Steel our Hearts

When researching new appliances, stainless steel won us over. Maybe it's because STEEL is just another shade of gray?

Originally, I wanted all our appliances to be the same brand, so the stainless steel would coordinate. But after reading numerous reviews, we decided to buy each appliance based on its ranking. We chose the best for our budget. And thankfully, everything matches.

Check out the OLD versus the NEW (we still have the protective plastic wrap covering our new appliances, so they look a little dulled down in the pictures) ... 

GAS COOKTOP & DOWNDRAFT VENT
 -- In the 80s, this Thermador cooktop was definitely top of line. It still worked, even after all these years, but we just couldn't get over the outdated look. Again, retro was not our goal.

-- We almost replaced our cooktop with another Thermador. But then we read amazing reviews about Dacor. It's an American-made brand that's popular on the west coast. It's gaining popularity on the east coast because of it's fabulous features: 5 burners, even heating, an easy-to-clean basin, and exclusive technologies that prevent discoloration and scratching. For our downdraft vent, we did choose Thermador. It's the tallest vent we could find, and is highly efficient. These two appliances make our kitchen island look so sleek.

WALL OVEN & MICROWAVE
-- Definitely difficult to remove. Old, bulky, and not working. This all-in-one unit had to go!

-- We were astonished to learn how much these oven/microwave wall units cost. Even a double oven was way too expensive. Due to our budget, we decided to buy a Bosh wall oven, and then build a shelf for a cost friendly microwave. Eventually, we plan to custom make a cabinet to cover the microwave all together. But for now, the microwave will rest over the oven on the shelf Ian built (he also wired the outlet in the back of the shelf :)

DISHWASHER

-- This one was broken. Not that it mattered; it had to go! 

-- We went with a Bosch dishwasher. This was the easiest appliance to choose. Hands down, Bosch blew away the competition with its high customer satisfaction ratings. I'm so excited for this ultra quiet dishwasher to work its magic! Ian installed this and saved us a $20.00 fee!

REFRIGERATOR

-- The one in the kitchen was an eye sore. That bright white fridge is now in our basement, which will hold extra beer. 

-- Picking a refrigerator was the most difficult. We were not impressed with reviews; not one brand stood out. We weren't even considering the brand we chose until we talked to a girl at Ferguson's.  

I shared with her my frustrations, and then point blank asked, "What would you buy for your own kitchen?" She said, "A Viking D3". I told her there's no way we could afford a Viking refrigerator! She explained how the D3 series was marketed at a lower cost point than their famous, more expensive appliances. 

After thinking about it for a few weeks, Ian and decided to order one. It was a little over our budget, but every contractor that has come into our house so far has commented on the fridge. For us, to have the elite name brand and excellent quality is well worth the extra bucks. 

Also, I must brag on Ian for custom building the cabinets above the fridge. When our Viking arrived, it did not fit vertically into its space. So Ian carefully constructed new cabinetry.  And now our counter-depth fridge looks custom fitted!