I think a separate cooktop and wall oven is a good choice. You can place the oven to waist high. If you have any issues with balance or weakness the occupational therapist will not want you bending over into an oven. It may be something that will help you age in place if you are looking to do that. I would consider ergonomics in all choices, even the sink. You can also pick the "best" oven and the "best" cooktop. Each can be replaced separately if need be.

As far as laundry, Speed Queen still makes a washing machine that is full sized and uses water. We own several in our business that run all day problem free. We have also bought them for our kids and have one at our house. The kids have allergies and nothing rinses like adequate water. The top of the line has all the wash/spin speeds and cycles as well as double rinse. We have had other machines in our business but took them back as they didn't clean as well. We've had nothing but Speed Queens for the last five years. We had some older Maytags before that that worked well but they are not the same now. We used a new Maytag with the clear lid last year in a condo we rented and did not like it.

This post was edited by wekick on Tue, May 7, 13 at 11:02

I can only comment on the hood. Broan seems to make a really quality hood at a lower price point than other companies. I am considering the Broan E6340 and it gets great reviews and is just a touch over $600.

I can give you zero suggestions, but a lot of sympathy! We are in the same boat, except we are moving to a much larger complete renovation foreclosure type home.

Prior to my second marriage, I purchased a brand new house on a golf course, and had no problem making decisions on appliances. My big consideration was $$, so I shopped sales and dings and dents. In 10 years, the only disappointment I have is the Fridgidair side by side refrigerator. It's NOISY, and has NO room! The Whirlpool DW is working fine. The Frigidaire Gallery double ovens only recently started acting up, but after ten years......... I wish I could take my GE Micro-hood with me. I LOVE it! It is over my Jen Aire fabulous gas cook top.

Point is. I (me) made all the decisions! NOW I have DH objecting to my every choice. So I'm having to compromise, and 17 years of singleness is making that tough!

My decisions are different. I have always cooked with gas, but on the hillside where the new house is, everything is electric. It's against code to use propane for cooking. So, I'm going induction, buying strange new pots and pans, and agonizing over the decisions that must be made FAST!

Cabinets are being installed in 2 weeks. That is scary in itself. Did I make the right decision? Will the countertops look good? Will the hardware look good? Oh, and the backsplash, should I have told them to go ahead and surround the window wall with it? Contractor says it will add drama.

Drama? He should be in my nightmares! Oh, well, he is......... :-))

Good luck to you and looking forward to see your choices.

suzi

I can only comment in the oven, and just did so on two other threads today! That's the Bosch 500 series, with convection? If so, it's a great, reliable oven IMHO. Even temps, quiet, and so far no exploding glass when we run self-clean:)

Good luck with your choices!

All your choices are arguably the best in class save for one, the Miele cooktop. There is no good reason why someone should pay nearly $1600 for that cooktop.

BlueStar RBCT304BSS is a far better cooktop, cost about the same, and can be paired with the hood you already selected. You can google "bluestar gardenweb" and find out a lot of information on the bluestar burner, grates, and other relevant topics.

Laundry, there are no great choices in full size washers since Miele discontinued their full size line and Bosch discontinued their second generation full size washer the Vision.

GE has just introduced the RightHeight washer and dryer with integrated risers and anti-vibration system similar to Electrolux and are made in the USA. GE seems to have benchmarked the currently available front load washers and matched or beat all the specs. But there is risk in owning very first run of new appliances.

As PP remarked, SpeedQueen is best of top loaders. I would still buy another front loader, but if I had to buy a top loader it would be SpeedQueen.

Thanks for the feedback, Gardenwebbers. I'm going to look into the Speed Queen w&d. I'm also wondering about listening to my husband, who's never offered an opinion on anything to do with appliances, regarding a dual/fuel oven. How's the Bosch Bosch dual fuel:
HD17052U (black & stainless)
or HD17282U (all stainless)?

Is Bosch still selling it with those dinky plastic knobs that everyone's been complaining about in all the posts I've searched?

We are very happy with our new Bosch 300 series HBN3550UC; it's a 27" double. It has a "fast preheat", it cooks so evenly, the fan is QUIET, one oven has optional convection. And I really like the knobs (I know it's electronic behind the knobs, but I find them easier to use than all touchpad) We hadn't bought an oven in 14 years, so we were surprised at prices (and fans) but this was worth it.

We are also having nightmares over our remodel...going from stainless appliances that work perfectly, to white, just because I'm sick of stainless steel. It started out looking like a good idea, but lack of sleep and a filthy house are making me wonder. This probably won't help you at all, but I'll throw my two cents in, for what it's worth. We looked at EVERY cooktop and oven in four different stores and online. I read reviews until I was purple, and still had no answers...until we discovered the old Wedgewood 1950 double oven gas stove, and it was an ah-ha moment. Not that we're vintage or old fashioned, mind you, but because of the workings of the stove itself. Going from a downdraft, black glass Jenn-Aire cooktop, and a Kitchenaid electric/convection oven to one 40 inch range with two gas ovens is a huge leap of faith, but the reviews sold us...The heavy grates on the new cooktops were impossible for me to handle, and our appliance repair guy told us to stay away from electronics. You might also consider whether you want a sealed burner or an open burner..it makes a difference... google it if you don't know the difference. My sister had a Kitchenaid she loved, but it broke, so she got a new one, and hates it...found out that she had an open burner, but the new one is sealed. We decided on the open burners, which the Wedgewood has. No electronics, just simple turn knobs....four burners, oh, and every burner has both an outside and an inside ring, so you can simmer anywhere on the stove. These are things that I read about in reviews from people that cook a lot, so depending on how much you cook, it could be very important. We've resolved the range dilemma so now it's on to choosing a new fridge and dishwasher. We have a 36' Maytag French door stainless steel counter depth that we paid $2200 for about 8 years ago, and have had no problems, but I honestly don't think anything is made as well as it was even 5 years ago...we're going for a 33" white fridge this time, for about $1100, and pray that it holds up for 10 yrs. plus...don't know which brand, as they all have mixed reviews. I now have to choose a color for the countertops and cabinets that will go with the white appliances. Do you know how many whites there are out there? Thousands, I tell ya, thousands. Then there's the faucet, the hardware......more sleepless nights...

My only comment is if you can keep the wall ovens, I wold recommend it. I did this in ou remodel (wolf lower and ge Advantium ) on top- but we are talker)
I no longer have to be "cooked" while cooking.