It was amazing to see folks with money getting an expensive living room set—only to decide a year later that they saw something in a magazine they liked better and poof! New living room furniture! My (Great Depresson era) parents thought they’d arrived after buying a Flex Steel sofa, because those last a loooooong time!
I’ve always liked math quite a bit and I sort of routinely ask myself whether something pays off or not. For instance, if you spent $1000 extra to have all matching appliances, is your home worth $1000 more (to be concrete, would your home sell for $1000 more?) It’s a complicated question because do you take the first offer, wait, etc.? If you sell the house one month faster, that saves you a month of PITI. Or if it’s the difference between selling it at a loss in a weak market vs. not being able to sell it at all, was it worth spending the money? Maybe that depends on how desperate you are to sell, which may be hard to quantify.
(Said the guy who lives in a house with floors that don’t match. Would we recoup it if we spent thousands to make them uniform throughout?)
Mrs. L thinks real estate improvements “pay off.” I don’t think spending money means you recoup 100% of what you spent…but maybe you lose less overall and get to enjoy the improvements while you live there.
Last time i shopped for appliances a couple years ago I was looking for a white stove and microwave. There was one in stock at Best Buy. It was a returned stove, not quite the style I wanted. The salesman explained no one wants white much anymore and it would be a special order really to get one. I have white cabs, dark granite counters and a blue epoxy floor. A big white fridge too that we’re keeping. So we we went with a Samsung brushed stainless range it’s black stovetop surface blended well with the counters, a matching microwave above. It looks fine, I want to keep my fridge white given it’s location in the kitchen, but it should last another 10 years or so.
A lot of makes offer mounting kits so you can install a panel on the front of the dishwasher. This is usually done to match cabinet doors, but could be any color you want.
Just an option, and another expense. You will need someone skilled to mill and install. Any cabinet shop will make you a Maple panel. The door tension has to be adjusted after.
I don’t understand the hostility from some about stainless. People have different taste, some of us like the appearance of stainless steel. It has nothing to do with status or what other people think. I don’t give a fuck what anybody but my partner thinks about our kitchen.
I don’t really think much about if real estate improvements will pay off or not. I want to live in a nice looking home that suits us. One of the things we did to this place before we moved in was spend over a grand to have a nice looking catio built and painted to match the house. That isn’t money we will get back when we move or die, but is money well spent nonetheless.
I easily found a white dishwasher (Bosch), a white fridge (Samsung), and white washer and dryer (Samsung). I’m now planning on buying a replacement induction range and the most affordable choice seems to be one that I find a bit overpriced and the closest color is matte white (GE Cafe). There are other options, such as Viking, Fisher & Paykel, Dacor, and AGA, but they are well over the 5K mark.
I’ve seen countertop ones like yours, I was thinking of major appliances like stoves and dishwashers. Not sure I’ve ever seen a red refrigerator advertised, but they must be out there.
we have a small red refrigerator in our boat house (was there when we bought it, we didn’t choose it). It’s fun for that location but I wouldn’t want it in our home.
We’re going all stainless in our new kitchen, with the exception of the drawer fridge and freezer which will have wood fronts to match the cabinets.
As far as resale value, we plan on dying in our current home, so we don’t care about what the house will sell for someday.
There are high quality spray cans of paint available in many colors. Any enterprising DIYer can have any appliance in any color. … or colors. I say we need plaid refrigerators.
This. If I’m planning to be living in that place for the next 10-15 years, any changes I do will be for my benefit.
That said, both the fridge and dishwasher are built-in and have the same paneling as the cabinets. The ovens are stainless, which matches the one counter and sink. I think built-in fridges are not so common in the U.S., but they are common where I am now.
Fascinating topic and thread.
Someone up thread mentioned “Early American Poverty” or something similar as their first style for the kitchen. Mine is similar, but I like to call it “Salvage Chic”. Had to do some remodeling of the bath and decided to replace the original carpet throughout the house and kitchen floors at the same time. Upper cabinets are unchanged in all their late 1970s glory, the lowers are refinished fronts, the lazy susan is a salvage as are the beige laminate counters tops, and my salvaged industrial stainless steel microwave stand and table. Fridge is white, stove and microwave are black and dishwasher is a black front white sides wood top stand alone unit that serves as additional counter.
I get matching and coordinated furnishings are nice to look at, but I actually prefer the mix-n-match second hand slightly worn look. it looks and feels warmer and lived in, rather than the cold and sterile feel I get from perfection