I can hardly contain my curiosity… I’m turning to you for help today, and can’t wait to see what your response will be. We’re coming to the best part of our home renovation and it’s time to choose the fun details of the new kitchen! If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you may have noticed some renovation mentions here and there… and I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to move forward with the next steps!
Hours of planning, dreaming and pinning gorgeous images like this one…
{Source: KitchenAid Kitchen}
Now it’s time to make some decisions about which appliances to put in the kitchen. Choosing which brand (KitchenAid) was easy – our current kitchen has a KitchenAid fridge and stove, which we’ve been very happy with. I’ve lived here for 8 years and the homeowners before me put them in about 6 years before that, so in a total of 14 years there haven’t been any issues.
I’ve always loved KitchenAid’s quality and style, so I am absolutely thrilled that KitchenAid Canada will be providing all the appliances for our kitchen renovation! {Happy dance!}
But choosing which appliances to put in, is proving to be a little more difficult. So, I’d like to ask you:
Would you share a little feedback on which products you like and why you like them? I’d love to hear your opinion and would appreciate the help!
Which Appliances Would You Choose?
Stove/Oven
This one is the toughest choice for me. All the ovens can come in true convection for most optimal even baking results. The KitchenAid Even-Heat™ True Convection Technology has an advanced bow-tie baffle design and superior air flow and heat distribution that circulates air evenly throughout the oven to provide the most even-baking results across all racks. (That’ll be awesome for baking cookies!) Here are my choices and a few tidbits of info. on each below:
I love the backless look of A and C, but B has some great features such as a dual oven option, and a larger oven viewing window.
Which one would you pick? A, B or C?
(If you’d like to see more details, you can click on the letters to find the corresponding oven on KitchenAid Canada’s site).
*
Fridge
Fridge A is counter-depth and is 72″ high… The industry’s first counter depth freestanding fridge with French doors with the look of a built-in.
Fridge B is also counter-depth with French doors, and custom panels can be added to it to create a more integrated look. (Our kitchen will be white).
Fridge C is a standard depth fridge with KitchenAid’s exclusive Preserva Food Care System that is proven to keep food fresher longer.
Which one do you like best?
*
Dishwasher
I’m confident I’ll be happy with any of the KitchenAid dishwashers, with their premium features like the ProWash™ Cycle and ProDry™ Option for Dishwasher A, which essentially means that there are sensors inside the dishwasher that measure the soil level of your dishes, and the wash system automatically adjusts to the right cycle to clean your dishes. How awesome is that! And ProDry ensures the dishes are completely dry before the cycle ends. Not only that, it is among the quietest dishwashers in the industry.
Dishwasher B also features the amazing qualities of Dishwasher A, but sports a different handle style. Which one do you prefer?
I’d love to know your opinions on these. Help me decide what to chose by leaving me your thoughts below!
xo,
Marian
Note: KitchenAid Canada is providing the large appliances for my kitchen makeover (Thank you!). All opinions are my own.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
My vote would be A,C,C but it’s your kitchen 🙂
Sweet_Deb says
I would choose A, – You could read the clock from anywhere in the kitchen. C, – the dispenser is on the outside . A, the handles will match to
make the appliances more similar. Have fun and don’t forget to post before and after pics!!
Evey says
I would choose C, C, B!! 🙂 hooray for youuuuuu! xo
Evey
marla says
Wow! Lucky you girl. I would take any and all of these.
ClaudiaIsBaking says
@ kathleen Cepela:
A friend has one and turns it on low until it comes to temp, then turns it off. She puts her freshly iced cookies there to help them crust and not stay so sticky. Haven’t tried it myself since I don’t have a cool, super-duper oven like Marian’s going to have… Maybe she’ll test that out for us.
kathleen Cepela says
@ ClaudiaIsBaking:
Thanks for the warming drawer tip. I am going to try it.
Amanda @ Bluebirdcakes says
Thoughts on the range: all 3 are lovely but be aware of the following when making your decision:
1) I have a range with “foil” front mounted controls. Heat/steam from the oven will cause the foil to deteriorate and curl over time (makes C look like a great choice)
2) depending on your height a front mounted control panel may not be for you. It is surprisingly easy to reset your oven temp with a misplaced hip. Front control panels are also kid-magnets 😉
Good luck with your reno!
