The city of Santa Monica addressed this problem by building municipal parking structures and reserving the street-level space in the structures for the types of essential-to-the-community businesses that were being driven out by escalating rents--like small hardware stores.

Okay everyone, gather round. I have some questions for those who have been there, done that, or are about to and have done loads more research than me.

I need recommendations for a fridge, hood, and wall ovens. I'm inclined to go with GE for the ovens because I just don't need much more than good basic functionality. I'm debating between a side by side config for the fridge vs a bottom freezer design. I'm planning on purchasing an additional basic GE fridge for the laundry room so maximum capacity in the kitchen one is not as important. Lastly, I'd like a hood with good flow rates, variable speed design, and relatively quiet operations (at least at low speeds).

Thoughts?

First, a warning: my experience is dated. I designed one kitchen in '97, one in '99, and one in '00.

Fridge: I prefer the bottom freezer configuration, because if you ever want to chill anything really wide, like a store-bought party platter or a sheet cake, you'll have the room. When I redesigned my sister-in-law's kitchen, she wanted a side by side, and later really regretted it. She said the darn thing is so deep she literally couldn't reach the back (she's really short, though). I know a lot of people hate squatting to open the freezer, but that's never bothered me. I'd rather have the more flexible use of space.

When we built our house, Sub Zero was the only brand on the market that had separate compressors for the fridge and freezer. Things have likely changed, but if - for example - you don't want your ice cubes to taste like fish, consider it. Other than a minor issue with the ice cube maker, the Sub Zero has been a model of reliability. I love it.

Ovens: beware the size. I learned this one the hard way. First time I went to bake something in the current house, I was shocked to discover how narrow the double ovens are. My standard size cookie sheets barely fit, and the half-sheet pan was useless (except for flash freezing in the big bottom freezer). The builder said, "what's the problem? You have two ovens!" Dingbat. For mom's kitchen remodel we got the biggest double ovens we could find (I've forgotten the size, but they were glorious); however, the idiotic electronic control panel (GE) would go on the fritz at least once a year. And of course it was unrepairable; the whole panel had to be replaced. Damn unreliable piece of machinery. Do some research before you buy GE. Hopefully this bug has been fixed.

Range hood: I believe that high flow rates and noise are directly proportional. Good luck finding a powerful one that's also quiet. Don't know how extensive your renovation is, but if you're relocating things, try to arrange it so that the hood vents directly to the outside - or at least, with as few turns as possible. Every bend of the tube is a place for grease and gunk to gather. The shorter and straighter the distance, the more efficient the exhaust. My Viking hood sounds like a rocketship, but I'm a gear geek so I kinda like it that way.

Good luck, and please let us know what you've chosen.

I prefer the freezer on the bottom refrigerator/freezer method. Actually the refrigerator part on top has side by side doors, which helps when you just want to grab something quick you can open only that side's door. Also, it's great to have everything you use every day extensively (ie the fridge) at eye level. The freezer on the bottom does require a stoop (I am 6' 4") but it really doesn't bother me. And I too have a 2nd refrigerator in the garage.

As for wall ovens...it depends on how you use them. We went a bit crazy to get what we really wanted as my wife is a great baker and we do entertain from time to time and two larger ovens are helpful to have.

We opted for a Dacor range hood. It is loud, and big, but really it's not TOOOO loud considering how powerful it is. And it has excellent filters to catch grease and stuff before it heads up the flue and are pop out easy and washable in the dishwasher -- no fuss no muss.

As for GE.....well, I can't say I would recommend them from bad experiences from various family and friends, but some folks are happy with their GE appliances. I'd opt to decide, of the appliances you plan to replace, spend the most 'extra' money on the appliances you want to be happiest with and/or last the longest. You really do get what you pay for.

I'm with pool boy and porcupine. I've got a freezer on the bottom model (and like poolboy, it's the 'french door' style fridge) and i love it. I've had side by sides twice and I really dislike them--poor energy efficiency and diffficult to store things in them (like sheet pans). Both times I had a chance to replace them, I did so as soon as I could.

Sorry, can't comment on other questions (but I wish I could!).

We always consult Consumer Reports before making any appliance or electronic purchase. See how they rate the GE appliances you are considering and how the ratings compare with others in your price range.

We have a Kenmore bottom freezer model refrigerator. I believe they are manufactured by Frigidaire. Before that we had an Amana. Both have been real workhorses. Much better to have your refrig, which you go into all the time, be at eye level.

Thanks Zora for the reminder about Consumer Reports. I signed up for a month's worth of online access and confirmed that many of my choices were good ones. I did change my mind on the Thermador cooktop I originally chose in favor of a similarly priced Viking one that had much higher ratings.

I'm going with a Viking hood and there are options for a 400, 460, or 600 cfm interior blower or a 900 or 1200 cfm exterior blower. We have a small house and the our bedrooms are just around the corner from the kitchen. For that reason, I was thinking the 900 cfm blower so that I don't have to smell dinner in my bedroom. The guy at the appliance store thought it would be overkill and recommended the 600 cfm interior blower. He also thought that the exterior blower would be loud and annoying to the neighbors. Thoughts?

