Appliance Shopping Success

After doing lots and lots and lots (and lots) of online homework, J and I finally felt like we had narrowed down our field of potential appliances for the kitchen. At the outset I honestly thought doing that research would be fun and interesting - I enjoy design and decorating and often like perusing such things even when I'm not actually looking to buy. This was so much different than I expected! I did have fun at first, but then when I would find something I liked, then find too many bad reviews about motors blowing up in just a few months of use, or discover that a beautiful appliance had no features, or it was beyond our price range... well you can imagine. It got frustrating. We did have some specifications that we had to stick to so we couldn't just pick something from our price range and call it good.

We thought it would be ideal to find all three appliances (refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher) at the same retailer so we could easily schedule one delivery. That hope was short lived. We also had to have the counter-depth refrigerator and really wanted to avoid another side-by-side. We were ok with top freezer or bottom freezer with one top door, and french-door was the favorite. The stove and dishwasher I wasn't as particular about but still wanted them to be intelligent choices. We had to have hidden buttons on the dishwasher with our curious toddler around. She would never leave buttons on the front alone. As it is, we're lucky to have a difficult dial or she would have the dishwasher running randomly throughout the day. We also of course wanted them to match reasonably if they weren't going to be the same brand. We have to live with them for a few years until we're ready to move so I didn't want to just take whatever I could find.

All that said, we scoured online, found a few prospects and decided to peek around some nearby stores to see if there were any good deals there. Luckily a few stores had already started their Presidents' Day sales, so we did find some really good prices. After some browsing we selected all three appliances from HHGregg. We went back two days later and our dishwasher was no longer available. The stove was floor model only which I wasn't comfortable with, and there were just 4 of the refrigerator of our dreams (and for the price of our dreams- on a closeout sale for just $1,710) left in the warehouse. We got the fridge for next-day delivery and decided to go back to the drawing board for our dishwasher and stove.

The fridge was delivered Thursday and looks spectacular! The function isn't bad either, haha ;) While it is a relatively small fridge at 19.8 cubic feet of interior space, it fits beautifully in our kitchen and for the first time in almost 5 years our pantry door opens all the way! Luckily we don't store that much food around here with just two adults and a toddler. Our fridge primarily keeps milk, yogurt, eggs, butter, condiments and a few containers of leftovers which we either eat or clear out on a weekly basis. The freezer also feels smaller (though I'm not sure if it is based on cubic feet since the side-by-side freezer was pretty small) but I was still able to fit everything we had into it comfortably. Again, we don't store that much extra food.

Anyway, enough chatter... shall we take a look?

Hello, glorious new fridge! Why, are those hinges I see on that pantry door??

Allow me to briefly refresh your memory as to how our pantry has opened for the past 5 years...

About 45 degrees, right? A total pain to stand beside the pantry and reach in with half of your body. I don't even think this picture does it justice. I really should have taken a picture with someone standing there to show just how annoying it was. But alas, this is no more...

Our pantry door now opens almost a full 90 degrees! I really could slap the person who decided that the  refrigerator should be placed where the pantry door opens, but I think we have made the best of that with our little counter-depth beauty :) J and I have each caught ourselves standing beside the pantry with the door barely ajar reaching in. Such a nice realization to swing that door open a little further and actually stand in front of the pantry for the first time. 

As for the other two appliances, they are ordered and should be delivered on March 5th. I was so disappointed to have to go back and start doing more research to find new ones after our first picks fell through, but I think we're actually better off. I decided to go with Whirlpool after reading a Consumer Reports article showing they had the fewest number of service calls for the past 15 years in a row. The appliances that were in our house when we bought it were/are all Whirlpool (and I'm fairly certain they're the originals that were installed when the house was built in 1999) and so far none have needed repair since we've lived here. I found a dishwasher at Best Buy with tons of features, positive reviews and on sale for a steal at $411. We found a matching Whirlpool stove from Best Buy also for just $600. Our expectations were that we'd spend about $2,000 on the fridge and then get as close to $500 (or less) as possible for the dishwasher and stove. And we have success! 

I'm super excited for the other appliances to get here so we can have the whole set (they actually all match surprisingly well for being different brands). In the mean time, the hutch is clear and just needs to be taken out of the kitchen. Then I'll be finishing up my cutting in on that wall and repairing some corners so I'm ready to roll-- paint roll, that is. I'd love to get all rolling done in the kitchen during one good long nap time. I'll have to wait until J is home to help me move the stove and fridge so I can't paint behind them, but everything else can be done at nap time. I'd like all the paint done by the time the new appliances get here. We had a pre-tile consultation with our tile-laying helpers and that looks like it should be happening within the next month or so as well. Yay!

After paint, appliances and tile, the only thing left to do in the kitchen is painting the cabinets. Hopefully by the time the other stuff is done the weather will be warming up a little bit and I'll be able to get started on that project out on our deck. Can't wait! :)  Anyone else doing any make-overs at home? Has anyone painted their cabinets? If so, what's your best piece(s) of advice? I have a pretty clear plan based on what I know has worked perfectly for others, but I'm always open for pointers.