Part of the reason we saved enough money to afford our new dream home is the fact that over the years we have invested next to nothing in quality furniture or in some cases basic furniture.
In reality we are at least one step below Ikea furniture. Check out the current state of our kitchen chairs. We have more than once hosted a BYOC party (bring your own chair). So as the house gets nearer, the need to upgrade is obvious and the first step is buying new appliances.
As we get closer to the purchase date, I will post more precise ideas of what we chose and why, but hear are some initial tips I can share.
1) Don’t trust sales people
Ok, this sounds harsh, but so far I am not impressed with “appliance” salespeople. Every salesperson seems to have a different understanding or explanation. One salesperson tells you a “stainless steel” interior for a dishwasher is a must because it cleans better, the other claims it has no impact on cleaning but will ensure a silent wash, while number three says it’s just more durable.
The answer, based on about.com and a few other references, a stainless steel interior is primarily for show, although it is slightly more durable and will not stain like plastic.
2) Don’t get caught up with features
They sound great when you’re in the store, but in reality once you take a step back you realize you most likely don’t need or won’t use the feature. In truth, have you ever said…? “Hummm, I wish I could watch TV on my fridge” and do you really want to start sorting your dishes based on what material they are made of before turning on the dishwasher? Isn’t that more of a pain than anything else?
3) Ask friends and family what they love and hate about their appliances
Ok, so this won’t make you the most popular people at a party, but our friends and families definitely had an opinion about their appliances and if they screwed up, why not learn from their mistakes. For example, I realized that almost none of my friends use the convection setting for their oven, that the warming drawer they wanted so badly ended up being a pot repository, and that if you put your dishwasher in an island, you should splurge on a quiet model.
4) Ask sales people to compare styles for you so you can make a better choice
Despite my complete distrust of “appliance” sales people. I did get some pretty good style advice from them. They hear a lot of comments from other shoppers and some had some good insight. For example, I was and still am hesitating on fridge styles. Although I was told the French door style was very popular, one sales guy asked if I was planning on having kids. He said one woman with an infant mentioned that having to use two hands to open the fridge would drive her nuts, especially if she was carrying her bundle of joy in her other arm.
I hope this helps and feel free to offer your suggestions to us.
Have a great day
Pam
