Appliance Hunting

The weekend is here for us as Jeff is done with work for the week starting at 2pm today. Perfect timing for me to squeeze a quick blog entry in while the girls are napping (well, Rosemary is running around in her gated bedroom).

Searching for appliances hasn't been much of a chore because we did so much research last time we bought our appliances. We were really happy with the ones we chose for our last house and planned to purchase many of the same for this house.

For the refrigerator, we have chosen the same one we had before: GE Cafe French Door Counter Depth Refrigerator.


The things I like about this refrigerator are 1) It has a flat front. Many refrigerators these days have rounded or contoured fronts...I prefer them flat. 2) There is no water/ice dispenser on the outside of the refrigerator (there is on the inside of it)...which means my floors won't be getting flooded with little hands working the water dispenser. Most of the exterior water/ice dispensers come with locks, but unlocking it would be an extra step for me I don't need. 3) I like having the refrigerator up top and the freezer below which I use a lot less frequently. Plus, I don't have little people helping themselves to the refrigerator quite as easily. 4) It's great for storing wide things...like platters of food, cakes, etc...all of which seem to be frequent visitors to our refrigerator between birthdays, Baptisms and holidays.

Side note, I now hear Rosemary upstairs moving furniture...???

For the stove, we are going with one we haven't had before: GE Cafe Dual Fuel 30" range.

This stove is obviously from the same series as the refrigerator which means we get an added rebate on our purchase. 2 things I really love about this range 1) It has a fifth burner in the center with a griddle. Being that I make Rosemary "pampakes" every morning, this will be FANTASTIC! 2) The bottom normal storage drawer is actually a second oven that can go all the way up to 450 degrees! It's tiny...but it could certainly fit a 9x13" baking pan which would be awesome to have!

In order to feel confident we are getting the best possible deal on our appliances, I sought out three stores I felt would have the most competitive prices: Werner Stellian, Appliancesmart and Sears. I went in to Werner and asked them for their best price on them...including any promotions they were offering, rebates that were available, delivery options, storage options (since we won't be ready for them for another 2 months or so), etc. I then went home and called the other two stores to see how their prices looked.

The interesting thing is that all three places said they price match...so essentially I could take my lowest bid and get it from anyone??? Werner Stellian had the lowest price...and also offered free storage and free delivery. Awesome! However, Appliancesmart had a unique opportunity for 'scratch-n-dent' appliances. They had the refrigerator we were looking for with a tiny pin-hole dent on the front of it for $500 less than new. I decided not to go with that one simply because it's on the front. However, they also had our stove in perfect condition aside from a dent in the SIDE of it. Now, he said it isn't a small dent...but it's in the side. Our stove is a slide-in that will go between cabinetry...so the side won't be visible at all. It also isn't visible from the inside of the oven. So...I'm left pondering. It would take $516 off the lowest price I could find. But, you are still paying a pretty penny for it...and it has a big ol' dent in the side. Hmmmm...

So, when it comes to appliance hunting, like everything else, doing your homework pays off. I have to say Werner Stellian really stands out to me being that they are a family owned business and also offer spectacular customer service (one of the employees even played with Rosemary to keep her busy while I talked to the salesman). So, all things considered, we are leaning towards purchasing through them...but will give ourselves the rest of the day to decide.

PS - Rosemary is up at her gate yelling, "MOOOOOOOOOOOM, I"M DONE WITH MY NAP!" Signing off...at 4pm today is our construction kick-off meeting...woot woot!