While others on this, and especially the appliance forum, will be more knowledgeable than me, I can tell you what we spent for appliances during our 1 year old kitchen reno.
We purchased a Bluestar 36" 6 burner range, a Samsung counter depth fridge and a KA dishwasher. All for about $8,000 after rebates.
It seems to me that your $17,000 appliance budget will be more that adequate.
Remember to add an exhaust hood to your appliance list.

For getting an idea about appliance costs, nothing beats browsing through the ajmadison.com website. They have nice selection features for narrowing down which sorts of appliances you're looking for.

I found it helpful to browse online retailers such as AJMadison to get an idea of prices.

$30,000 seems really high to me unless you are getting top of the line everything, including a 48" oven and a built in 42" or 48" fridge. A Miele dishwasher is about double the cost of Bosch, which is just under $1000 (ballpark).

Definitely check the appliance forum here for reviews on certain brands. But then don't let the comments drive you crazy, as there will always be good and bad reviews. For around $10,000 you can get:
Wolf 36" ange (all gas)
Broan 42" hood
KitchenAid counter-depth fridge, 36" wide, not "built-in" but looks built in
Bosch dishwasher
Sharp built-in microwave drawer
GE Monogram under-counter beverage fridge

If you want a built-in R/F, like a Sub-Zero, or a much larger fridge, add on another $3-4K. We found that you can really save in some areas and the independently-owned appliance stores are a great place to shop. For example, we originally planned on a GE Monogram stove, figuring we weren't willing to pay a premium for Wolf. When we bought it Wolf was actually significantly less. Not sure why. So it's worth asking at the store.

Good luck!

I just got back from Ferguson in Grapevine and the salesman asked me approximately how much our house is going to be when we build and where. I told him and he told me Kitchen Aid or GE Profile is what I need to get. I guess the Mieles, Wolfs and Thermadors need to stay in the multi million dollar homes and under a million must be the mid range. I decided that I do want the large built in fridge, not a french door. He also asked me what I cooked and when I told him he said the KA or GE will do just fine. I was looking at the 48 built in because I need A LOT of room in my fridge.

I don't understand/am worried about your idea that Kitchen Aid and Profile being what you need to get. I'd think you'd want appliances that perform the way you need them to, and presumably, last... Especially since you cook, bake, and entertain a lot. I advise that you figure out the budget you want to stay within, do research for the BEST you can get...and get that. Please don't limit yourself based on preconceived notions about the appropriateness of certain names in certain size houses.

I have far from a million dollar home. I have laminate counters. But I do have appliances that do the job at the level I expect, because we cook and bake a lot and I don't want to have to fight bad or inconsistent performance in appliances. I have all different brands in my kitchen, each appliance chosen for the features and performance I wanted. I budgeted more for the ones I thought were most important, like our rangetop and the double oven. I chose midrange Bosch dishwashers, because I wanted clean dishes and quiet operation, and didn't find it necessary to spend more for bells and whistles I didn't need.

I had a GE Monogram oven and couldn't recommend their technology (same in Profile) for anyone who is an avid baker. Cotehele, another prolific baker with Monogram ovens feels the same. KA has very mixed reviews (too many negatives for me), especially for standing behind their product when it isn't working as it should. Electrolux is in the same price ballpark, but with much better overall reviews from owners on the appliance forum...Bosch, too.

If the Whirlpool appliances you have are older (the kind that lasted 20+ years), the current ones may not be equivalent in quality and durability. It can be as easy as sticking with one brand and just buying all in that name. But it's the least likely way of getting the best for your (same) money, IMO...and gives you a lower chance of having 'fantastic' instead of 'ok.' You are spending thousands of dollars... It'd be great to end up with appliances you are excited to have and use. It's very possible with a little effort and research. :-)

If you have some time before your remodel, you can get some great deals on appliances. We are finishing up a remodel and with our GC's discounts and various sales (half off-Sears, end of year close-outs, etc) we spent a little under $8k on appliances. We purchased a Samsung counterdepth french door fridge with ice/water in the door, 36 inch GE induction cooktop, Kenmore Pro double ovens, Bosch microwave (not convection), KitchenAid dw, flush mount vent.