Having recently equipped my own new kitchen, here are my answers to your questions (JMHO):

Hood: Vent-a-hood seems to be the preferred brand. I went with VAH, and am happy. They make a wide variety of sizes and styles. Their special thing is grease traps not filters. Noise is reasonable---you can't avoid noise if you plan to move air.

Wall oven: I wanted fully hidden heat units and true convection in both the top and bottom ovens, and Jenn-aire was the least costly one I found that met those criteria.

Fridge: Frigidaire is now making a combo set (matching full fridge and separate freezer) that I liked because it does the job and the price is reasonable. Sears has it, and it is sold under other names too. It comes with a separate grill top that is not functional and I skipped that. However, it doesn't fit in any standard cabinet hole so that could be an issue--we had our cabinets custom-made so it wasn't a problem for us.

Check out the Garden Web appliance forum. You will find hours of reading there of everybody's opinion on all things appliance.

It is also worthwhile to figure out who makes any specific appliance you are interested in. Almost every brand out there has models which are made by other companies, often competitors. Sometimes you can get the unit you want but under another brand name and get a better deal. For example, AFAIK there are only two makers of french door refrigerators, Amana (owned by Maytag which is now owned by Whirlpool) and LG. At least that was the case two-three years ago. Everybody sold them, but they were all made by those two companies. Another weird example--front-loading washers--Bosch's are made in the US, while Whirlpool has theirs manufactured in Germany by a Bosch competitor. Take nothing for granted.

Interior blower...I take it this means it is a blower that just blows the air inside the house?

Well, if it is, I think that is plain nuts. If you have the opportunity to get a hood that can move all of the air you need to vent to the outside, do it. I do not think you'll be sorry. We lived with a really cheap and old cooktop hood blower that vented, you guessed it, to the inside of the house. To be mors specific, all of that air it was blowing, it blew in to our faces (my wife and I are both tall). So after experiencing a few times with grasy glasses, we gave up trying to use the infernal thing and vowed that whenever we pulled the trigger to update the kitchen, we'd get it vented externally. We are a thousand times happy we did it.

I mean, think about it, if the hood is just blowing stuff around the house, inside the house and your living area, where do you think it's gonna go? Nowhere but the rest of your house, more or less. What's the point?

interior blower = blower is mounted inside the hood--blows the air through the vent pipe
exterior blower = blower is on the roof--sucks the air through the vent pipe

Either way, flow is vented to outside. External blowers are more typically seen in commercial installations.

Ahhhhhhh! Now I see. OK, I have then, most likely, an interior blower model myself that blows it all outside. Thanks for the clarification.

As you can see, I really despise the 'blow the smoke in your face' veriety, as would, I imagine, most people.

I mentioned earlier in this thread the kitchen remodel we lived through from just about two years ago. I thought I'd finally share the before and after pictures--



Linky to all of the before & after pictures

It was a real pain in the butt to live through, but it was worth it in the end. I am generally very pleased with how it turned out.

Some things that I learned about it was to maybe use a bigger/better known cabinet place. It was a very small shop I dealt with and the guy was living from job to job almost. I think. Also, I think we might use different drawer and door hardware next time. I'd probably have opted for the non-star burner thermador cooktop to use some other gas burner (round?) that would be easier to clean. I would have gotten instructions on how to change the light bulb on the hood. But I think that is about it. I wish we had more space to bump it out and/or open it up a bit, but we were convinced we needed to stay with the same footprint and I know we made the right choice (short of adding on to the floorspace of the house which was not in the cards).

We're in need of granite countertops and were wondering if any of the folks on here had places they'd like to recommend. We live in Arlington if that makes a difference.

About 8 years ago we did a complete kitchen remodeling in a previous home in Arlington. We used the Kitchen and Bath Factory in Arlington @ 4624 Lee Highway.

http://www.kitchenandbathfactory.com/home.htm

http://www.kitchenandbathfactory.com/KITCHENS/products.htm

They installed granite countertops for us and we were pleased with the results and the overall price of the job. I have no recollection regarding the breakout pricing for the grantite alone. At a minimum, I think these folks are worth visiting.

We used these folks for cabinets and granite countertops when we redid our kitchen. We were quite pleased with them. (We dealt with Darren.)

ETA: They're in Arlington.

If you don't mind crossing the river, consider ABKA in Rockville. Their selection was excellent, and the installers were first-rate. You will need to contract separately with a plumber, but that's all for the best.

I live in Arlington and just did my kitchen 4 months ago. We used Marblex and couldn't have been happier. Sink installation was included with our countertops. Really nice people too!

http://www.marblexinc.com/

We used Granite Granite Granite for a kitchen remodel about 2 years ago. Great pricing and great service. Their granite distributor is in Sterling, VA.

We're thinking about doing soapstone countertops and have done the research, but have not actually seen a kitchen with soapstone countertops. Any DRers out there that have done soapstone? I'd love to hear about your experience and would also love to see them too.

Thanks--