I think that it makes perfect sense to purchase appliances at the best price/performance/feature point that you can find to meet your needs. The only thing that would really "match" on a refrigerator/dishwasher/range from a single manufacturer would be the brand name "badge". We have a new Kenmore Elite fridge, a new Kitchen Aid dishwasher and a horrendous old Amana range that desperately needs to be replaced (but also needs to keep working until we redo the kitchen next year). The dishwasher and refrigerator refused to wait that long, so they'll move into the new kitchen along with a BS range.

My opinion: You're right, he's wrong!

We went for what had the best deals, DCS range with 2 free dish drawers from Firsher paykel. The Range hood is viking b/c we found a brand new one at the outlet. Our fridge we are most likely will be a cheaper S/S fridge to stay on budget. The Fridge is the easiest one to swap out too.

I think you are right, but sometimes they do have great deals on buying and appliance package. We did that before with jenn-air and were happy with it.

Yep you buy for performance first and then the rest..price/conditions etc. But you have to have the best that you can afford in appliances or what is the point ??? Just smile and tell your DH that GW over ruled him. Promise him a great meal when it is all over. c

You are right...brand doesn't matter. Size matters. Seriously. Size matters in the oven an dishwasher and usually in the refrigerator. Performance matters first, however. Have Bosch dishwasher, Kitchen-aid double oven, and Jenn-Air fridge (should have stayed with K-A but needed one right away and K-A wasn't in stock in what I wanted...should have lived out of the garage fridge and a cooler for a week).

Mom23, I asked the same question (thread below) and was convinced that they absolutely don't have to match, and it's extremely rare to find a kitchen where they do.

I went with Wolf range, Best by Broan hood, Kenmore Oven, Miele DW, and Jenn Air fridge. Each appliance is right for my needs. They're all stainless, and the kitchen looks great.

Sorry, forgot that thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread on matching appliances

:) It's not just GW, tho. If you read articles about very expensive kitchens belonging to people who can afford everything, you'll find that probably every single one of them chose a mixture of appliances. Same for pots and pans chosen by professional cooks: a mixture chosen according to function. Matchy-matchy in the kitchen gave way to function a very long time ago in the kitchen, if it ever existed.

WE have wolf range, Miele DW, kitchenaid fridge. Wouldn't have it any other way!

I think a builders spec house would have "all the same brands". When people pick their own they buy for best function & reliability in the price range they can afford.

Indeed, builders have package discount deals with appliances distributors, and the appliances are low to mid range at best.

We have all different appliances based on our needs/functionality requirements: SS gaggenau double ovens, 2 miele dishwashers (paneled), ss electrolux Icon fridge, ss bertazzoni cooktop, ss marvel wine cooler.

Go with the best appliance for the function you need/like and that you can afford. Good luck!

Best of Breed, meaning What works best for you....I'm not saying "my" choices are THE best...

New kitchen: 2 single Tall Fisher Paykel dish drawers, Bluestar Rangetop, Independent Vent Hood, Subzero fridge, & Subzero freezer drawers, Miele wall ovens, Miele steamer, and Miele speed cooker, Perlick under counter beverage center.

Old Kitchen :*( had Tall Fisher Paykel dishdrawers, Capital Precision Range, Viking Hood, Thermador (actually KA rebadged) fridge/freezer, Kenmore Microwave/Pizza Oven.

They all look the same to me except for the "badge." Even the handles are very similar. And some brands are known to be great in some areas and terrible in others.

outsideplaying - why don't you like your Jenn-Air fridge?

Nope, doesn't bother me one bit.

Of course, people say I dress funny...

Choose the best appliance for each item regardless of brand. It's easy to make them look nice together, since nearly everyone makes similarly styled appliances in the same colors (usually black, white, or silver/stainless steel. Often, different brands are owned by he same company so they look similar anyway (Whirlpool makes Kitchenaid, Jenn-Air, Maytag, Amana, etc.). Kenmore can be made by anyone that Sears contracts with, often LG, GE, Whirlpool, or Electrolux.

When I see everything by the same brand, I generally assume they must be the original, cheap appliances that the builder installed, and the homeowner not upgraded or replaced yet.

agree with everyone here. buy the best you can and what fits your needs.

i have a miele speed oven over a wolf oven.. doesn't bother me in the least. love both appliances and that's what matters in the end!!

good luck!!!

Not at all.

I have a family member who, if her washer or dryer tears up, she buys a new "set". Who the heck cares whether a washer and dryer are a set? One is always going to tear up before the other.

Actually, it bothers me much worse to see a kitchen with a "suite" of appliances rather than individual best in categories. It shows that they are either not too informed, or else do not cook enough to care about performance differences in appliances. Either case to me is sad, but I usually hold my tongue. But, now that you ask.....I guess I'm outed as some kind of snob or something.

