"i like the idea of stainless and being able to mix and match appliance brands without them looking drastically different"

If your goal is to use the best appliance of each type (range, dishwasher, microwave, etc.) then this is your only choice. In CR's tests, the a GE Profile induction range performed better than a Cafe and every Bosch dishwasher performed better than the two Cafe dishwashers tested.

Thank you. I keep going back to that. I definitely know whatever color i go with i love that double oven so it’ll be stove in either color- and prob the microwave and it sits on top.

Have of you see a kitchen with a cafe piece that looks well with different appliances in different finishes? I know functionality and reliability should be my concerns, but i do care about the aesthetics also🤦‍♀️

"i love that double oven"

So just get the CHS950P2MS1.

My daughter has a small galley kitchen. She has the duel fuel cafe range with double oven in stainless with the cafe OTR microwave. On that same side of her kitchen she has a Bosch fridge. On the wall across she has a bosch dishwasher. All in stainless. Its looks great. She is very happy with her range and microwave. She got the microwave that can be vented and syncs with her range to turn lights on when the range top is turned on. My BFF got a GE Cafe induction range (single oven), OTR microwave, dishwasher, and fridge all in stainless. She hates her dishwasher. The cycles run at least 3 hours and it does not clean well as baked on residue even if turned upside down on the bottom rack using pots/pan cycle does not come clean. She would not purchase the dw again. She is very happy with her fridge and microwave. She is so so on the range mainly because she used to have double wall ovens with full extension racks and the cafe oven racks are not as nicely finished. I woud go with stainless finish and get the cafe range/microwave and a bosch dishwasher. Your dw and range are not that close to each other. You can then replace your fridge as budget allows.

While I love the Cafe in white, I personally think it looks best in a kitchen with either wood or a contrasting paint on the cabinets, i.e. a soft blue or sage green. The whites never match! And if they did match, to me that would be too much white. I'd go with the stainless.

I have the Cafe in stainless with bronze handles. So far I am very happy with them. I have blue-green cabinets so really could have done any of the colors. The white is really pretty, but honestly I needed a change from white- last house had a very small space for fridge so I was pretty much stuck with a smallish white fridge forever and I was ready for a change from that. I haven’t found the Cafe stainless to be bad with fingerprints at all. DH and i use the handles to open and close doors. Fingerprints usually happen when kiddo is home from college, lol. Definitely don’t feel like I have to spend much time cleaning fingerprints from the stainless though.

@wdccruise that’s what I’m thinking if i don’t go with the white- i just love the aesthetics of the white. I’m thinking logically it makes more sense to go that route. Thank you for the information on the CR dishwasher testing!

@kim G thanks SO much for the information. I do think that is going to be the way to go. I just keep getting hung up on the aesthetics of the white 🤦‍♀️ has your daughter had any issues with the fingerprints on the oven? I do have three kids and don’t want to be cleaning fingerprints constantly.

"i just love the aesthetics of the white"

You could buy the Cafe CHS950P4MW2 white range, a Bosch white dishwasher, a white OTR microwave oven, white refrigerator, etc..

Some LG Studio appliances are available in Essence White but, again, you'd have the potential problem of matching a replacement should one fail.

If you don’t go with the white, which is what you really want, you will think about that, and regret not getting the white Café versions of the appliance every time you look at the
stainless steel appliances that you settled for. It’s your kitchen, so get what you want. Value makes a lot of sense, and yes, Café and GE Profile share quite a lot of parts underneath the skin, varying, mostly in their features. But really, think about how often you get to redo a kitchen and decide how much getting what you truly want is worth to you; and within your budget, of course.

I think the white on Cafe is spectacular so if it fits your needs and budget, go for it.

I would take Consumer Reports appliance testing with a huge grain of salt. They have come under fire several times for fairly biased appliance reviews… e.g. Kenmore badged appliances were ranked much higher than those same products without the Kenmore badge.

Reviewed.com is the USA today review site and is just as reliable and transparent… and free. They basically accomplish the same thing by insulating the reviewers from the business so advertisers can’t put pressure on reviewers.

