Congrats on your hew home! Looks like you have a nice list of appliances. My only suggestion is that if the current appliances are usable, i would hold off 6 months and live in the house first before making this big investment. You may discover other kitchen changes that are necessary and you may feel locked in based on what you just bought. Plus you may discover other surprise expensive repairs are necessary first.

If you really like to cook concentrate on the rangetop, I would go for an open burner rangetop there are only 2 Capital Culinarian and BlueStar. I know the Bluestar is less expensive but I can't find a price online. There are some on this forum who are very good at it, maybe one of them can help.
Hood choice, most people with the Zepher are happy with them.
Ovens, people on this forum seem to prefer the Elux double ovens over the Kitchen Aid. If you don't need 2 ovens a lot, a lot of people like a single wall oven and the 240 volt GE advantiun speed oven, it combines a microwave and convection oven.
Fridge, Samsung seems to have some issues, and parts take a long time to get. I would go for anything Whirlpool, IE Whirlpool, Maytag, Kitchen Aid, Jenn Air. We rellly like our KA and it has the best Warrenty on the market.
Diswasher both good choices, but be aware that the door on the KA needs to stick out beyound the cabinet face as it vents out the side. If you need to save here to pay for that Bluestar rangetop choose the KA they have very good reviews, but are less expensive than the Miele.
Washer/Dryer both good choices.

@sophie123 - thanks! The house is in great shape and all the appliances are usable. However, since we are making some structural changes to the kitchen, it is the right time to change the appliances. Also we don't to want to remodel once we are living in the house. Too many experiences from friends of how disruptive it is.

We cook on gas and are limited to 30". We don't like the cooktop because of space and blocking the knobs.

We will need a hood since we stir fry and plan on getting a more powerful rangetop.

We will need a fridge and W/D since the previous owners are taking them.

We could leave the dishwasher but we are changing the island so we still need to reinstall it. But a white appliance in a SS kitchen looks funny (vanity showing :-))

There is a double oven in place so upgrading in it's current location is cost effective. The real problem is whether we should replace with upgraded existing or move to a m/w+convection oven.

Glad that you think the appliance are GW approved!

@caddidaddy5 - thanks for advice. The problem is that capital and bluestar are both >$2.5k. The KA & Dacor is $1.7k & $1.9k respectively. BTU performance are similar. So why are they better? I don't simmer much -- mostly grill, sear, saute and stir fry.

With the price difference, I don't have a lot room to reallocate. I tried to find out if anyone had any experience with these rangetops (KA & Dacor) but couldn't find anything to suggest that change my mind. Do you have any experiences with them? Convince me!

Good thought on the GE speed oven. We don't use ovens much but we want to minimize the structural changes to the cabinets. Thus we are looking to a m/w+convect oven combo. Are having separates better than doing to singles? Seems like the KA combo seems well reviewed.

On the fridge, our sales guy who pushed KA for almost everything else, said that the samsung is a solid choice. It is the only fridge in its class that has the twin cooling. Are parts hard to get in metro areas?

Thanks for your advice!

Can anyone else jumped in to help me?

BTU performance are similar. So why are they better? I don't simmer much -- mostly grill, sear, saute and stir fry.

Because CC/BS puts the BTU into the center of the pan. On KA and other sealed burners as much as 40% of btu power is shot off to the side of the pan. BS/CC are much much better and it is not even close. And the differences are seen when you grill,sear,saute and stir fry. Not so much when you simmer. To me this is the most important appliance since cooking is the key function of the kicthen and most people do most of their cooking on the rangetop not in the oven.

Definetly Bosch laundry.

I would only get the Inspira if you have soft water. This is the only model that does not have a built-in water softner.Not much performance advantage over others if water is hard although Miele long term durability is still there.

Elux over KA ovens. Better long term reliablity record,cool racks,and IMO better looking.

JD ranks Samsung tops in fridges,although they do not get sample size large enough to include Sub Zero and Liebherr. In this price range Samsung is fine.

Zephyr hood is fine but I prefer Kobe in this price range.

I'm with SD (deeageaux)on the recommendations as far as cooktop and ovens go, alto I an not a "Gasser"!
(I have been "Inducted"), but I have had the Elux single oven
5 years now, and completely trouble free! Love the 3 glideout racks, the huge window, Cobalt interior and "The Coolest Door in the Industry"!! and it is cool!!, and the Wavetouch controls.

PS deeaugaux why not name yourself "Sam Diego"????

Myself, I would get a single oven and a speed oven, and in fact , I did, Elux Speed oven, again trouble free, cept for a loose handle, It's very "Intuitive" to use, and saves a lotta electricity, (Potato in 15 mins, instead of 45-60) and in fact it is a rare occasion, when something won't fit in it---that we bake on a daily basis.

Single ovens still have the best reliability, (regardless of manufacturer) and in fact, most the new double ovens, if one goes down---so does the other--so something to think about??

Washer Dryer, We bought maytags, bout a year ago, (a year old model--half price---They work great and have been trouble free--like I said , for a year now, but they replaced a 25-30 year old Maytag washer that was still working---never had a service call, but we replace it because the dryer, a Hotpoint was giving problem----so we just bought the "pair" of Maytags.

