTING/HVAC TO HANDLE THAT DRAW. Exterior walls are best for it as it's the easiest most efficient path out.

  • 9 years ago

    We’re a family of three (myself, my husband, and our five-year-old daughter) and we have people over for dinner about once a week. We cook dinner at home about five nights a week. I bake a fair amount (muffins, quick breads, pizza, some yeast breads). We currently have thoroughly mediocre GE appliances that were in the house when we bought it. The electric stove can be frustrating, however, and the oven cooks unevenly.

    We actually do make pancakes :-) and currently use an electric stand-alone griddle, as our electric stove isn’t good for griddle things.

    I love the idea of a range top, but we’re committed to induction, and my understanding was there were no induction range tops.

    We want the large size fridge and freezer, as we keep a fair amount of fresh produce and I tend to stock the freezer with muffins, soup, lasagna, etc. for quick meals. Right now we have a garage freezer but the garage will be far from the kitchen in this house (with no way of avoiding that). That said, I don’t think we’re willing to invest sub-zero money in those at this point.

  • 9 years ago

    Oh, and vent hoods. My daughter and I are both noise sensitive, so we both hate our current one (which is loud) a lot. I’d love recommendations for quieter vent hoods. Unfortunately, it most likely won’t be able to be on an exterior wall, but could likely go straight up, or turn once and go straight out.

  • 9 years ago

    This is really helpful, thank you. I honestly never even considered a range instead of a cooktop. I grew up with cooktop/double wall oven, and that's what I've had (through total chance) in all of my homes (well, except my first apartment, I think, but I've kind of blocked out that kitchen since the appliances were so awful). It just feels like a range would be inconvenient, as you can't open the oven door while someone else is at the stove, right? And doesn't it get hot on the legs if you're working at the stove. These may be really silly concerns, but they're what pop to mind initially. It's not at all uncommon for one adult to be cooking at the stove while the other is dealing with things in the oven in our house.

  • 9 years ago

    This is where your use case will help you dial in on what's right for your situation. I've never had an issue with my legs being over heated due to the oven on. They have good insulation. If you notice an area where heat is streaming out that's bad. It either means the door is cracked open somehow or the sealing is busted (there will be an exhaust vent somewhere the same as a wall oven.

    If someone is going into the oven every few minutes that would be a challenge for someone standing at the range. We don't really have that problem as it's typically longer back stuff in the oven and we're keeping the door closed. You'll also have the wall oven as a primary to avoid that issue (and the combi would be wall right)? For me the height of the range oven doesn't feel too different than the lower wall oven, if the lower wall oven starts to high I feel like it's not comfortable to reach the higher over. Personally I also feel like I have more control of myself and the food coming into and out of the ovens if I'm working waist height and lower because you're using your legs to lift mostly with some arm support. If you have a showroom where they'll let you open and close and fiddle with things I'd go and play (I mean research) to get a feel for what works best for you're family and lifestyle.

    I went with range and single wall oven with microwave cut out just above. This let me have one gas oven (with the range) and an electric oven (Bosch) that I had installed into the kitchen at the height I preferred. Also, depending on your kitchen layout, I had my island in the old house about 36 increase behind (facing the range) the range. I liked that made getting things out (heavy or light) was just a lift and pivot to place on the island. (Our new house doesn't have this setup and I miss it).

    As you know any of these choices will be at least okay, but take the time you can to figure out what you think works best for you and go with that. If you can go to friends/neighbors/relatives/showrooms with diff configs.

  • 9 years ago

    Conveniently one of the threads near top is about Miele and Bosch induction ranges.