Choosing Appliances
When you build a house, remodel, or just want to upgrade your kitchen, choosing appliances is a big part of your decisions. The appliances in your kitchen are going to affect the mood, feel, and ease of use, as well as your wallet. There is more to appliances than price, and the highest priced models are not always the best for each person. When choosing appliances you should consider your personality and style, and choose models that will best fit your specific needs. Thus, before you ever go shopping, answer the following questions:
How to Kitchen Choose Appliances
What feel do you prefer that your kitchen have--a sleek feel, restaurant feel, ordinary everyday feel, etc? (This will make a difference in the overall appearance, color, stainless steel, or not, etc. type choices when it comes to appliances.
Are you more attracted to basic appliances, or the powerful industrial look? (Also, do you need appliances that do the basics, or are you a hard core chef, and need a convection oven as well as all the other specialties?)
Do you consider yourself a whiz in the kitchen, or do you just get by? (Are all the gadgets necessary because you cook so often, or are the necessary because you wouldn't cook without their convenience?)
When it comes to BTUs, do you know what you need, or care? (Basically if you do not know what the difference is, you should not spend your money getting a stove that has 4 burners with high BTUs, one would be sufficient, but if you do know, you want a stovetop that fits your needs.)
Who do you usually cook for? (One person, two? The more people you cook for, the more important your appliance selection becomes for the simple fact that more people rely on it.)
Appliance Features
Would you prefer to have a self cleaning oven, or clean it by scrubbing away? (Features like the self cleaning feature on an oven are nice, but can really add to the price, and if you don't need it, or don't use the oven often and would probably never use it, then why spend the extra money for it?)
When it comes to conventional vs. convection, do you know the difference, use both, or not care? (Appliances are sort of like cars, you can get stock, which gets you from point A to point B, or you can get one with lots and lots of upgrades, but if you do not know how to use the upgrades, or never would, why pay for them?)
In addition to your burners, what would you also like your cooktop to feature? (For example, if you are a breakfast at home type of person, and you fix it daily, then a nice griddle with your cook top would be a great added feature, if you want a wok, or something else, pick appliances that provide these features.)
Consider Your Budget
What is your appliance budget? (Let's face it, even if you want the stainless steel, 40 cubic feet side by side fridge and freezer, if it does not fit your budget, you can't get it, so when choosing appliances, consider your budget carefully and then get the most for your money.)
When it comes to refrigerators, what do you prefer, top freezer model, bottom freezer, side-by-side? (You are the one who has to live with the appliances, so when choosing appliances pick your preferences, and find appliances that have these preferences.)
Is it very important for you to have continuous cast-iron grates? (If you don't know what that means then the answer is no!)
Do you need a range that's larger than 36 inches? (What kind of pots and pans do you have, what will you be cooking? Will your stove and range be able to handle this?)
Do you plan to include any specialty appliances like pizza ovens, warming drawers or wine refrigerators? (When choosing your appliances, you will need to pick the basics, a refrigerator, stove, range, dishwasher, but then you can consider all the extras as well, and make your kitchen as deluxe or standard as you wish.)
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