I would not buy all appliances from one brand but I did take into account the style and try to get ones that look good together. Door handles, shades of white or stainless (some stainless is warmer in tone than others), texture, and window styles on ovens all vary and IMO can look mix and matched if too different. Some kitchens can pull off variations better than others. My kitchen is too stark for a fridge with a curvy handle and then a stove with a thick, straight handle but I have seen it in other spaces and not thought it looks bad.

Same as everyone else. A mix, mongrel breed of appliances here based on features, performance, country of manufacture, looks (I bought my hood cuz it was purdy and USA made), and price.

Not at all. Even with a low or average appliance budget, I would mix it up to get best performance in each category for the money. Only if you don't cook at all would you just buy a matched set, for convenience I did try to get complementary looks, as in I wanted "chunky" handles on ovens and fridge, fir example.

I would take a matchy matchy set if was free though!

Elux fridge
Miele DW
Wolf oven
GE advantium speed oven
Wolf cooktop
Hopefully will be installed in 3 weeks!

Re-using the fridge and the DW as only 2 years old.

So obviously my answer is no and even my OCD DH is fine with it. Of course he doesn't cook except to order pizza!

In our case we got an extremely good employee discount on GE so I did go with the Cafe double oven, cooktop and DW, profile microwave, profile beverage fridge but still went with the KA fridge that I loved. It was the best we could afford since this discount enabled me to get a double oven rather than the single range. They have been working great so far do knock wood for me! So please don't judge when I post my finished kitchen. I was very informed and went with the best we could afford due to our great discount.

I absolutely think it is ok to mix. However, mine are all Samsung & I'm happy.

A lot of high end manufacturers don't make a full suite of appliaces (I don't think). They do their type of appliance really well and let other companies do their thing really well.

I used to have a fried who always have his clothing match by logo. I knew him from the gym, so one day I'd see him he would be wearing all Nike, another it was all Adidas gear. I thought he was crazy.

I was in showroom last night and the same manufacturer (don't remember which one) had differently looking SS appliances. The salesperson was explaining to someone, I was not listening, just heard it was about brushed vs. smooth. They did look different. At the same time, I often couldn't tell one brand from another w/o looking at the name.

So, what is the point?

Cawaps - I bet your friend grew up with Garanimal clothing! LOL

No, not at all. Get what works best for you. Take Trailrunner's advice :-)

Thanks everyone. I won! ;-) lol. Of course, it would have been a lot easier to just pick out one brand and get them all. Now I have a ton of research to do.

When I updated my kitchen 16 years ago we bought all GE Profile. I never noticed that handles weren't the same until I started to read comments on here 6 monts ago.....so even if they are the same brand they still may not match. I think as long as they are the same color you are fine. I now have GE stove and micro, Bosch DW, And Kenmore fridge...they are similar enough and look ok to me.

CK
:-)
I will have on GE and 2 from current kitchen and I am still over budget!

I don't get the need to match either, but my husband is obsessed with the matching appliances. I have finally got him to relent a bit now and he only has the requirement that the range and the otrmicrowave match. I can live with that.

not at all! what does bother me is seeing a kitchen with all viking, KA or any other brand just to make sure everything "matches". whenever i see a kitchen like this i know immediately it was done for looks and nothing more. it's a kitchen. it should contain the best possible solutions for your purpose ...which is to cook.

to me matching appliances don't just look silly, they are silly!

What's an "appliance bra" anyway?

Note to self: if posting a long title, always make sure it still reads okay if you remove the last 3 letters.....

Thanks a2:) it killed me not to get the Miele DW or the Wolf oven, both that I admired, so that made me feel better:) I hate that I had to settle but it was more than half the quote of "mixing" different brands. I realized I could afford the double oven after all so I couldn't do it:( now I just hope that they all work well since I do cook a bunch! But so far, so good- knock on wood!

Yes, I agree with you. The brand doesn't matter. My focus is I get best quality in budget.

On the Jenn Air fridge someone asked about...I don't think it cools as evenly as my old Kitchen-Aid did. We bought a counter-depth french-door/bottom freezer as it's just the 2 of us and we have another 'beer/overflow' fridge in another room. I also don't think the icemaker is very big for the amount of room it occupies. Other than those 2 things, it is ok. A must-have for me is ice/water in the door. I also miss the crushed ice dispenser the KA had. I just get ice cubes with this one. More mfg are offering the ice/water dispensers now in counter-depth so maybe it's not such a problem these days but even just 2 years ago the options were limited.

I think in most cases, it is not a problem to have mismatched brands. Ideally, the brands do not have large (or any) badges on them that would noticeably contrast. Sometimes a certain maker just does a particular appliance better, and it would be silly to compromise the important aspects for matching badges.

I second what outsideplaying said about the jenn airs cooling, ours is not that great either, too uneven.