Dishwasher, We've had a Miele Optima for 5 years now.
Trouble free, Love the top cutlery tray, Now that Kitcheaid
has it, I would probably have a hard time choosing between tha KA and Miele now---alto I have deep cabinets and have the room to recess the KA fully, if you have std 24" depth cabinets, heed the advice about the KA sticking out, (Especially the panelled one)!!

Good luck with your shopping!!!

Gary

Hey deeageaux, you were one of the people I had in mind when I said maybe one of the people on this forum can find you a price on the BlueStar rangetop. Maybe you can find phooi a better price. $2500 seems kind of steep for just a rangetop.

Let me echo sophie in saying to wait a bit. Not only is she right in that you might have a better idea of how you're going to use the new kitchen, if you have more time you can find better deals and take a step up on appliances. Scour the internet, save thousands.

@deeageaux - Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, BS & CC are out of budget unless I can reallocate. BS & CC are $3k & $2.8k respectively (BS had a recent $ increase). Also does the off center heat make that much difference on a cast iron or all-clad. They are suppose to spread heat evenly over the entire area. No?

Otherwise, which is the better option? KA or Dacor?

I live in the placer county and I believe we have "soft" water here. No hard water stains on any our faucets so a base Miele should work. One turn off on Miele is that they are now handling the delivery & install under their "concierge" program (so more $$).

With the KA ovens, what if you don't use the self-clean mode? Will that alleviate the reliability problems since the problems stem from self-cleaning. I agree with the looks on the Elux.

@dodge59 - I like your idea of the single + speed. Did you get the Elux Icon? I couldn't find a speed oven in the base Elux line. Glad to hear about your experiences on reliability.

@Caddidaddy55 - BS is now $3k. Called a dealer yesterday & they said that they recently raised their prices and that there is no discounting from MSRP. Dealers risk losing their accounts if they do. Same for CC.

@JPRain - Appreciate your thoughts on holding out. But as I mentioned previously, we're not going to wait. We are operating within the limitations of the house, our cooking needs and financial investment (ROI).

Also, we have a 3yr old. Remodeling combined with living in a new house and with a young child would just too disruptive.

Finally, would love to hear from others on their experiences on reliability on the brands and items on my list.

Thanks everyone! Great forum!

Both my ovens, the regular 30 inch as well as the speed oven are the Icon Models.

We wanted the large window in the oven as we knew the oven would be mounted under counter, (Elevated about 6 inches or so off the floor).
With the big window, the excellent lighting, and the fully gliding out racks, the below counter
location of the oven has not been a problem at all,
even though we are at the age, where they don't even ask for our "Medicare Cards", anymore!!! (LOL).

Gary

@deeageaux - Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, BS & CC are out of budget unless I can reallocate. BS & CC are $3k & $2.8k respectively (BS had a recent $ increase). Also does the off center heat make that much difference on a cast iron or all-clad. They are suppose to spread heat evenly over the entire area. No?

It helps but does not eliminate the uneven heat.

Also any pan that can spread heat also retains heat. So you can't easily manipulate temperature. Ever start burning eggs on cast iron griddle and try to turn down the heat?

If you have a hard cap I would prefer a 36" Bluestar cooktop for about $1800 or 30" for $1500 and spend the rest on a nicer hood or something else.

Otherwise, which is the better option? KA or Dacor?

If you put a gun to my head(LOL) I guess I would take the Distinctive.

With the KA ovens, what if you don't use the self-clean mode? Will that alleviate the reliability problems since the problems stem from self-cleaning.

I suppose but that is supposed to be one of the main benefits of an electric oven vs most gas ovens; the ability to use the self-clean mode.

Wow! It looks like you have a great setup. I would say to get a nice TV.
Check out this place.

Here is a link that might be useful: LED HDTVs

Let me echo sophie in saying to wait a bit. Not only is she right in that you might have a better idea of how you're going to use the new kitchen, if you have more time you can find better deals and take a step up on appliances. Scour the internet, save thousands.

Here is a 30" Bluestar rangetop on Craigslist for $1100. (I have no connection to this whatever.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestar rangetop on CL

@Angie_DIY - thanks. I'll look into it.

@deeageaux - i'm pretty set on getting the rangetop. We don't like cooktops because of the reduced cooking area and the knobs getting hot from the proximity of large pans and woks.

I'll keep looking for deals but most likely will end up with either the KA or Dacor due to price and functionality.

@jprain - see my response to your response above.

If you look at price and fuctionality you would get a Bluestar cooktop over the KA/Dacor rangetop.

It is rare to cook on more that two or three burners.

It is rare to use pots so large they go over knobs.

Proximity of pots/pans does not really effect the knobs on BS. The heat in a Bluestar goes up directy at the pan not to the side of the pan like a Dacor or KA.

And the power and the evenness makes the Bluestar a far superior cooking machine.

And isn't that the bottom line on fuction?

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to post a follow up to my original post. We finally purchased our appliances and here is what we ended up getting.

- KA 30" gas rangetop
- KA 30" microwave convection/oven combo (no steam)
- KA DW KUDE20
- Samsung CD SxS with outside water & ice
- Zephyr Venezia 30" 714cfm
- Whirlpool Duet W/D 94HEX

All the appliances were 20% off a discounted price except for fridge and DW which was even lower.

We are still planning to buy

- Franke Oceania sink
- Hans Grohe faucet
- air switch

Again all items are discounted.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

phooi

Phooi, How do you like your dishwasher KA KUDE20?
I just added it to the order.