It was an early morning. Debra did her 4 a.m. arising bit, as she frequently does, and finished a guest post almost before I got up. Then we (she, Effie, and I) went for a walk/run on the Trinity Trails. A very pretty morning. Here is a shot of the railroad bridge in the park: Lovely, isn’t it? And now on to Debra’s early morning guest post. FYI – my comments are in italics –

Let’s talk about kitchens- first, a little kitchen eye candy:

 

Today – ok lets be honest, for the last couple of  weeks – I have been focused (obsessing?) on appliances. Because, of course, I want this:

But purchasing that will mean that  there are no other appliances in the kitchen. Now, I’m willing to compromise, but even I have my limits. So… I obsess. I’ve never done the whole kitchen full of stainless steel and I don’t think I want that now.

The refrigerator wall will be white, so I will do a white refrigerator. The range on the opposite wall will be the major focal point, so for the fridge I think I will forgo a built-in and just go for counter depth:

 

This is one of my favorites, but a little research in the Better World Shopping Guide makes me think better of it….a situation of personal ethics vs. personal aesthetics.

Kitchenaid gets much higher marks, and also good consumer reviews, so I’ve decided upon this one (pretty much the same as the last two we’ve had, but those had custom panels – see them here and here).

and the microwave drawer will have to be stainless because that’s the only finish available.  So now I’m trying to decide: do I stay with this whole group of Kitchenaid?

This one is pretty, top of my budget, but only 30″ wide and I really wanted a 36″:

The one below is more budget friendly, but still only 30″ wide.

And if I keep my spending low on major appliances, perhaps I can have one of these:

Have I told you how much I love coffee? (Can you tell I’m having trouble focusing?) (Well, it was 4:30 in the morning, for crying out loud.)

And then I fell in love with this:

Budget friendly, but sales are internet only, and I worry about service if there’s a problem- do I take the chance? It does have a one year warranty. But I’ve never seen it in person- I like to touch things when I’m spending thousands of dollars! (She likes to touch things when she’s spending $5 – or just window shopping, for that matter.)

 

Verona – I haven’t found enough reviews to make me happy with this one, and it’s “antique white” – not really the color I want.

I’m leaning heavily toward the Smeg (& oh, I love their refrigerator,

but no ice maker!)

The Ilve is so pretty:

but only 30″ wide and seriously over my budget.

Pretty soon the contractor is going to start hounding me for appliance specs, so decisions must be made!

Later in the morning, we got a text that, indeed, appliance decisions must be made soon – like, now. So Debra has to pull the trigger. If anyone wants to weigh in, comment fast!

Thanks so much for following along – we really appreciate it!

Dan