Sell me on the best kitchen appliances

[ChristyHC]

OK, we currently have a dishwasher that needs replacing. The thing is I've never loved any of our kitchen appliances so I'm trying to decide if I should just replace the dishwasher or get a full set of appliances.

Our kitchen has medium dark brown cabinets with a white/off white speckled counter. Right now we have a crummy white dishwasher that is falling apart. The fridge is an off white side by side that has a non-working water/ice dispenser in the freezer door (not sure if that is because it is broken or if there isn't water hook up behind it). I hate the narrow freezer on a side by side, and I anticipate wanting a second fridge in the garage or basement soon as my kids get older and this one could be that when we replace it. Our stove is an electric stove and black in color (yes, none of them match right now). I thought I'd want to move to gas, but I've gotten use to cooking on electric and I LOVE how easy it is to clean, so I'm thinking about sticking with electric especially since we don't have a gas hook up option there right now.

So I'm looking at new appliances. I know that stainless steel is the "cool" stuff now, but how is it practically. What are the pros and cons? And if I went with getting all new appliances what would you recommend? Help me out - I'm clueless and when I try to research online I just get overwhelmed.

[marlathrall]

My entire kitchen needs remodeled, but that is so not in the budget right now. My oven actually broke like ten days ago and we have a new one on order. I went with stainless steel since I eventually want all stainless.

I ordered this oven: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Maytag-6-...5#.Us9pTBZeIZM

I too wanted to switch to gas, but that was going to be a huge hassle and we needed a new one right away. Instead, I stuck with electric and it has a double oven. I'm super excited about that. Oh and it's convection which is supposed to be really nice to cook with too.

[misfitinmn]

Okay, my apologies for the wide angle distortion here, but I LOVE our refrigerator. It was a huge investment but the best one ever!! My husband actually splurged on it and surprised me with it because we both hated our other one so much, and I couldn't be happier. Our refrigerator is a Samsung, our stove & dishwasher are Frigidaire I think. I'll have to double check when I go upstairs. Anyway, we have stainless and it does collect finger prints a bit but...it doesn't bother me and it's pretty easy to clean when the desire strikes (or when we have company coming!).
We have medium/darkish cabinets and light-ish counters, too. Here's the pic (the distorted one!) for reference:


(someday....SOMEDAY we will have a tile backsplash. I can't wait!!)

[MamaBee]

A few years ago, our dishwasher stopped working and replaced it with a kitchen aid, stainless steel... inside and out. I hate cleaning it... I don't know if it's the steam of the dishwasher, or what, but there are these lines that appear all the time and now the sides have these brown spots on it... our friends has SS dishwasher and don't have the problems, so I think it's just ours...

We just replaced the rest of the appliances (fridge, stove - went to gas, and microwave) last month. Since with my experience of SS dishwasher, I really started to hate the look of it... and I didn't want white... so that left black. I knew going in that it will show every dust, finger print, and grease spot. These are Whirlpool Ice...we love the SS handles - otherwise, it was just too blah - Also beware that everything has a flat finish... and with the black, it shows scratches... kiddo managed to scratch the front of the fridge within the 2 hours of it being delivered...

So far, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these appliances... LOVE having the fridge on top and freezer on the bottom... and with the stove... it has been 20 years since I cooked with gas... so it's a refresher course.

We have medium maple colored cabinets and lighter counter tops...



sorry for the blurry photo...

[maryinaz]

We have oak cabinets that we are staining dark next weekend, and creamy white Corian countertops with white appliances. We also need a new dishwasher and refrigerator. But I'll be sticking with white. I like the look of it the best and I read they are coming back in style. See... I knew if I waited long enough I'd be back in style! LOL

Oh and we've had a gas range for 20 years. LOVE it. I grew up with gas stove/ovens and when I had to use electric in my prior residences, I hated it. So when we built this house, the gas range was a must.

Good luck - how fun to get all new ones!

[ChristyHC]

Thanks for all the pictures ladies - I really have trouble seeing things in my head so they really help.

Originally Posted by maryinaz

We have oak cabinets that we are staining dark next weekend, and creamy white Corian countertops with white appliances. We also need a new dishwasher and refrigerator. But I'll be sticking with white. I like the look of it the best and I read they are coming back in style. See... I knew if I waited long enough I'd be back in style! LOL

Ooh, I'd be happy if white came back in style. I think I like the look of white the best, especially since I feel like our kitchen is pretty dark.

[Stacey42]

I prefer white appliances. Dh and I joke we'd drive people on home improvement shows nuts because we'd insist on no stainless. we used our tax refund last year to get a new fridge like mama bee's only without the ice/water dispense. We got it at Sears and with the sale they were having plus the Sears bucks earned on the fridge we were able to get a new stove too. Smooth surface with five burners, two adjustable size. Electric. The house has no gas. Whirlpool with 10 free service warranty. We have medium tone oak cabinets and grey/blue slate counters with dark wood edging.