Oh, yes. We did.
We bought our new Electrolux induction range last year. I don't regret that at all. We went with the range because the slide-in model seemed to require cutting into the counter at the front a little to accommodate the range design, and I was afraid to do this to what would eventually be our new granite countertop.
This summer, I bought our new counter-depth refrigerator because it was on sale for a really good price from Sears, but it is yet to be delivered because we thought we'd better wait til we start the reno, slated for this fall.
We've been planning our remodel for at least 5 years. It was to be a largely DIY project, and it was to start last year. We put it off because we hadn't completely decided on the plan.
Now we have the plan, have pretty much decided on the flooring and cabinets, but this reno will involve a major revamp of our living and dining rooms as well (removal of D/R wall, possible movement of foyer wall to increase the width of our entry), and I find I am getting cold feet . . . again! We really can't put this thing off anymore though, as we have bought this fridge which CANNOT fit into our current kitchen, unless we take out that D/R wall.
I'm bracing for many months of dust and chaos, which I would be OK with, I guess, generally, but I am not looking forward to dealing with it over Christmas.

I did. Found some great deals on floor models and worked the design around them. One has to start somewhere, and one has to start! Like lisapoi, I would've gotten cold feet and postponed until after summer, after the start of school, after the holidays....

This made me laugh. We bought the appliances, sink, faucet, granite and flooring at least two years before starting the reno. Yes, I'm a Craig's list - aholic.

We also started by buying the appliances. We had them for a year, sitting in our dining room, before we started the kitchen. After we purchased the appliances we realized that our budget wasn't adequate and had to save for a year.

Thanks for the reassurances. Hopefully we'll be able to start in a month or so. I've gotten some good ideas from here.

Hi, flazoom. Won't comment on whether or not you should be committed (see: pot calling kettle...). We are planning on same induction cooktop, still not settled on hood. I like the Venezia, though-- how did you settle on it? (I also don't know if I'll just do the 36" or jump up to the 42. I know what the conventional wisdom is on this, but it's a small kitchen.)

We are considering the Liebherr splurge as well, but I'm just not convinced yet that I want to splurge on something that just keeps my food cold! How did you decide on that one? (It's down to that or Electrolux for us).

As to the issue of buying appliances in advance-- I've considered that as well since we have a relatively empty garage we could store them in. But what happens if one turns out to be a lemon and you've already had it for most or all of the warranty period before you actually get to use it? Am I wrong to worry about that?

We didn't exactly buy the appliances planning a reno. Our range died, so we bought a new one, and also a new refrigerator to go along with it, both SS. We didn't realize when we did it that the side of the refrigerator would be gray painted. DH hated looking at the side of the big gray "monolith" in the kitchen. This ended up in a 10 month update that included refinishing cabinets, replacing doors, building new matching cabinets, new countertops, sink, faucet, hood, microwave, dishwasher, backsplash, etc.

So no, you should be proud that you're actually planning in advance :)