Michelle Pillsworth says
Having just completed a kitchen reno in my own home, I have done a lot of research on appliances.
My options:
Oven: B Thoughts: I don’t like using the second oven for baking (bottoms brown too much) but I love the extra size of the main oven. One burner has higher BTU than on A, but there is also a low BTU burner (for simmering). Having the 5th burner is a big plus.
Fridge: C Thoughts: the external water dispenser means your fridge doesn’t get opened as frequently, and it has more storage capacity. If you really don’t like the idea of the fridge jutting out past the counters, then go for A. With the SS range, the SS fridge will fit in nicely.
Dishwasher: A Just because.
Amy says
Marian,
My two cents on this only regards the refrigerator…I know it ruins the look (and ability to make custom panels) but the water dispenser on the outside of the door makes a lot more sense than on the inside to me. The french door fridges are very nice and open so wide, however, you will have to stand there with your glass filling up while all the cold air rushes out around you! And as my grandpa always said “SHUT THE FRIDGE DOOR!!!” ahahahahahah
xo Amy
P.S. LUCKY GIRL!!!
Susie-Q says
A,C,A – they have similar stylings w/ the handles so they seem to match each other more – but then…what do I know? I have a white dw, ivory fridge, & black microwave and stove. Maybe it’s just me dreaming for myself! 🙂
Pamela says
I recently had to buy all new appliances since we bought a house which had been stripped of its’appliances. We had one house in the running with all KitchenAid appliances, including a 48″ burner cooktop and a wine station with a wine fridge and an icemaker. It looked amazing! Lucky you!
For the stove I would go with C. I do not think the touch panel on the front of A is a good idea with kids or stomachs bumping into it. I would want dual fuel. Electric is better for baking and gas for stove top. The burners on C have one at 20,000 BTUs and two at !5,000BTUs. These three high BTU burners make a world of difference, believe me! The oven capacity is the same on A & C. Convection is available on all settings. Here is one of my pet peeves, when I was house hunting. I told the Realtor I only wanted a stove with the opportunity for a proper vent fan. This can be hard to find. I would recommend a shelf over the stove. Old-fashioned stoves and restaurant stoves always have this. My vent hood also has a heat lamp, but even without a heat lamp, if you have a shelf over your stove, you can keep things warm there, bring things to room temp there, proof dough there, etc…..It is not for spices, which would go off in the heat. I use the shelf over my cooktop every single day, if only to warm plates for a meal. I dislike over the stove microwaves for this reason, as well as I think it is a dangerous location for a microwave. The location for our stove had a lovely tile backsplash, so I wanted as unobtrusive a shelf as possible and put up an Ikea Grundtal shelf which cost under $30 – with my 36″ GE Monogram stove! The GE shelf is part of a backsplash and, if I had used it, I would have lost the tile backsplash. The inexpensive Ikea shelf looks great!
On the DW, I like B because I like the commercial looking handle. ON dishwashers: the more expensive dishwashers are more quiet. I like a dishwasher with a delay setting so I can run it overnight.
On the refrigerator: If you go with B that would be a design decision. Since I have already chosen 2 commercial -looking appliances, either A or C would be fine to coordinate design-wise. But only put in C if you can construct your kitchen so that it looks built in. Nothing is worse than a jutting out refrigerator that doesn’t fit. C would certainly have more cubic feet for storage. I had to put a counter depth refrigerator into my kitchen. I was further limited as the space was not only very tall but was up against a side wall, which limited me to built ins from GE Monogram, Sub Zero or Thermador. They have less cubic feet than Model C. I will say that all the drawers on high-end refrigerators work very well and I like the freezer drawer. I had to be dragged screaming and kicking to a freezer drawer, as it had much less cubic feet of storage than a side by side. But it has worked out remarkably well and is easy to get things in and out of. Even with less cubic feet, my built in refrigerator is well designed and holds a lot for its capacity. I don’t think you have to buy a built in, you just need to make it look built in by surrounding it with cabinetry.
I also have opinions on other appliances —hehe — I am very picky in my kitchen.
Suzi says
Oven: I’m torn between B & C; I would love the huge door window, but I also love the look of C, and even heat sounds awesome.
