Kitchen appliance recs for upcoming reno

last year

Hi Houzz community -

Do you love your kitchen appliances? Did you do a ton of research and have tips to share? We're planning a kitchen update and need a dishwasher, 30 or 36" induction cooktop with knobs, a counter depth fridge ideally with a bottom freezer that has two side by side doors vs one large pullout and one wall oven. It's not necessary that they all be the same brand, more that each unit is reliable and functions well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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Renov8or

last year

last modified: last year

I renovated our kitchen in 2018 and chose a counter-depth refrigerator that I love. It's a Liebherr HC2080, paneled and integrated to look just like the pantries. There is a model available with bottom freezer and upper french doors, but ours has a single door. Things to think about: I have to remove the toe kick/grill about every three months or so to vacuum or the fan light comes on. Any time we have to turn off water in the kitchen we end up having to replace the fridge filter ($100) because it gets waterlogged when we switch the water back on. I've figured out a work around for this, though, which is to turn off the ice maker first before shutting off the water. The ice maker is very reliable and I like the shape of the cubes. No major problems so far (knock wood). It's very quiet, super easy to clean, and the fridge part is roomy inside for a counter-depth. The freezer part (two drawers) could be bigger for my needs. I'm a weekend batch cooker who freezes a lot. So I had extra freezer drawers installed in my sink run.

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Comments (6)

chicagoans
last year
I subscribed to Consumer Reports when I started my remodel. The subscription is inexpensive, but TBH I take every piece of advice with a big grain of salt because it seems like info is conflicting from one source to another. I also read reviews on other places like this.

My choices and budget were what I consider mid range (e.g. not Sub Zero fridge or Wolf range and certainly not something like a La Cornue.)

My refrigerator and DW are paneled. I have a Miele G7000 DW and love it - cleans like a dream and super quiet. My refrigerator is a Bosch Benchmark, and I like it very much. Range is a 36" Bosch slide in dual fuel - so not relevant to you if you're looking at induction. MW is a Bosch 800 MW/Speed Oven. Works great but I've only used the Speed Oven feature a few times. Note: I've been in my house since late October, so I only have 6 months with these appliances.

In my old house I had a Sharp drawer MW and liked it very much.

In case it helps, I have found that Abt.com and AJ Madison can be handy for comparing features from one model to the next.
laurashear thanked chicagoans
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wdccruise
last year
last modified: last year
Consumer Reports ($10/month digital) has ratings and reliability projections for all those appliances. Follow up with pricing and owners' reviews -- remember that they're not unbiased -- on sites such as Home Depot, Best Buy, and Lowes.
laurashear thanked wdccruise
dan1888
last year
If you switch to a 36" slide-in range Bosch industrial, and Electrolux are good quality models with knobs. You can get a Miele CSO as your wall unit.
H202
last year
You didn't say budget, but we're about to pull the trigger on a kitchen and here's where I am leaning:

- Bosch or Miele DW, indifferent to which model, but will probably choose one of their mid or slightly above mid-range options. I don't want the cheapest, nor the most expensive.

- Bosch 36" induction cooktop. You said you want knobs, so this one probably isn't for you. I'm picking Bosch because we've had their induction cooktops before and they're very good. I was at my mom's this weekend, and she has an LG induction range with knobs, and it was very pleasant to use.

- Probably going to get the Bosch 36" regular counter depth fridge (not Benchmark) . I was open to a built in fridge, but we are tight on space in the kitchen and didn't want to lose the 10 inches above the fridge that happens with all the built in brands. Our other requirement was no icemaker in the door, since those always break and honestly look cheap. That really limited our options, and Bosch looks the most high end of those.

- Wall oven: I'm torn on this one. This is the appliance where I think it matters least. I've had higher end wall ovens, and the often under perform the cheaper brands. Temp issues, long preheats, etc. You just want the oven to have a reliable temp and get hot fast. Currently leaning towards Fridgidaire professional, but not decided. I am actively trying to avoid anything with lots of digitial screens because (a) today's screens are going to look ancient in five years, (b) screens break quickly and (c) gimmicks and gizmos break quickly. I don't care about smart cooking and wifi.
laurashear
Original Author
last year
Thanks H202 - We put a Whirlpool Gold Series in about 10 years ago and it's been great. Not sure what it's like in its current iteration in terms of gimmicks but it's been solid.