In this video, you'll learn the differences
between affordable and more basic appliances.
Should you spend more?
In some cases, you may not want to.
We'll tell you the features and price
differences of each appliance in your kitchen.
The refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and finally the hood as well.
Stay til the end, and I'll tell you how
to make that basic or affordable luxury kitchen even more affordable as well.
And I'll include some design tips and hacks throughout the video to make
your kitchen and look the best at any price.
Refrigerators and stoves are the most important, so let's start
with refrigeration because they have the most variations.
For affordable luxury, the refrigerator of choice is counter-depth.
It's called counter-depth because the refrigerator is covered
by the cabinet, so it's nice to not seeing the black textured sides,
especially if the refrigerator is more central in your kitchen.
Typically, the most popular counter-depth
is the French door and there's so many adaptations.
The traditional three-door, with a drawer,
four doors, to the best models with insta view windows and computer screens.
A counter-depth starts at about $1,500.
You'll learn how to get it cheaper later
and can escalate to almost $5,000 depending on the features.
Basic-style refrigerators can be top mount
freezer, bottom mount freezer, or side by side doors.
Even French door with the freezer on the bottom.
For counter-depth, the size is almost always 36 inches wide.
For a standard refrigerator, you can buy a 30, 33 or 36 inch size.
Prices fluctuate between $799 and $1,500
for a top mount or standard-depth French door.
For the better refrigerators, now have two evaporators to keep the air of the fridge
and freezer separate rather than one transferring air to both.
After that, decisions become about size and features.
Now, counter-depth is better aesthetic,
but it becomes less important the farther away it is in your kitchen.
You can also buy a bigger standard-depth for less money.
Just put at the end of your cabinet run so it won't be as noticeable. You can
build an enclosure out to make it look counter-depth.
For affordable luxury, the front control or slide-in range
is the cooking product of choice.
With the controls on the front, you can see your backsplash without
the back guard of a freestanding range ruining the look.
After that, you pay for features.
Like a fifth griddle burner on the top or even a 6th burner in gas
if you go with the Cafe range and electric,
you'll pay more for the faster and more responsive magnetic induction as well.
In gas, the front burners tend to be
hotter up to 21,000 BTU. Slide-ins all have
convection fan force heat to keep a more
even temperature in your oven for especially better baking.
However, you also have different
configurations with warming drawers instead of a storage drawer, warmers keep
food warm up to 3 hours of dehydrating your food like a microwave.
You can also buy double oven ranges from Cafe, Samsung and KitchenAid.
So you can cook two different items in two distinct ovens.
Good slide-in ranges will cost you $1,500 to $4,000, depending on the features.
Again, I'll show you how to get a better price later in the video.
Basic freestanding ranges have improved considerably since I started in 1986.
You can buy a freestanding gas with two
power burners rated 15,000 BTU plus along with convection for less than $1,000.
With similar prices for an electric range. You have a back guard and fewer upgraded
features, but you're saving at least $500 more.
A good basic dishwasher like this Beko is a stainless steel interior with all
the basic cycles you'll use with a decent quietness rating
at 48 decibels. It will cost about $599.
Most of the lesser expensive dishwashers
use condensation to dry using the heat and steam from the wash to dry the dishes.
It does an okay job on plates, but it's not
as good on less dense items like plastic.
You can buy even cheaper, but you'll have a much louder dishwasher
with plastic tub, which tends to retain odors.
Unlike stainless, you'll save $100-$150.
Now let's say you don't want to hear your dishwasher.
If your kitchen is close to your living
space. You want to look for a 44 decibel quietness rating.
Those dishwashers will start typically at $899.
They also tend to have better racking as
well, with an adjustable top rack and more cycles.
Some of the features you might want
to consider are better washing with better sprays, like Miele, KitchenAid, and Beko.
LG adds steam in their dishwasher to prevent spotting and powered stains.
Bosch's door will pop open, to eliminate excess heat and steam.
Those dishwashers will typically cost around $1,000.
If you want way better dry, Profile, Bosch and Miele have the best drying
system, either introducing outside air into or out of the dishwasher.
Bosch's crystal dry uses volcanic elements
to emit heat and absorb moisture, and it works the best
as crazy as it sounds.
They cost $1,100-$1,400 vs $599 for a more basic dishwasher.
In this case, the vents are unfortunately
equal. When you look at four piece kitchen packages,
they all feature the over the range microwave vent combinations.
Though it's convenient and inexpensive at around $250-$400,
the vent part doesn't work properly, especially if you like to cook.
We cover why exclusively in other videos,
but briefly, it doesn't cover the front burners and have adequate exhaust
so the odors and fumes whenever you cook will stay in your house.
I should know, I have one in my apartment. For either,
you should buy a hood with 23 inches in-depth to cover those front burners,
and with CFM of 400 to 600, depending on how you cook.
Now let's save some money.
From 2000 to the middle of 2020,
you bought what was available almost at any price.
However, prices pre-pandemic were
discounted as much as 10%-35% around holidays and moving forward,
you'll see some bigger discounts around
Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th and Black Friday.
So time that as best as you can.
You should also buy from the same manufacturer possible to maximize any
rebates. You'll save, or spend at least $1,500 and up
to $5,000, depending on the options you pick.
That said, you can find different elements
and have both basic and better appliances in your kitchen.
Whether you want a quiet dishwasher or faster induction or gas slide-in range,
or a counter-depth refrigerator, it's your kitchen. Buy what you'll use and enjoy.
If you want to see all your options for affordable luxury brands,
then click this video, and thanks for watching.