Fridge: Definately C – I love having my exterior water dispenser; and I have a friend who HATES her counter depth fridge and wishes she had gotten standard.
Dishwasher: A. Besides the look being more uniform with the other appliances, the handle on B looks like it might be difficult to clean (all the nooks and crannies)
JEALOUS! GOOD LUCK!
Yvonne says
B. Freestanding | Gas Range | Even-Heatâ„¢ True Convection Oven | Even-Heatâ„¢
C. Standard-Depth | French Door | Exterior Water Dispenser | FreshFlowâ„¢ Produce Preserver | Food Care System
A. ProWashâ„¢ Cycle and ProDryâ„¢ Dishwasher… sounded reasonable & right quality.
Whichever you decide on, gonna be great. Seriously for sure. It’s KitchenAid®!!!! Can’t do no wrong here. 😉
sherry webb says
I would have to go with (if it were my kitchen), A, C, A. Reasons…range…it was a toss up between A and C…but it would be a disaster for me if the bottom drawer wasn’t available…I have always kept all of my frying pans and the broiler there. For the fridge …LOVE the french doors and bottom freezer but was clinches it for me is the water and ice on the door. I love ice cold water and wouldn’t want to be constantly opening and closing the fridge door for ice. The dishwasher..it was the handle that decided it for me…I can see me getting my hand or fingers stuck in B…it looks like a trap for/to me ….Handle A matches the style of the rest of the appliances.
Paula says
For myself I’d go with A,A&A. Whichever of the models you choose, you can’t really go wrong. Your kitchen reno is going to be fabulous.
P.S. We have an open concept kitchen living and dining room. The latest dishwashers are fabulous with all their extra insulation and features. Ours is so quite that I sometimes have to look to see that the wash light is on to see that it is in fact running.
Joan says
A or C Range is the way to go. The slide-in ovens are the newest design. We updated our appliances in 2011 and chose the slide in for its sleek style. What I like best is that it does not interrupt the line of the backsplash, like our old stand-alone. Also, we get lots of compliments. I’m looking forward to seeing a photo of your finished kitchen!
Janet says
As someone going through a massive bathroom remodel, I’ll tell you what I continue to remind myself to do… Enjoy the process! In terms of choosing which appliances, I could tell you what worked for me but it’s YOUR kitchen. So touch and play and decide for yourself based upon your needs and what fits your kitchen and lifestyle best.
xo
Kimmie says
Oh my goodness you are so lucky! What I would give for all new Kitchenaid appliances! I have the mixer and love, love love it! The quality is amazing! I would pick A,C and A. I love the way the stove looks and for sure you want a water dispenser on your fridge. As for the dishwasher that one just goes perfect with all the other appliances! I have heard nothing but good things about Kitchenaid appliances!
NanaPhyllis says
I like stove A, frig C, dishwasher A.
Julie @ Table for Two says
I love the backless look to ovens these days! I would go with A for the oven, C for the fridge and A for the dishwasher. Dishwasher B with that new handle looks kind of like a beer bottle opener to me, LOL
SusanH says
Ok – said I was not posting another comment but as I was cooking dinner tonight I thought I could be remiss if I did not. We went with A – I love it. I purchased my appliances and had them in the garage when the cabinets and were being built and the granite counters fabricated. I wanted no issues with size or fit. Look back at picture A – Looking at the front corners of the oven – see how they curve a little? I was told repeatedly that it was no issue. When they went to install the oven it was an issue and the granite people had to come back and trim down the countertop so it would fit. It is not a perfect “slide in”if you want as tight a fit as I did. B and C appear to be squared off and would provide an easier slide in fit. It was an easy fix – but something you might think about depending on your counter. They also installed a 3/4 inch strip of granite behind the unit where it was not flush with the wall.
sylvia says
Oven: The one with the dual oven option and the big viewing window, because if you’re like me, you like staring at your food while it bakes.
Fridge: Exterior water dispensers are awesome.
Dishwasher: I like A’s handle style better.
Marian N says
A,C &A would be my choices. A slide in stove is a no brainer for me. The french door style fridge is a dream and stylistically these three have the same long curved handles. I just love continuity and balance.
