My suggestion is NOT select the same brand for everything. I currently have a KitchenAid induction range and I won't be slecting another Whirlpool product for cooking. It will be something from the GE stable of brands. GE dishwashers are not rated as well as KitchnAid which isn't rated as high as Bosch, which I have. I"m needing to replace my 17 y/o bottom freezer fridge. (Kenmore Elite made by LG). I"m giong to go with either a WP, KitchenAid, or GE French Door evebntually. Insinkerator Evolution garbage disposer. Vent-A-Hood.

What matters most to you about your appliances? How well they cook, how good they look, what special features they have, name brand?

My $100 Oster toaster oven and my $100 Toshiba microwave handle a lot of the cooking in my house. I have an old electric cooktop that I use for the rest. I rarely ever use my full-size oven.

We can all live with bare bones basic appliances. But we don't have to and for various personal reasons we don't. So you need to figure out what matters the most to you.

You say that you don't want high-end but you don't want bargain basement either. You say that you prefer to have your house simply furnished. Yet, you say that you like Monogram. Why do you like Monogram? Because it is the top of the line GE brand or because of its looks or features? Embrace what matters to you. When you figure out what is your driving force, I think you will be able to eliminate much of the playing field pretty easy.

I'm beginning a kitchen remodel and I am going with high-end appliances with cool features that I like. Is that dumb? From a cost standpoint, absolutely. I could easily get along with my $100 Toshiba microwave that I love because I can turn the ring sound off rather than an over-priced Gaggenau combi-microwave. But I want to build a cool showpiece kitchen with no handles, a dishwasher that opens when you knock twice on it, and an induction cooktop with no "burner" lines.

I must have opened and "rattled" the insider drawers of a hundred refrigerators because I can't stand refrigerators with thin, cheap plastic drawers. Does that feature impact the refrigerator's cooling ability or expected years of service? No, but it was what mattered to me.

Of course I have certain expectations of service life, performance, and warranty. But the world has changed since I was born and things are not built to last like they did sadly.

For our recent remodel, we sprang for a Subzero fridge but have mid-range for other things--GE Cafe range, Bosch DW, Panasonic microwave. I definitely agree with the advice to not use one brand for everything. We had a KitchenAid fridge that started having problems a year in; different brands are strong in different appliances. We had a Whirlpool wall oven/microwave and dishwasher in our old kitchen that were close to 30 years old and still going strong. In your kitchen, what would you like to be the star of the space? A cool range or hood? Beautiful countertops? The design might influence your appliance choices.

We remodeled our kitchen 11 years ago and every major appliance is a different brand, chosen for what we considered best in category at that time. We since then had to replace the by-then 17 y/o refrigerator four years ago. Replaced it with a Whirlpool since it fit our floorplan. I would suggest you avoid Whirlpool. This Whirlpool fridge is four years old and the water dispenser now randomly drips. Local honest reputable appliance repair folks quoted us $600 for parts and labor to fix the darned thing, on top of the $150 trip charge. Hubby and I are not happy campers. We paid the trip charge, put a cup under the dispenser, and called it a day.

induction range/cooktop . All the advantage of gas but so easy to clean .

MW drawer is better than an over the range MW . If that is too expensive then fit a small MW into a shelf in the cabnetry .

gert a real exhaust hood over the cooktop - which is wht you should avaoid an OTR MW

Fridgedaire is really a builders level appliance. Bosch would be a good mid level choice .