@aacoonra - No my daughter has not had fingerprint issues with her ovens/range. She is single so no one else much in the kitchen. I have had stainless appliances since 2002. My biggest issues were my fridge and dishwaher. I had two kids in the house at the time. In my current house I paneled my fridge/freezer and dw. My ovens are mainly black glass.

FYI - my daughter loves the two ovens. She has removed her toaster oven from her counter and uses a toaster for toasting. The upper small oven is her main ”go to” oven now.

Saw this on the USA site when looking at wall ovens:

”Editor's Note:

The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.”

It reads as though they are relying primarily on user reviews posted elsewhere. At least for this product.

@S M thank you! Do you happen to have any photos of yours? I’m having a hard time finding many real photos in that combo? I have three kiddos but they aren’t tiny so that’s my concern with the stainless.

@jrb451 - If you click on the specific recommendation it will tell you if it was physically evaluated and how. User reviews shouldn’t be ignored only appropriately weighted for response bias.

No review site is perfect but in my opinion Consumer Reports has some pretty significant issues with their reviews. Their philosophy is that by removing advertising they can avoid all conflicts of interests. The problem being, that a conflict of interest is only one of many biases.

In fact review aggregators are likely better because the sample size is simply better. The range that we removed when we remodeled was highly ranked by Consumer Reports and the oven couldn’t maintain a steady temperature after half a dozen repair calls and the cooktop had poor temperature gradient when using multiple elements. The reality is that there is no testing that is actually going to be great for a long lived product with manufacturing life-cycle changes.

@bry911: "I would take Consumer Reports appliance testing with a huge grain of salt."

No other organization performs consistent performance tests on all appliances.

"Reviewed.com is the USA today review site and is just as reliable and transparent… and free."

Nonsense. Look at the The Best Induction Ranges of 2024 web page. While the webpage shows 11 ranges, @Reviewed tested only four. For the appliances it did test, it listed a few positive and negative attributes; there are no ranges (e.g. excellent / very good / good / fair / poor) of performance. For one range, it wrote that an induction element heated water 13% faster than average but it didn't provide that statistic for other ranges.

@S M thank you!!! Your cabinets are fabulous and that backslash 🤤 the appliances are so pretty and look perfect with them! I actually prefer the fridge in stainless with the ice and water dispenser than the white. Thank you again for sending them!

@HU that is what I’m worried about- regretting it. Such a hard decision for me! I’m trying to be logical but not “settle” also! Thank you for validating me! 😉

glad the visual helped and you’re very welcome!

@wdccruise - “No other organization performs consistent performance tests on all appliances.”

If the tests are flawed then that doesn’t matter. The lack of any quantitative data is problematic for me.

The issues with CR are not new and are well documented critiques. I am not interested in debating them… I advised taking the results with a big grain of salt and will stick by that recommendation.

@bry911: "The issues with CR are not new and are well documented critiques."

Correction: "The issues with CR have been repeated for years and there are never well documented critiques."

"I advised taking the results with a big grain of salt and will stick by that recommendation"

And I'm basing that conclusion on my sample of one range which I owned years ago. Ah, statistics.

@aacoonra , just re read your original question and saw you were asking about cabinet hardware as well. FWIW, I used Amerock Destine pulls in “golden champagne” color

@wdccruise - “I'm basing that conclusion on my sample of one range which I owned years ago.”

What are you on about? I am not basing my opinion on a range that I got rid of last year… I am basing my opinion on well known criticisms of the way Consumer Reports tests certain products. Specifically expensive products with extended life spans such as automobiles and major appliances.

Specifically all of their information about reliability comes from reader polls about similar products. This is why Kenmore did so well when it was sold through Sears. For example, the Kenmore Elite Dishwasher was a recommended buy while the cheaper Whirlpool was not, even though they were the same dishwasher. This was a regular occurance with Kenmore appliances. They have had the same problem with laser printers, televisions, audio gear, etc.

Often when they test things that have industry experts CR’s recommendation are mid tier at best.

So again… it is fine to consider it a data point but you shouldn’t make a major purchase decision based on CR.

