As we wind down our kitchen renovations posts one important element that I need to write about our appliances. Appliances are a major financial investment in a kitchen. In some cases you may be able to work with the appliances that you already have (which saves you a fair bit of $$) but in our case, we desperately needed to purchase everything new. (Our fridge was making monster noises at night)
I initially found the selection process really overwhelming - I was considering function, quality and the aesthetically how it would look in our new renovated kitchen. We ended up falling hard for the GE Cafe collection. You can read about why we picked the collection in this post, but the rest of this particular post will give you more details on each piece. Stove, Microwave, Counter Depth Fridge, Dishwasher. If you're looking for top of the line appliances that give you great style and function, I would highly recommend you consider this line by GE Cafe.
1. GE Cafe Microwave
We decided that we wanted a microwave that would go above our stove. The beauty of choosing this kind of microwave that you install above your oven is that 1. It saves counter space (I hated loosing counter to appliances) and 2. It acts as a vent for the cooktop below. Because we are in a semi-detached house - and this wall is our shared wall, we couldn't vent outside. This vent feature sucks the steam when you're boiling/grilling something and moves it up and out.
I love, love this microwave. The touch pad screen is easy to use, you can pick to cook, reheat or defrost and it has a feature that automatically judges how long it needs to reheat something. (Press "Reheat coffee and WHAMO! it's done) See it online here.
2. GE Cafe Electric Stove
Although we have an electric top our oven still reads as industrial because of the details that GE put into the overall look. The straight handle. The huge oversize industrial knobs. The brushed stainless steel. In terms of style, it's amazing. Function wise, it's equally as amazing. When you warm up the stove, the digital screen on the front tells you the temperature that the oven is, as it warms up. It's kind of fun watching the number climb from 100 degrees and up. For a control freak like me, it's nice to know how much longer I have to wait until I can pop my baking in the oven. The inside of the stove is gorgeous, and the weight of the door is substantial. It looks, feels and acts as a professional stove. The cooktop is great - heats up water super quickly and offers a consistent heat for grilling etc. When you take off the pot/pans a little light feature shows you which elements are still hot, so you don't rest anything on it. In an ideal world I would have had a gas cooktop - but since we couldn't vent outside (the wall is a shared wall with our neighbour) we couldn't properly vent the gas.
As a new Mom I hadn't fully considered and that was having all the functions on the front of the oven .... easy for Oscar to play with. I panicked a wee bit when Oscar went to touch the controls. Thankfully Oscar has learnt not to touch the buttons or the knobs but also GE also has a "lockout" function that means no little ones can set the stove. Problem solved. See it online here.
3. GE Cafe Dishwasher
The dishwasher is pretty easy to review. Super easy to use, works really well. It is slightly smaller than other models, but this maximized extra cupboard space elsewhere. I like having the cutlery bin in the bottom drawer as I'm able to just pull that out after the cycle is done and walk it over to the drawer where I keep everything. See more information online here.
4. GE Cafe Counter Depth Fridge
This is a showstopper. I LOVE OUR FRIDGE. Where to begin? I love, love the handles. I know it sounds ridiculous but ever since designer Tommy Smythe pointed out on an episode of Sarah's House that he didn't like "Bow and Arrow" handles on fridges, I was in love with straight handles, like GE Cafe offers. Not many manufacturers make these handles - so if you're like me and design plays a major role in decisions, well, GE Cafe nailed it. The handles also take up less room - perfect for a galley kitchen. This is a counter depth fridge so not as deep - but wider than most fridges. It means we save on walk space but don't loose much in terms of fridge storage. Seriously, BEST fridge ever. Would buy this again in a heart beat. See more online here.
*Although we purchased our appliances, GE Cafe did extend us a discount.
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