Shannon says
Hi Marian,
You are an inspiration- and congratulations on your soon-to-be new kitchen appliances. Can’t wait to see them in the background of your tutorials. You’re amazing… my son wants me to make those car cookies you did recently!! As for your kitchen… my 2 cents:
Oven: B- I personally love the back set, especially to see the timer from across the room. The added size of the window would be advantageous to observing the glory of your baked goods inside. Nice for your tutorials too… probably make for some good shots of your baking inside the oven. 🙂 In addition, looks more child-safe to have the tempting buttons out of reach.
FRIDGE: C- the convenience of the external water is awesome… especially if you’ve got flour on you, and don’t want to open the fridge door for a quick glass of water. The alternative seems a huge waste of cold air/ energy to keep opening the door for water, and harder to keep foods fresh that way.
DISHWASHER: A- the handle would be easier to grab, and functionally would give space for dishtowels… or more ideally… for you to advertise “Sweetopia” dish towels on… now that’s a thought 🙂
Looking forward to continuing to follow you and your works of art!!
-Shannon (Burlington, ON)
Valerie says
Hi Marian,
I don’t know about the other appliances, but I have “A” out of the stove selections. I live in Chicago, but the product is exactly the same as the stove you posted in your blog. I love that I have a choice of switching over to convection, adore the warming drawer, and stove top is wonderful because you can move items in and out of the flame… Oh, cleaning is a breeze because the design and cooking surfaces are not fussy. I also love that it is truly stainless steel as opposed to a faux stainless. It looks really smart in my kitchen. I’m proud to say that every cookie I have produced has come out of that oven!
Tiarna C says
B, B, C
niner bakes // ninerbakes.com says
Hi Marian,
first of all..I love it all!
Kitchen Aid is THE ultimate! I am happy you chose that brand.
To me oven B is really awesome, I think!!
Either fridge A or fridge C, love that style!
Dishwasher A would totally fit to the fridges because of its handle.
Either way, your kitchen will look gorgeous and I can’t wait to see it and visit of course haha..
Much love sweetie!
xoxo..niner 🙂
Camille Gabriel says
Hi Miss Marian… 🙂
For the stove/oven, I think B is the better choice due to its additional or great features… 🙂 I know that design is really a factor, but if it was me (only if it was me… hehe!) I would probably choose the one with the better specifications/features… 🙂
As for the fridge, I’m torn between B and C. B is really tempting because of the custom panels that can be added, but due to the feature that lengthens the freshness of your food(and the color of your kitchen… minor point :D), I would probably pick C. Yah… 🙂 C is my choice… 🙂
Lastly, for the fridge, my choice is A simply because it will compliments Stove B and Fridge C… 😀 hehe!
I will try to make butter cookies and design it with royal icing because I was really inspired by your work… 🙂 Thank you so much for helping my unknowingly… 🙂 Please continue inspiring people like me… 🙂
Love lots,
Camille 🙂
Tom says
Stove/Oven – “A” – bigger area to cook on.
Fridge – “C” – external water dispenser.
Dishwasher – “C” – bigger handle at front to open. Won’t be as clumsy to open as the smaller handle
Helga says
Congratulations! It’s awesome that you’ll get kitchenAid appliances!!
I like stove C better
For the fridge I would go with A. I remember my grandma’s outside dispenser frequently not working and I just visited my aunt and hers wasn’t working either (I don’t know what brand are theirs) so I have the idea they don’t work properly all the time and I would hate to waste space.
I really like dishwasher B but I agree the handle on A goes better with any stove and fridge you choose.
Can’t wait to see the “After” pictures! Have fun!!
Stefanie says
I would choose ACA – love the backless look and rack for baking. Like the handle on the DW of A better. Also like the french doors look of the fridge. All beautiful. I love KitchenAid!!
xo
Stef
Katharine says
A. C. A.
Oven because of the look. Fridge because here in Sydney Australia really cold water on tap is really nice. (No jugs in the fridge which people forget to refill.) Dishwasher – I like the big, easy-to-handle handle.
One thought occurs to me looking at your oven choices. Here in Australia most people choose a separate cook-top and oven. I’ve noticed from looking at blogs and Canadian decorating shows (OK Sarah Richardson) that the default position seems to be an all-in-one oven/cooktop. Interesting?
