At Ekko Custom Cabinetry & Designs, we often come in to our initial meetings with clients and find they are overwhelmed with the scope of decisions and selections that ultimately need to be made in the process of creating a kitchen design.  Many of these final selections can only be addressed after the designs are pretty much set. However, “ Appliance Package” selections must necessarily be considered at the beginning of the process since they often determine layouts, designs and budgets.

One only needs to visit an appliance specialist showroom, such as Trail Appliances, Bradlee Distributors or Jerome’s Appliance Gallery, to see the tremendous array of products, features, options …. and yes, budget needs, available for your renovation.

In the selection process, you need to consider your budget, your cooking style and your vision of your new kitchen space. Appliances can very generally be grouped into features and qualities that fall into budget categories of good, better, best and WOW !

We really don’t have the time, space nor expertise to go into great detail in this blog, but we will try to provide a range for you to consider.

In the “good” category you can start with a 21 cu. Ft. Fridge, a 30” self-clean basic electric range,  a  30” over-the-range  hood-fan / microwave and an entry level dishwasher for roughly $ 3,250.00

For “better”, we will move up to a basic “Built-in” package. We will allow for a Built-in 30” Wall Oven with Microwave and trim kit above, a 36” gas or electric Cooktop with a stainless steel “chimney” style hood above, a “French” 3-door Fridge with ice and water features inside and a “quiet” stainless steel Dishwasher. This package in a “better” quality category can come in at around $ 8,700.00

  

For a “best” package each and every item can change from the “better” category. Once you begin to move into this range, you need to sit down with an appliance specialist to determine the features, brand names and budget that you want to work to. The best of the “best” can boarder on “Wow” so at least discuss the budget before you get too far along.

At the other end of the spectrum, the “WOW” world changes dramatically. Picture a 48” countertop depth “Sub*Zero” side by side Fridge / Freezer,  a 36” Wolf 6 burner gas range,  a “Wolf” convection / steam oven (for that 2^nd cooking center you’ve dreamed of), a 600 cfm hood liner by “Ventahood” (don’t forget the air makeup and custom hood housing) and a full featured “Miele” silent dishwasher – this total could be coming in at a cool $ 45,000.00  There are an infinite number of selections between good and WOW ……. And if you’ve just won the lottery, you can go well past “WOW” in features and budgets.

      

For the purposes of this blog, we just want to point out the array of selections and budgets to be considered before we can really start your kitchen design. We don’t need the Manufacturer’s specification sheets until we are finalizing the order for production. We do need to know the various appliances you intend to incorporate and how you would like to work in your new kitchen.

There are some general considerations to keep in mind, when selecting each appliance. We will try to provide a very basic list of these issues:

Refrigerator –  1.)  how large an interior space do I need   2.)  do I want or need a Fridge / Freezer 3.) how deep a unit will my layout accommodate before they encroach on my traffic patterns and door swing clearances  4.) should I be looking for counter depth models or does my kitchen design enable a deeper fridge to be built back into the wall behind it ?  5.) do I want to have door matching panels for that “built-in” look

Dishwasher – virtually all D/W are 24” wide and C/T height. They can range in price from $375.00 to $ 1,800.00 +  depending on features and quality. The greatest improvement we’ve noticed is the ability to go “silent” – a critical consideration in the trend towards an “open concept” design where the kitchen, family room and entertainment space are completely open to one another.

Cooking Facilities – safe to say, we are no longer limited to a campfire or a pot-bellied stove in the corner. We can select from electric, gas, induction, steam or microwave cooking methods. We can do it all in one 30” electric range or have it spread around the kitchen with built-in ovens, cook-tops, microwaves steam ovens warming drawers, etc.  Your biggest considerations will come down to budget, space, preferred cooking method(s), number of people working in the space and the “impression” you want to make and be remembered for.

But above and beyond all else - Remember……Don’t blow your whole budget on appliances !!!!

At Ekko Custom Cabinetry and Design, we strive to exceed your expectations. Our custom kitchen and bath design staff can help or lead you through a Design process that will give you the kitchen and / or living space that you have dreamed of ………….

T.E. (Tim) Pressey

Ekko Custom Kitchen Cabinetry and Design of Calgary, Alberta