That notion of only buying a certain appliance brand is bunk!! Please choose each appliance based on what you need it to do for you, not by brand.

If you're looking at resale in a couple of years, then buy something a mix of what you'll do well cooking on for the short-term and what is expected in the marketplace. If you plan to stay in your home and enjoy cooking/baking/using your kitchen, then buy to suit your cooking habits. You can certainly buy a Wolf range if that's what you want!

I live in a house now worth less than $300K. Screw what I SHOULD put in there. Those appliances won't work for me or make me happy. I bought Wolf double ovens, a CC rangetop, and a built-in KA fridge. Those will make such a difference in my daily cooking life (well, maybe not the fridge, but it's a long story). Thats what matters to me.

Lecture over. ;)

The appliances we have now are staying in this house as we will be selling in the next 24 months. We are actually building a custom home. I want to do the appliances so I can build my kitchen around them. I know that sounds crazy but because I do cook and bake a lot I want to make sure I get the right stuff.

Once I told him our house was going to be under a million dollars he immediately told me I needed to do GE or KA and what I cook doesn't justify Wolf/Subzero. He said not to do Monogram as I should stick with the lower appliances for our custom home.

I'm glad I don't have to do all the same appliance especially since the house we are building we will be there for a very long time, actually I don't want to move again after we build it. I see nothing but good things about Wolf on this forum which is why I went in looking at their double ovens and was a bit discouraged when he said I needed KA. He also talked down to me about wine and I felt like saying, dumbass I'm no sommelier but I do know about wine! I'm hoping my experience at Morrison will be a lot better.

You need what you want and can afford. Builders put in packages of same brand appliances and less than what people who cook and bake really want because they get the best deals that way an the sell the shiny, matchy appliances for the most profit. Builders and realtors care about selling houses. People who are fortunate enough to get to plan and build their own home should be concerned with living in them.

Please, stop trying to figure out what you are supposed to spend or supposed to have unless you want someone else's non-custom home. Know what you can afford to spend, then go shopping and decide if you want or need that much for YOUR uses and desires. Your $30K budget for appliances is very high and based only on a multiplier you picked. Why?

My home is way below the million dollar mark -- not even half way there. I too have Wolf, Thermador, etc. My neighbors do not. I live in my house and cook in my kitchen. My neighbors do not. Before we redid our kitchen, I spent most of my life making do with mostly adequate and some horrible and some aging/failing appliances. You can learn to cook or clean with or around most anything, but designing and building a custom should be about what you want and need -- unless you don't cook or bake at all. Then you make choices for appearances or for other people (the caterer, etc.). For me, the things I cooked with were the most important part of my kitchen choices. If you feel the same way, don't put up with inferior salesmen. Do your homework.

Andrea: What Davidro said in your other thread about realtors applies as well to appliance salespersons.

I want to do the appliances so I can build my kitchen around them. I know that sounds crazy ... Not to us, it doesn't! :-)

Your appliance salesman will not be living with you or your choices. I think he is flat-out wrong, but, beyond that, it is you that has to be happy with your choices. If you can even fleetingly contemplate spending $30k on appliances, then you can probably shop around and get appliances better than GE or KA that will make you happy. (Not that there is a problem with GE/KA -- those happen to be exactly what I bought!)

As I said in your other thread -- if you are not planning to sell the house soon, then resale concerns are simply not germane to the discussion. What exactly is the concern? In the unlikely event that you have to sell, that the high-end appliances will make it *harder* to sell the house? Not likely. No, the underlying concern of the (perhaps well-intentioned) salesman is that you will (a) unexpectedly have to sell, and (b) won't get a goodly fraction of the purchase cost of the appliances back. Sooo, let's agree that he is correct on (b). What are you risking? About 1/2 of 1/2 of your appliance budget, or perhaps $3k. And this is a risk that only comes to pass if you decide to sell, which is unlikely. (And, in which case, that $3k is the least of your worries.)

