You mention handles. I was just looking on Zillow at some houses and it dawned on me in one kitchen that the handles on the stove were obnoxious. I wouldn’t die on a handle decision but I do think it they can be “similar” that is nice.
I also wonder what people’s thoughts are on water/ice on the door. Not so much me, but my family feel it’s a must.
We updated our kitchen in 2021. I wanted a Bosch dishwasher ( based on recommendations and reviews) so decided to get all Bosch appliance for the look. 2 yrs later, the magnatron went on the microwave, electronic part needed to be replaced for the range, and the a part for the ice-maker broke in the refrigerator.
No ice/ water in door, like clean lines.
I didn’t want ice through the door when we replaced our latest fridge. But we purchased during COVID and I was happy to find anything that was counter depth…and white. And my husband wanted a side by side.
We have whirlpool.
Switching to a counter depth fridge was one of the best kitchen decisions we have made. I was so worried that we wouldn’t have enough room and then read an article that said nothing good happens in the back 6 inches of the refrigerator.
This convinced me and we have been very happy with our choice. It fits much better and we can see everything when we open the doors.
I strongly recommend AGAINST Samsung refrigerators. We have had two bad experiences.
Our fridge is a few inches deeper than counters, but with its corner location it looks fine.
We drink a lot of water in dry Colorado and like to have water/ice on the door. But I know many other people who prefer a cleaner look without it.
Another vote for “not a Samsung.” A few years ago, I spent a whole summer out of town. My Samsung fridge, which was literally only months out of warranty, died while I was away. The freezer contents were a steaming block of black mold when I got home, and the fridge wasn’t fixable. I now have a Maytag.
ABT. They ship world wide. Very well known company.
Ask for Voula. She’s an expert on all of the this and has deep manufactor connections.
There was a recent article in the WSJ about the short life of appliances nowadays - here is the article (sorry I don’t have a gift link for it - maybe you can read it with a library or other subscription) https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/the-lifespan-of-large-appliances-is-shrinking-e5fb205b
Knowing they don’t last as long as they used to, you may not want to buy such an expensive one. Since either way, it won’t have a long lifespan.
We also have counter depth but also our cabinets aren’t like high enough. I think… I think the old fridges were shorter then the newer same size ones.
We had friends who had a wide enough space for a new fridge, but they had to remove the cabinet that was above their fridge. They couldn’t find a new fridge short enough.
I had the opposite problem. I had a true counter depth fridge (really same depth as counters - my new counter depth extends a couple of inches) and it was 84 inches tall/built in. During COVID I had to get a new one, and the only one we could find that met requirements was going to be $15K (no typo). I wound up getting a shorter one and put a new cabinet above fridge. It’s not an exact match in style, but very close, but since it’s above the fridge and has the same handles, people don’t notice. It’s same brand as other appliances, but the handles don’t match. I probably would have liked them to, but during COVID you took what you could get.
Well…yes…if you have an 84 inch tall subzero or similar type fridge, and you get a regular free standing fridge, it will be shorter!
Yep. We are talking not even an inch or so. I guess I can move it up a bit when we get a new one. I think. This one was built in back in the day. Lol
Our washer, dryer (in kitchen) and fridge and dishwasher are all white. The fridge has finish that iz supposed to hide fingerprinted and two white handles (prior fridge had no handles and was soiled where people opened and closed it).
Our stovetop is black with white and microwave is back & silver and oven is all black. It all looks good enough to me.
Our fridge is deeper than our counter and that’s fine too, as it’s at end of counter.
Great tips - thanks again!!
Refrigerator repair person came - 99% sure will be needing new one (waiting to see if this one starts cooling again - highly unlikely!).
He agreed with several here - don’t get a Samsung!
So I’ll be shopping this weekend - & the research/recs here are a great start!
Based on our experience, consider Frigidaire.
After our son went off to college in 2010, we had to replace or 1993 white fridge fridge (broken water dispenser, door shelves that fell out). We shopped a Lowe’s Labor Day sale. Undecided about whether to go stainless at remodel time, which still has not happened, we got a sale Frigidaire in black to match the other black/white appliances. Large side/side with water and ice, with a bit of texturing so no finger prints. I think it was about $700, maybe less after we pointed out a small dent on the side which is hidden by our cabinets. We’ve not had an problems with it.
My appliance repair guy recommended Whirlpool, Frigidaire or Maytag. Definitely recommended against Sam Sung and LG as it’s really hard for even repair folks to get parts.
My GE Monogram French, counter depth fridge is my favorite appliance. No water dispersal, as that broke on last fridge. My kids like their cafe. Everything same color but not the same brand
I looked up at the library the consumer reports for refrigerators a few months back. It is enlightening. LG and GE seemed to come out on top for refrigerators. They list the brands and the model.
We have a narrow space that would not allow widening (granite countertop) at 35 inches. Really hard to find choices at that size.
One thing I did notice was there was big differences in freezer sizes in French door and Side by side ones. I looked at how much we use freezer (a lot) compared to refrigerator space.
We are still on our Kitchen aide 23 yrs old, but the ice and water dispenser recently went out. I think they just don’t make filters that fit for this frig anymore. Kitchen aide just is mostly out of the frig business. Costco is not here - so we would use Home Depot choices when the time comes with removing the old one, etc.
We have a Miele refrigerator with French doors and a freezer below. It’s in our vacation place and it works well. We got it during the pandemic—the one there failed and we had limited choices.
We had good luck with a Miele dishwasher and induction stove so we decided to go with Miele for the fridge.