Katharine
NanaPhyllis says
B, C, B would be my choices!
Andrea says
My only concern is to regards of the oven / stove combo. There is a safety issue with the controls to the oven placed BEHIND the burners. I cook almost every meal using the burners and stove at the same time. Reaching the controls for the oven while dishes are cooking on the stove top is an accident waiting to happen. Beware of sleeves catching fire.
Norm says
I would go with ACA! Very nice Marian!
Katie Stewart says
Hi!
i would choose oven C because there’s no better look than an open top oven, imagine just heating a kettle on it plus iits a great size door to fit in anything! Deffinately what i would go for
For the fridge, id say B i know it doesnt match the metal, but thats what a kitchen is about its mix and match of the things you love, plys it means theres a lot less harsh and shiny colours in the kitchen which would otherwise hurt your brain when pouring yourself breakfast early in the morning!
for the dishwasher deffinately A, think about it, your eaten dinner and all you want to do is stack away the dishes and relax, with a bigger handle its easier to grab when you have so many dishes in one hand plus it minimalises the amount of times you miss the handle when your not actually looking at what your doing and avoids the painful knuckle smacking against hard machinery (trust me i do it every week!)
Hopefully this helps, at the end of the day, its what you like the most its your kitchen and if you follow someones opinion rather than that own liiitle voice in the back of your head, you might regret it! but hopefully you choose the right ones and i hope the kitchen turns out wonderful!
Good Luck
Katie xxx
naomi says
I say A, C and B. I can’t wait for the reveal!!
Megan Pence {Country Cleaver} says
I would do C,A,A for them. What great appliances – really you can’t go wrong with any of them!!
Helene says
I vote B,A,A. My sister has a stove/oven similar to A and she does not like the fact that there is no back attached and she said that often things will fall behind the stove. Can’t wait to see the pictures of your new kitchen!!!
Jada Patterson says
Mine is B,C,B!
Jada Patterson says
Jada Patterson wrote:
Kim Chiurazzi says
My vote would be A-A-A…. I have dishwasher A, and it’s great! I would recommend all stainless steel appliances. They will look great with your remodeled white kitchen…. Best of luck with your reno! I’m sure it will be great!
Michael says
Marian, it was so great to meet you on the road this afternoon! All our appliances are kitchen aid too and we love them. We ended up with a traditional fridge with single door dor to the layout of our kitchen it just made more sense for us and we went with traditional depth since there was a pretty significant price jump to counter depth – not an issue for you. As for dishwasher, we choose ours solely based on noise level. Went for the absolutely quietest model since its an open plan kitchen living room and I just hate listening to dishwashers!
Cindy Holshouser says
I have the double-oven KitchenAid stove and love it. The smaller top oven we use most the time. The larger lower oven has a convection feature. I love this stove so much. Perfect for keeping something warm while something else is still cooking. And the inside is bright cobalt blue – fun.
I like Frig B and Dishwasher A.
Jadine says
I got rid of my gas stove (hate cleaning it, dangerous open flame) and got an induction cooktop stove and I love it. So easy to clean and it works just like gas, but even hotter. And when the heat is turned off, the glasstop is just barely warm, no residual heat to overcook and so easy to clean up any messes. As for the dishwasher, I would go with the square handle if you are getting st. st unless KA has some kind of coating to make it easy clean. It looks like the handle of the KA is the same as LG and Samsung, it tapers in at the end. It’s horrible to clean. You grab the handle with wet hands and you usually grab it towards the side – noone stands directly in front of the dishwasher to load – and the dishwasher and handle get marked from the water, grease etc and try to get anything in that tiny space to clean. Awful ++++. Not so bad on the fridge bec you grab it mostly in the center but same issue. I ended up with side by side bec the french door models only have 2 produce bins and I needed more storage, and the wide tray at the bottom that is only a few inches high was useless for me. Do you have enough clearance for the doors if you are putting fridge in same place as before?
mary says
we actually have the ‘c’ stove/oven and have been loving it. the only problem i have is the control in front as it gets dirty easily even if you’re just cooking eggs. we’ve had ours for just about 2yrs now and i noticed that the glass is cracking or at least it is showing some cracks. if i were you, go with ‘a’, looks like a better design than ‘c’.