@bry911: "I am basing my opinion on well known criticisms of the way Consumer Reports tests certain products."

Ah yes, the old "well known".

"Often when they test things that have industry experts CR’s recommendation are mid tier at best."

Oh, I see why you're angry: CR often finds that mid-priced products perform better than fancy-pants models. It must really tick you off when a consumer discovers that virtually the identical appliance is sold under the multiple brands at vastly different prices, e.g., Bosch, Thermador, Gaggenau.

"it is fine to consider it a data point but you shouldn’t make a major purchase decision based on CR."

Yeah, I'll defer to those "industry experts". Holy smokes! You're not claiming to be one are you?

lol… why do you always get so butthurt when someone disagrees with your appliance recommendation? It happens every time anyone disagrees with you on appliances.

I disagree with your position on the value of CR versus review aggregators. I think one group testing one model is less valuable than metadata. I am not alone in that opinion as it is the backbone of scientific research.

I gave specific examples in order to point out problems which you conveniently ignored for an ad hominem.

I am just not that invested in this conversation. Good luck.

@bry911: "I think one group testing one model is less valuable than metadata. I am not alone in that opinion as it is the backbone of scientific research."

Metadata? What metadata? Where are these "review aggregators"? Where are the data to aggregate? Scientific research? Sources, please. I thought we were supposed to believe "industry experts". What happened to them? What in the world are you talking about? One Kenmore dishwasher from year 19xx, it appears.

Just get over it. I don’t need to convince you nor do I care to try. My goal is to explain to others the problem with CR reviews and long lived products.

I explained why polling their subscribers (and only subscribers) about the longevity and reliability of brands (not the specific product) is problematic for appliances. That is a practice they continue today.

They may be the only organization that tests everything but they are also the only organization that ignores feedback from actual customers.

@bry911: "I don’t need to convince you nor do I care to try."

First you told us that we should take CR's "appliance testing with a huge grain of salt". Then it was the (repeated) Kenmore story which somehow demonstrated "bias". Then you said we should use "review aggregators" but didn't provide any. Next you were mad that CR found mid-tier appliances performed better than expensive ones and we should defer to "industry experts" who knew better. Then it was on to "metadata" and "scientific research". Now you find the CR subscriber brand reliability surveys "problematic" and that it should consider "feedback from actual customers" as if subscribers don't own the appliance brands upon which they're reporting. Sheesh.

Seriously... get a hobby.

@bry911: "Seriously... get a hobby."

Everytime you comment you give me a new one.

UPDATE: I’ve order the whole line of cafe appliances- including the refrigerator. The local dealer I’m purchasing from is recommending a 5 year extended warranty on the fridge and oven- which adds $900 to the price. I’ve read a bunch of things saying extended warranties aren’t really worth it, BUT that being said, this was a big investment and with only a one year manufacturers warranty, i don’t want to be out thousands of dollars if I’ve dies after that. I’ve heard the repairs can be pricey (esp on the compressor) and the peace of mind seems like it would be a good idea to me, but my husband isn’t sure. The dealer we would buy it through does all the servicing and we would directly through them.

What would you recommend as far as the warranty goes???

There is nothing wrong with a sales type warranty from a trusted provider or retailer. For the peace of mind if nothing else. I can't really comment on the price because I am not sure how much you paid for the appliances, but I suspect it is fine.

Sales type warranties are profitable for businesses, but that doesn't mean they are bad investments. Much of the benefit to businesses comes from levering working capital.

We reluctantly bought an LG refrigerator (won't go into the reasons why) to replace a Kichenaide side-by-side that was less than five years old and could not be repaired. I have no confidenance in any refrigerator so for us it was no question that were going to buy the five year warranty. Our warranty provides 50% off on filters and they will give you a percentage refund on the cost of the warranty of you are lucky enough to not have to use it. Since we had to replace the craft ice maker after only nine months, I am sure I will be using the extended warranty.

we decided against the warranty, but you can think about it for awhile. Card has been sending us emails and literature offering us an extended warranty for over a year, lol