Refrigerator Dilemnas

When we first started planning our house and thinking about the kitchen, we thought we’d get a built-in refrigerator. Not that we want the fridge to disappear (with wood panels to match casework), but I don’t like to see the exposed sides and it looks better when integrated with the cabinetry. I like the grills on the top or bottom and it can give the kitchen a commercial feel, which is what I prefer. A built-in fridge like this 42” model from Dacor pictured above will set you back a mere $6800. I also drooled over these wine columns from Bosch.Once we added up all the items in our budget, we quickly came to the realization we needed to do some serious cutting and the built-in refrigerator didn't seem so important after all. The next path we went down was to look for a “counter-depth “ refrigerator model. It makes a lot of sense. How often do the leftovers get trapped in the back of the fridge, only to be discovered weeks later? The counter-depth refrigerator allows it to be flush with the cabinetry and makes the space within the fridge more functional. Sounds like a winner? Almost. When we looked at the prices, we discovered that the counter-depth models were at least $250 more than than the same version in a full-depth model. The typical depth model has about 25 cubic feet, whereas the counter depth has just less than 21 cubic feet. So, for less cubic square footage, you have to spend more. This does not sit right with me and the bargain-hunting gene I inherited from my mother.. So, we narrowed the search to full depth models. The French door style appeal to us because we will get extra width in both the freezer and fridge, versus the side-by-side models. Not all manufacturers make the French door style, so that automatically limited our choices. We started with the LG model pictured above, as the price was reasonable (at $1400 or so), but we were told by several salespeople that because the LGs are so popular, people are having a difficult time getting parts and having them serviced. I like the LG styling, but this repair/maintenance issue bothered me, so I spent considerable time looking for an alternative.

Appliance Research
A website that I used often when researching appliances is http://www.ajmadison.com/.
Although I hadn’t planned on purchasing appliances thru this company, it has a very comprehensive search of most all brands of appliances. You can narrow down the options and make sure it's within your price range on this site.

There is, however, nothing like seeing appliances in real life. That is somewhat hard to do these days, as there are so many different models and even the largest showrooms don’t have all models. In the Twin Cities, there is Warner Stellian, Guyer’s, and ALL Inc. Fortunately, ALL Inc. http://www.allinc.com/ is located right by Harriet Island in St. Paul and only about .5 miles from our house. They have a pretty large showroom, with all ranges of appliances from the large walk-in wine vault to the standard refrigerators. We got prices from all 3 companies and ALL had the best pricing.


While Kevin focused on energy usse and Energy Star ratings of the appliances, the thing that I really got hung up was the handle design. Many people order all the same brand of appliances just to get the matching handles. Most of our appliances are Bosch, but Bosch has exterior ice/water in all their doors, so we needed to look elsewhere. I wanted a more commercial feeling handle and was just not finding it in a French door model. GE refrigerators are well-rated but the curved handle design drives me crazy. I also considered KitchenAid and Whirlpool- but they were just not quite right. All the options we were looking for were EnergyStar rated, with little or no difference in energy use, so that wasn't a differentiator.

We ended up with this Jenn-Air model with Pro-Style handles JFD2589KE. It costs a bit more (at about $1900)- but is still considerably less than the built-in models we were looking for. Our friends, the Fredrickson's have the same model and love it, so that is a good sign. We got the look in the handles we want and because of the location of the fridge by the pantry, we are able to recess the wall behind the fridge, so it will be flush with the cabinets. The appliances are now finalized and the order was placed this week. Whew! Another decision done!.

Appliance Shopping

We’ve been microwaving it for over a week now. We only needed our range to last 6 more months (until we sell our house), but it just couldn’t make it. The Sears Kenmore range was only 13 years old, but has required multiple repairs throughout those years and finally became unrepairable. So on Sunday, we made our way to Warners Stellian in St. Paul to buy a new range. While we were at it, we also started looking at some new appliances for our new home.

This might seem a bit out of order (we haven’t even started foundations yet)- but one thing we discovered was that stainless steel appliances typically have a significant price increase at the beginning of the new year. If we were able to start our appliance order prior to Dec. 31, we can avoid the increase.

For our appliances, we will be looking for the Energy Star labels. Only cooktops and
ovens do not have Energy Star labels. To earn the ENERGY STAR, they must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. Many of these products will qualify for rebates or tax credits. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=rebate.rebate_locator


For refrigerators, we were initially looking for counter depth. The reduced depth allows for everything to be within reach and sight. But the reduced capacity and increased cost (in some cases) made this option less attractive. I also learned that the door water and ice dispenser is by far, the part most likely to fail on a refrigerator. Because of this, we are going to forego the door dispenser (even though we have all dreamed about this feature since childhood). This 25 cubic foot LG model is looking good for now.






Cooktops and ovens are even more complicated and varied. GE seems to be the manufacturer with the most advanced cooking technologies. But we are not sure if we want to be able to bake things in ¼ the time (Kevin won’t even allow a bread maker in our house!) For energy use, convection ovens use less energy because they cook in less time and self-cleaning ovens actually use less energy because of their construction. There is a relatively new technology called induction that allows for a flat, easy to clean cooktop and it’s only hot when a metal pan is in contact with it (great for homes with kids). But for now, we are going to go with a 5-burner gas cooktop. We are planning on a wall oven (better ergonomics) and potentially a upper microwave/convection oven.




Bosch makes a great dishwasher. It saves water, energy and is quiet. You can pick the level of acoustical rating you desire.

Some folks like to select all their appliances from the same line so that they look consistent and handles all match. This might be important if you select a line that has a very different esthetic, such as GE's Profile line with curves. But we're in favor of clean, simple lines and getting the best appliance for each category rather than staying within one manufacturer's line.