Thread: Kitchen Remodel - What Appliances?

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this, mods please move if a better place.

We're beginning to plan a kitchen remodel, the house was built in 1990 and the kitchen shows it. After spending some time with the wife browsing appliance stores I'm up to my ears in data and wondered if anybody recently went through this and can offer some advice. My wife loves to cook so we're looking at the usual suspects for someone with her interests. Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking, Gaggenau, Miele, etc.

I have to ask, do I really need to spend $10k on a fridge? $7k on a steam oven or $1,500 on a sink? I get that some people on L4P might not bat an eyelid at that but I'm not one of them, is there really that much difference in function or is it mostly esthetics and name recognition?

Would love to hear back from anyone with knowledge or recent experience in this so I don't end up spending money that is not warranted.

Peter out.

I think quality goes a long way, and also resale value. A kitchen filled with wolf appliances would certainly catch my eye, if I was a perspective buyer. Warranties and quality are usually on another level with brands like wolf and Viking.

I just purchased a place, and have been filling it with appliances, but sadly my experience won't help you in your situation since those brands just weren't in my range.

-Markus-

I used to work for a company that sold high end appliances. Subzero, Viking and Wolf are very good products. Kitchen Aid has a high line of appliances that are very reliable and won't break the bank as the other ones I mentioned. G.E. also has some good products too.

I have owned several Kitchen Aid products in the past and have nothing but good things to say about them. I recently bought a Bosch dishwasher for around $1600 and have had it go down for three weeks while waiting for parts. When it runs, it is an awesome machine. I would not buy another one again.

check out Liebherr refrigerators, I would take one over a Subzero. Also Bluestar stoves, just like a Viking or Wolf but at half the price. I've used both in houses and have been very happy. The Liebherr fridge is unbelievably quiet and energy efficient.

Make sure the oven uses high grade steel for the ankle shackles. Don't want her getting loose and wandering out of the kitchen. It'll be worth the investment.

If you live in the New York area and need some barstools or a kitchen set let me know. I have a furniture store

I would look at Thermador.

The quick answer to your question is "No" you don't need to spend that much. I am an architect and have designed a kitchen or two in my time. Kitchens are one of the places where homeowners tend to dump a lot of money, basically because it is a good place to show off.

Over the years, I have seen trends change in brands. Ten years ago all my clients wanted Viking, then it seemed to shift to DCS, and now it seems to be focused on Wolf with a growing interest in Aga. Sub-Zero tends to be a mainstay for fridges (I agree with JustinD's take on Liebherr, though) and either Miele, Asko, or Bosch for dishwashers. The thing is, most of these kitchens were designed and built knowing that the homeowners were never going to use them. On the other side, the true cooks that I have worked with, don’t waste their time with any of these brands, and go straight to the French ranges like Lacanche or LaCornue.

When clients don’t have any idea, I tend to stay to the higher-end GE products: the Monogram series. The lines are clean, dishwashers and refrigerators/freezers can be built in, the prices aren’t that astronomical, and they are GE products so most regular repair places can deal with them.

Honestly, any of these companies are going to provide you with a good cooking experience, as when it comes down to it there are only a handful of actual appliance manufacturers, and in the end they all do the same thing. Expensive appliances don't make you a better cook.

Something to keep in mind is that many of the European appliances do cook differently than what you and your wife may be used to, so forget about brands and find the appliances that the two of you like working with, because it doesn't matter if you have a Viking or a Wolf if you hate how it works. The last thing you want to do after the stress of a project is to re-learn how to cook and use appliances.

Thanks for the replies, you've given me some good ideas to look into. I did look at the Miele refrigerator and was very impressed with the layout and the lighting in the thing. I hear a different story about experiences with Bosch depending on who I talk to, all over the place with their stuff. Our current kitchen has an eclectic mix of brands from the US, Japan and Europe, I think the original builder was smoking something when he put it together.

Our kitchen faces the great room and most of the time spent there is spent looking out at family or friends. When we entertain there is a lot of food and drink prep happening on the island and our current range is there so we have decided to keep the action there and not move it to a wall. That said, we do NOT want to add a ceiling mounted hood as the ceilings are high enough it would look like crap...so we need a ventilation system that'll pop up from the island. This limits our selection of products. We're leaning heavily toward an induction cook-top and stacked ovens on one wall.

Like others have said,
Bluestar / Miele / Wolf / Viking / Subzero / Thermador
all these brands in no particular order are pretty well known as good appliance companies.

Been to quite a few open houses around where I live and it looks like most (if not all) new (more upscale houses) have these companies in the kitchen.


Bluestar I heard is a pretty good company. It is restaurant quality kitchen appliances for, IIRC, cheaper than some of these companies like wolf / viking.