So, to sum up, does it really make sense to limit yourself to appliances you don't want for the chance that you may lose $3k in the distant future?

BTW, I mean "let's agree for the sake of argument that he is correct on (b)."

I'm not sure why he was directing me that way. I said that we are building a home and not looking to move from that home. I mentioned I have Whirlpool Gold but it is a Dallas Spec Home and will be selling this home. Regardless, I won't be buying anything from him. A friend of mine lives in one of the neighborhoods we are considering and she says there are a lot of homes that have Wolf and Thermador in the neighborhood. They have KA but that is because they aren't big cooks. I wonder if I should have mentioned to him that I have a background in catering and when I entertain it is a big deal and I use that catering background hence why I was looking for the appliances I was in the first place.

Here, people at Ferguson also have an "attitude". I have no clue as to why that guy said what he said. These are internet quoted prices - except the wolf items are ebay, new with warranty.

Wolf 36" rangetop $2,500
E series 30" double ovens $4,500
48" built-in ref (GE, JennAir, KA) $4,000-$6,500
OR Electrolux pair of Icon individual fridge/freezer(64" width total) About $4,500 with build-in kit.
DW about $800-$1800.

So, about $13k (low end on the refs) with 4k left over for link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheng, sigh, island hood.

Thanks everyone! I was talking to a friend this afternoon who made a good point that most likely I was prejudged when he saw me. Whatever. I was confused why he said you shouldn't put a pot filler in a home less than a million dollars. Really dude, maybe I make a lot of Italian food and a pot filler would work for me. Anyway I regress. I have a background in catering which makes me super picky in the kitchen and about food in general. DH thinks of me as a food snob, lol. True no one else notices that my brie en croute is not evenly golden but I do! He would prefer that I get the appliances that are going to work for me without spending $50K+ on appliances.

I'm now more confused than EVER! I have been reading about Lacanche ranges, (not quite sure how to pronounce that correctly or if I would even know how to cook on/in it) and Capital range tops and ovens. As much as I bake that I need a gas stove and not electric. I could do one gas oven and one electric? Apparently there is a love/hate relationship with Wolf in addition to Miele too so that is now making me want to look at other things as well. I've been reading about door problems with Blue Star as well so I just don't know. Sigh.

I am trying to understand why you seem to have more faith and belief in what the appliance salesman said--whom you don't know, and who has no interest in you whatsoever except how quick he can make a sale and move on--than you do in the numerous posts on this thread that told you to get appliances YOU need, do not buy all one brand, and don't worry about what the neighbors have or don't have. C'mon, you really believe that Mieles are just for million dollar homes? Oh please.

Look, if cooking is important to you, spend the $$$ on the Wolf double ovens, and Wolf/Bluestar/Capital rangetop at least 36" wide (note I did not say cooktop, I said rangetop; you'll get more serious btu's with a rangetop). Save money on the fridge and get the Whirlpool you like, or the Kitchenaid, made by Whirlpool, but a step up. Be careful about wanting the french door fridge - it looks great, and has nice doors, but you said you entertain a lot, and the FD's do not hold as much as other configurations. Since you entertain a lot, consider two dishwashers, or a dishwasher plus one dishwasher drawer. Kitchenaid gives a lot of bang for the buck in a dishwasher, and cost about 1/2 what a Miele costs. Don't spend a lot on the microwave. Don't buy a fancy-brand microwave, usually they are just rebadged Sharps. Buy a Sharp countertop microwave for $100 or so, and put it on a shelf in your cabinetry. Use the money you saved on the microwave and buy a good hood with baffle filters.

Don't listen to appliance salespeople. Anyway, if you listen to one, you could go back to the same store the next day, talk to a different one, and get different advice. Really, salespeople not the source for good advice.

