Goodbye KA - Where to go from here?

12 years ago

I am following advice and starting a new thread (so sorry for the re-post). I could really use some advice from the GW experts before I make some serious appliance errors. Here's the backround:

Until yesterday, I had been looking at the following (all KA):

30" double ovens with convection

36" six burner range top

36" wall mounted vent hood

30" warming drawer

2.0 cf built in microwave oven

side by side 24.5 cf counter-depth fridge

undercounter bar fridge with front ventilation

KUDE70 dishwasher

Also, an Avanti dual zone 149-bottle wine fridge

We are a family of four, and I work part time (which really takes away from my kitchen research). I love to cook and especially to bake, but am not a chef. We live in a 1960's ranch style house. We usually host the big holidays at our house. This is a complete gut and expansion of our kitchen into our existing dining room. It will measure approximately 12 by 32 (plus an additional 12 by 10 breakfast area). The kitchen will be transitional - modern farm kitchen with a little bit of everything else.

I prefer a range top and double oven to a range. Strangely, I have an aversion to built-in fridges. I want really good appliances at a really good value, if possible. They don't need to be the best money can buy. Not Wal-Mart, and not Saks. I would like the Nordstrom of appliances (did I really just type that?). I will be using these appliances for the long run (this is the long run house), so reliability is a must.

I love the look of the KA appliances, but quality seems to be an issue. From the research that I've done, Electrolux may be a good option for oven and range top. Bosch seems to have fans and is probably within my range (ha). Dacor is also promising. I think Wolf is a stretch for my budget, but I am open to considering it if the money is better spent here than on, say, food.

I'll probably stick with the KA fridges and DW, unless anyone strongly disagrees. :)

I appreciate any advice you can provide!

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Comments (8)

clarygrace
12 years ago
Good to see you have reposted!

I'll chime in for the ovens -- have you explored the Electrolux and Electrolux Icon double ovens? They are quite nice and many here like them for the quality and bang for the buck. Dodge59 will certainly chime in and higly recommend them, and for good reason.
They were my choice until I found the deal on the gaggenau's. Check out the link below!

Here is a link that might be useful: electrolux ovens
marcolo
12 years ago
Has KA addressed the unexplained, unacknowledged habit of burning down houses with their dishwashers?
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mommyatlaw
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, clarygrace! Did you prefer the Icon over the non-Icon? How about the Electrolux for range top?
clarygrace
12 years ago
I had chosen the Icon for its' looks. Both ovens perform pretty much the same, just a couple of additional bells on the Icon. Either one will work beautifully.
I didn't do a lot of research on the Electrolux rangetops/cooktops, as I had my heart set on a 6 burner cooktop and ended up with the Bertazzoni Italia....what can I say, I lived in Italy for many years and it brings me back home a bit...it is a nice cooktop with a great 18K burner, and the two center burners are of the same caliber, so good for using the griddle! They make a rangetop as well. My kitchen designer/GC is also very knowledgeable on appliances and he really likes the Bertazzoni for its' engineering. AJ Madison carries the Bertazzoni line so you can take a look.

Many here will recommend Wolf or CC or Bluestar, everyone has their favorite, so enjoy the exploration!

Marcolo makes a good point about KA dishwasher problems. I had an older model before we switched and it worked wonderfully...sadly it seems KA is having some difficulty with new models. You may want to rethink the dishwasher, a Miele or a Bosch.
Cheers!
tomcarter101
12 years ago
I am looking at the KA wall oven/microwave combo and fridge, maybe the hood fan. I have been warned away by several retailers on the KA DW with the integrated front panel (they say the standard panel KA DW are fine). I'm partial to Meile (as are many here) for DW.
going with 36 BS range but if not that would look at induction cook top
my 2 cents
tc
jbart
12 years ago
I have a three-year old KA dishwasher with the controls on the top of the door. Not sure if that's what are referred to as integrated controls. You cannot see them when the DW is on. Works fine.
chac_mool
12 years ago
I've been very happy with my KA KUDE70 DW, for about 18 months now (has integrated controls). OTOH, there's that issue of some occasional fires; it might be good to look into if that has been addressed. Still, mine is very quiet, works well, and hasn't caught fire or even smoked so far...

I believe others here have concerns about double ovens in general, since they may need more frequent repairs -- perhaps they get too hot (?). An alternative might be to consider a single (regular) oven, along with either a speed oven or a steam oven mounted separately somewhere as the second one. How you feel about this will depend on what and how you cook, but its something to consider.
tomcarter101
12 years ago
Sorry, the issue that several vendors warned me about was with panel ready front DW...I described them above as integrated front panel which was misleading.
tc