I just need to get over the fact that he didn't even take the time to listen to me. They lost my business anyway.

Every poster has been super helpful and has been correct about it only matters what I want because after all I'm the one using it everyday not them. I'm trying to respond to everyone. If I didn't mention you here, I'm pretty sure I answered in my posts above.

Breezy, I literally laughed out loud when I got to your last paragraph because a good friend of mine told me the same thing! I had her read it and she said, see what did I tell you. ;)

Rhome, thank you for the information on the Monogram. That helps me being a baker.

Lascatx, I just came up with that formula for a place to start. I figured that the house is about 4X what my current house appraises for and so the appliances should be 4x as much. Yeah I'm not very good with math and now that I think about it that formula makes absolutely no sense at all, lol.

Angie, I responded back in an earlier post. We aren't doing it for resell. It probably was a presumption on his part, I don't know.

Shannon The range top is more of what I'm looking for did I say cook top? Sorry I'm really tired from going through all of the forums on the different appliances. I do like the built in fridge but DH doesn't like the price. He is most concerned with me getting the range top and double ovens that are going to fit my needs. I have looked at the dishwasher drawers before and thought what a great idea to have one because of when I entertain. I had forgotten about it until you reminded me, thanks! I was also looking at those refrigerated drawers in the island to store veggies in for food prep. I just don't know if that is a good use of the $$ especially when I do need a really good hood. When I cook in the wok I have to open all of the windows in the house because I have one of those micro/hood combinations now. Yeah doesn't work, I need a hood!

bmorepanic, I'm going to the link now, thanks for posting it for me to check out.

I'm going to Morrison Supply Company on Thursday and thanks to this post and everyone who responded although I'm still really confused on what brand will be best for my needs, I do feel that I am much more prepared with the information I need to take with me.

Oh and BTW, DH said, "I honestly don't know how much we need to budget for appliances but make sure that you pick out a REALLY good hood because I'm tired of some of your cooking stinking up the house." LOL

what rhome said, word for word. i got a little pain in my stomach when i read "whirlpool" in your post. we moved into a temporary house five years ago while building our new home in the back yard. as soon as we moved in, everything in our 1968 kitchen started dying. i've made do with a counter top convection oven and microwave after losing the oven. but when the dishwasher went i had to go out and buy a new one. i went to lowe's and picked up a $400+ whirlpool. it didn't clean like the bosch in my previous house but i didn't want to invest more for a temporary appliance. fast forward three years: the stupid thing is DEAD. after only THREE years.

i would urge you to really do your homework and get the very best you can possibly afford. when we sold our last house the appliances we purchased were still going strong after seven years and no problems. i can't tell you how frustrating it is to throw away good money for cr@ppy appliances. good luck and have fun!

I looked around AJ Madison to get ideas which cmm, I should have done first. Lascatx, yes my formulation seems even more idiotic now that I have done this, lol.

With a Capital Rangetop and Double Oven, Electrolux Speedcook Oven,
Subzero Fridge (guessing $8K as DH does not want panels but stainless), KA drawers and Bosch DW, and a $3K hood, I'm coming in at roughly $25K without tax. It seems from a lot of your posts I can probably come in under this if I really looked at every spec that is on these appliances to find out if I'm getting what I need or extra bells I'm not going to use.

I chose to look at Capital as I've been reading good things about them on the appliance forums.

DH wants to keep it under $30K and well from this, it looks like I can do that.

I looked around AJ Madison to get ideas which cmm, I should have done first. Lascatx, yes my formulation seems even more idiotic now that I have done this, lol.

With a Capital Rangetop and Double Oven, Electrolux Speedcook Oven,
Subzero Fridge (guessing $8K as DH does not want panels but stainless), KA drawers and Bosch DW, and a $3K hood, I'm coming in at roughly $25K without tax. It seems from a lot of your posts I can probably come in under this if I really looked at every spec that is on these appliances to find out if I'm getting what I need or extra bells I'm not going to use.

I chose to look at Capital as I've been reading good things about them on the appliance forums.

DH wants to keep it under $30K and well from this, it looks like I can do that.

I wouldn't follow any one persons advice, no matter if it was a salesperson, or someone on a forum. I also don't think there are any rules you need to follow when buying appliances. I'd just learn as much as I could about the choices, and make my own decisions.

The complete remodel of the original kitchen in our modest 1983 house was finished a few weeks ago, and we are thrilled with our appliance choices, even though it looks like I violated a few standard forum "suggestions". I have several reasons for my choices which I won't bother explaining, since they probably don't apply to others.

But to the main question, we spent $12,300 (pre-tax) for;

Large Samsung french door refrigerator.
Monogram induction cook top.
Monogram convection wall oven.
Monogram Advantium speed oven.
Monogram warming drawer.
Monogram island hood.
Monogram dishwasher.

Each appliance has turned out to be even better than I had imagined.

I think $30,000 would get you some pretty nice appliances!

It is definitely good to plan around appliances. Your layout will be key depending on what you choose and how you want each appliance to function.

AJ Madison has prices on their website so that might be a good way to estimate.

We just outfitted and entire kitchen and laundry. Went mostly with kitchen aid so we could get a $1000 rebate. Not including the rebate, we spent about 14,000 on

Washer
Dryer both may tag bravos
36" range
Microwave
CD fridge
Dishwasher- middle of the road
Undercounter beverage cooler
And- the insert for our wood hood- this was just over $1000 itself! Which was a surprise (ooops)!

The one bummer was that our allowance didn't allow for a built in refrigerator. Most of those run 6,000 to 10,000. I think 30,000 should get you some really nice appliances for sure.

I agree for $30,000 you should have no problem getting anything you want and like. We just spent around $9,400 pre tax (after rebates) for a 36" gas range, 30" convection wall oven, french door fridge, dishwasher, all were Jenn Air SS Pro-Style along with a Zephtr hood and a small microwave.

Don't forget craigslist and ebay. You may find great deals on new appliances there. We got our wall oven for less than half that way.
We also got our dw at a scratch and dent sale. It had a scratch on the bottom kickplate and was missing the cutlery basket and manual. I ordered new ones from Bosch and our final price was 1/3 of retail. I can't believe the store did not just bother replacing the kickplate. They could have charged much more....
It is true that you can get what you pay for, but keep in mind that some fabulous cooks and bakers cook on cheap appliances and their food comes out great. I'd worry most about reliability and then the whistles and bells. The appliance forum here has all the info one could ever need.

One thing we love about our new kitchen is the separate fridge and freezer set. Each one is 30" wide so it is wonderful to have that space in our kitchen. That was a huge change from before and the kind of bell or whistle that you will notice every day because it functions better having more space. We love our new appliances for how they perform better.... Our old dw did not clean properly and often, I'd have to rewash items. Our new Bosch is quiet and cleans like a dream. Ours is top of the line, but we could have made do with fewer options. As long as it cleans and is quiet, that would be enough. The only reason we got the top of the line was the s&d sale mentioned above. Usually, mid range gets you more bang for your buck....

If you're interested in (and can afford) a Subzero, you might check out Liebherr refrigerators, too. Same compressor design and slightly less expensive; 25year warranty, German made. A Liebherr was my big kitchen splurge ($4,000 fridge in a $240,000 house, hah!) and I have not regretted it once in the 3 years since. The thing is silent, keeps food incredibly fresh, is gorgeous in stainless, etc.

You might well consider getting separate fridge and freezer columns, as Dianalo suggests above. I could see that being an ideal solution for someone who is used to well-staged, production-line type cooking.

Nopw that you know you'll easily come in under budget (whew!), you can relax and enjoy the hunt. I warmly recommend seeing each appliance in person if at all possible. You can even grab your favorite pan to simulate cooking in the store -- don't worry, the salespeople have seen it all before. :-)

(And yes, boo to the rude salesguy! If I were you I might be tempted to drop a quick line to the store manager telling him exactly why they lost your business.)

This is what I got for $6800. This included delivery, extended warranty on everything, but not install.

36" electrolux gas cooktop and rangehood
30" electrolux double convection ovens
29.1 cu ft GE profile refrigerator
Kitchen Aid dishwasher - midrange
Sharp microwave drawer

Andrea -- I'm in Grapevine! I don't have a million dollar house but like you, I cook a lot (and bake some). I bought appliances that worked for me. I can add more info later but I bought my appliances from Capital Distributing in Dallas. I pretty much knew what I wanted (because I spent so much time here!) but they were great. Everything went exactly as I asked for. My salesman is John Green. He was referred to me by my cabinet company.

Because of cost I didn't get either but we looked at Sub Zero and Liebherr and actually thought the Liebherr was better. I am very pleased with my Kobe hood and they are less than some other hoods. You can have a cabinet built around a refrig to save the money from a built in.

srahndennis - How funny, I'm not far at all! It is funny that you mention Capital Distributing. After going through the appliance forum for a long time I REALLY like the Capital Culinarian range top and would be curious to see that AND the double wall ovens. Part of me would like to cancel my appointment with Morrison Supply that I have tomorrow in Grapevine and just head south to Dallas to go to Capital Distributing. They have all the brands that are mentioned here that I'm interested in and Morrison Supply company doesn't. I like that CD is family owned, so it says on the website, unlike Ferguson and Morrison who are retail chains. My experience at Ferguson makes me think I'd have a better experience at CD.

I found it really helpful to be able to see everything in one place. I didn't look at Morrison but I did look at Texas Appliance and The Great Indoors. I also walked in at Ferguson once but was unimpressed. I didn't have an appointment but hey were not friendly at all. I wasn't trying to take up time from anyone, just wanted to look. Good luck!

When you're building a home, you;re always over budget. Always. The appliance guy was just trying to guide you what the guidelines say about percentage of the build price for what. That's all. Nothing nefarious or judgmental. If you had to sell the house the day after you built it, then you would end up losing a lot of money, because you won't recoup the dollar difference between a standard GE Profile kitchen and your cook's dream kitchen. You're paying extra for your dream----which is totally why you build custom in the first place. It would be the same if you were building a free standing 10 car garage for your car collection. No way would you ever recoup the expense over a standard 2 car garage. But you choose to spend the money because it's what makes you smile. You're willing to spend above the guidelines because that's your hobby, and you're OK with losing that amount of money to do so.

Just be very careful about your build. Right now, in most places in the US, it's a LOT cheaper to buy an existing home and modify it than it is to build new. Especially custom new. You could save the whole cost of that 80K kitchen by just looking around at what's available currently.

>>>I didn't have an appointment

Since when do you need an appointment to look at appliances? I remember some comedian, I think it was Fran Dresher, talk about how she walked into a fancy dress shop. The snooty salesman asked her if she had an appointment and she replied "No. Do the dresses have other engagements today?"

North Texas has been very fortunate in home prices haven't dropped that much like the rest of the country. There are some good deals that can be found but we have some pretty specific needs. There is a chance we could find what we are looking for in the area but there is still a lot of custom building going on here and not a lot of inventory on existing homes in the area we are looking at. That isn't to say it will change in the next year or so, that I don't know. I told my husband that we need to have at least a 30% cushion when we are building.

I've actually talked with a few people who have the same kind of experience at Ferguson. Morrison seems to treat people better. A friend of mine said they were super rude to her at Ferguson and unlike me, their house was being built at the time she went in for the appliances. She ended up going to Morrison and had a much better experience. Morrison was great to me yesterday and they worked with me even though we haven't even decided on the neighborhood yet.

We are in a middle of kitchen renovations. Like you I am researching appliances. Few things I learn from this forum: kitchen & appliances:
- Folks here are incredibility helpful, they gave you good advices.
- Advices from appliances salesperson need to be taken with a heaping grain of salt.
- research here and AJMadison for the appliances that on your short list before going into the showroom
- Every brand has its sweet spot. For example: I would love to take a liebher fridge and a Miele dishwasher home. Some people may not like the fact that some of the stainless steel and appliances' handles don't match. But if you get built-in then you will be ok. Or you don't care for the match anyway.
- Since you cook and care that your appliances have to last, then take time to look for the features that you want. Ignore the sales person for now.
Good luck

batmansmama,
You mentioned you purchased a Kenmore Pro double oven. Which one did you purchase and how do you like it?

I figured that the house is about 4X what my current house appraises for and so the appliances should be 4x as much.

I can see why that might seem to make sense at first, but when you're talking about a home you'll be living in long term (i.e., you're not talking about resale), the price of the appliances has no relationship to the price of the house. Zero. If you were fixing it up for resale, or if you were a landlord fixing it up for tenants, then you would be trying to match what you spend on appliances to the market price (sale or rental) of the house. But that's not what you're doing.

What you're doing is designing a kitchen FOR YOURSELF. That means the ONLY price consideration you should have is how much you and your husband are comfortable spending on appliances. It could be $1000 (which is possible if you use Craigslist), or it could be $50,000. It has nothing to do with your house price, and everything to do with your needs as a cook and your budget (and your space considerations, e.g. is your kitchen too small for a 60" range, etc.).

Just as an example, here were my criteria for a range: (1) I absolutely did not want to spend more than $4000; (2) I absolutely did want a dual-fuel range; (3) I really wanted two ovens; (4) we did not have room for a range bigger than 48" at the absolute max, and under 40" was much better; (5) I wanted a range, not a cooktop and separate oven; (6) I wanted antique quality and simplicity (good reliability, no electronic gizmos), but modern safety features (so not an actual antique range); and (7) it had to be really nice looking, and ideally I wanted something colorful. If my budget had been higher, an Aga Legacy, Bertazzoni Heritage or CornuFe would have been perfect. But my budget was what it was, so we got an absolutely gorgeous burgundy-colored 36" Fratelli Onofri Royal Chiantishire double oven range.

So basically, you walk through that entire procedure--defining your budget and your needs--for each appliance. Some appliances may be more important than others and so they will influence your choices on others (e.g. once we found the antique-looking Fratelli Onofri range we thought a modern-looking dishwasher would look weird near it, so we got a DW with hidden controls, a "towel bar" handle and no visible logos [it's an Asko]).

Also, obviously, most people put reliability/durability pretty close to the top of their priority lists when it comes to appliances, so that consideration runs through all your decisions. It's one of the reasons very few people on these boards fill their kitchens with one single brand of appliances: nobody makes a whole range of equally good appliances. Some manufacturers are better at dishwashers than they are at ranges, and vice versa.

Er - just a little. Something is not ringing particularly true, here. But maybe I'm just being cranky. Or honestly -- maybe I'm just jealous -- wish I had a 30K budget to whine about for appliances....

Gosh darn it, already I regret my outburst and wish to apologize. Sorry Andreaintx. I'm 5 months in to the remodel process and obviously ready to take it out on others. Using the word 'whine' was both inaccurate and inappropriate. You're asking for help and advice and that is where this forum excels.

Best of luck with your remodel.
--OneTiredOldBat

What is great about building a custom home is that you can buy whatever you want. I am sorry the salesman insulted you so much by recommending KA appliances for your kitchen. Believe it or not, we put KA appliances in our custom home and are quite happy with them. I still don't understand why he was steering you to lowly KA when you told him you had a 30 g appliance budget...you can get most anything with that budget. Our apps cost 1/2 that.

And , of course, nothing says if you decide to SELL your new home that you can't take your appliances with you!!

Hi- I own an appliance store in Bountiful, UT and help a lot of people with kitchen upgrades. Here are a few easy hints. The kitchen appliances should cost around two percent of the homeâÂÂs after-remodel value. It is fine to go above or below, just be aware of the risks. If you go too far below this, the appliances can drag down the home value. If you go above it, youâÂÂll love your kitchen, but will likely not get it back in resale value. What I tell these customers is that the buyer will like you better, but she wonâÂÂt pay you more. To pick your appliances, identify the things you love and hate in the kitchen. Pick the related appliances first, then make compromises in other areas. For example, a passionate baker who hates doing dishes would want a great convection wall oven and a dishwasher that could handle messy dishes. She would then make the refrigerator, microwave, and ventilation fit her budget.

The kitchen appliances should cost around two percent of the homeâÂÂs after-remodel value.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it depends on the value of your home. In San Francisco, with real estate prices as high as they are, spending 2% of your home's value on kitchen appliances would be insane.

In San Fran you would not pay $20K on appliances in a $1MIL house?

You might, but you wouldn't spend $40,000 in a $2.0 million house :-)

Now that I think about it, you probably would NOT spend $20,000 on appliances for a $1.0 million house here, because that's (crazy as it may seem) a pretty small/ordinary house here. A 2-bedroom 1150 sf cottage in the town I used to live in goes for $1.2 million!

This issue really interests me. As I'm planning my reno, I've been going under the assumption that I would go with higher end appliances - ie. paneled integrated fridge, paneled Miele DW etc. which would more or less be following this 2% rule.
However, as I started looking at open houses in my area, I see that in my price range and a bit above, there are NO high end appliances at all. No Wolfs, no Sub Zeros to be seen. Lots of mid-range, lots of microwaves over range, sometimes a CD fridge, but not always.

So, now I'm second-guessing my decisions about the appliances! Apparently no one else is following the 2% rule :)

I think these type of guidelines work well in some markets, but (as sjhockeyfan pointed out) not in others. At the end of the day, I'm just going to try to go with what I love and what I can budget for as I have no plans to sell anyway.

Rules of thumb are meant to be broken :)

My process was to identify what I wanted (size, functions) and then go review-hunting - consumerreports, etc. Once I had models mostly figured out, then I went price shopping.

Between Sears, HD, Lowes, BestBuy, etc. you can "find" several hundred dollars just being a smart negotiator/price matcher. I ended up shaving nearly $1k by being really meticulous about pricing (i.e. Overstock.com for the microwave drawer - with coupons, 8% rebate, no sales tax or shipping - it was $200 lower than the lowest price at any of the stores). Range hood - great deal from Sears online for a $1000-looking hood at a $250 price.

By the way ... same deal on sinks and faucets and disposals - all of those I bought online saving hundreds (the disposal was a GW deal someone shared - Amazon deal-of-the-day $100 less than Lowes, and no sales tax).

All in all, I spent just over $5k for a 28cuft LG french door fridge, LG double oven 30" range, LG dishwasher, Sharp drawer microwave, AKDY 36" hood, and Insinkerator 1HP disposal). Nothing "uber" high-end, but not entry-level either. Happy middle as I like to call it :)

The extra work on pricing let me splurge on other areas that were more important (backsplash, counter).

Hope that helps, and good luck!

We are spending @ $13k and that includes a Speed Queen washer & dryer! That's about 1.5% of the value of our home. With rebates and discounts from using our design build's main supplier, we are doing the frigidaire twins (which look high end with a lower price tag), electrolux icon gas cooktop 36", 36" kitchenaid chimney hood with warming lights, electrolux wall oven/microwave convection and a Bosch dishwasher.

Our neighborhood has a mixture of high end, moderate and older appliances. A family across the street has a La Cornue. Of course, they are original owners from 1980 and probably paid next to nothing for their house. We bought at the height of the market.