One of the biggest motivators for our kitchen remodel was the fridge breaking. Because when a major appliance starts leaking water all over your floors and subflooring… you need to replace it. We did try to replace just the fridge (but y'all know how that turned out) and when that didn't work out, I was able to figure out a solution where, for about $2,000 more, we got ALL new appliances. All. New. Appliances. WHEE! Here's a how it all went down.
After our debacle at Best Buy, we decided to take a bit and really find a great deal for ourselves – not rush into anything. I happened to tell my mom about it and she told me about a flyer she had just received from Home Depot. Over Memorial Day weekend, they were having a huge appliance sale with up to 30% off PLUS an extra 10% off for veteran's (which The Boy is). She also mentioned that if you bought appliances on your Home Depot account (credit card) that you'd get another 10% off on top of all that (and no interest for 24 months). Needless to say, that got me thinking. See, we had just finished paying off all the hardwood floors for our house which we bought through Lumber Liquidators and their credit program – 12 months at no interest. It worked out to us paying $200 a month and paying it all off in less than a year. So, I wondered, could we do the same thing here and also invest in ALL new appliances.
The answer – yes! I got online and did TONS of research on the kind of appliances were we looking for and their average cost. Here's a rundown of what we were looking for and how much I roughly figured we could spend on them (we were very flexible on sizes since we didn't have any cabinets configured):
- Fridge: We wanted stainless steel and a bottom freezer with French doors on top. An added bonus would be a water dispenser on the outside door, a child lock, and a shallow depth. We Could Spend: $2,000
- Stove/Oven: We really wanted gas and backless but quickly realized that it was out of our budget. So, instead I looked for stainless steel and a convention oven. An added bonus would be if it looked like a stylish gas range. We Could Spend: $1,000
- Microwave/Vent Range: Honestly, I wanted a separate microwave and vent but our budget and kitchen size made that no bueno. It needed to be stainless steel that matched the stove/oven and have buttons instead of knobs (huge complaint from our last microwave). An added bonus would be if it also had a convention option. We Could Spend: $500
- Dishwasher: This needed to be stainless steel and quiet with back-up/leak-proof safety features. An added bonus would be if it was stainless steel inside and a food “disposal” system (a chopper that cuts up and disposes of food just like a standard sink disposal). We Could Spend: $500
That came to $4,000 or just under $170 a month for 24 months. That was less than we'd been paying per month for our hardwoods! So after I showed The Boy my research and numbers, we agreed that it made sense for us to invest in all new appliances rather than just the fridge. Then we spent the next week looking at every single appliance at Home Depot and researching every review, price, and maintenance guide on it. When the Memorial Day weekend arrived, we had narrowed our choices down to two different models of each appliance and applied for a Home Depot card online.
And were approved… for $500. D'oh!
That just wasn't going to cut it. So The Boy got on the phone and called the finance department to explain the situation. After they double checked a few things with him (interestingly enough, they were more concerned about the accounts we had paid off early than anything else), they upped our credit limit to $4,000. Woot!
So off we went to Home Depot and picked out our appliances. We had left ourselves a little bit of room to save on one appliance and “splurge” on another. Meaning, as long as we stayed under our total budget, I didn't care if we went over on our fridge and under on our dishwasher. And that's a good thing since that IS what ended up happening. As a reminder, here's a few our before appliances:
And here's what we have now:
Fridge: We picked up this Whirlpool Gold French Door/Bottom Freezer one for $1,800. It's a stainless steel finish and has an external ice dispenser (with a child lock!). We did have to buy a water line separately (about $9). A year later and I'm still SUPER happy with this appliance. My only con is that I wish the dispenser had a drain or grill to hold the ice cubes/drips that sometimes miss people's glasses. What We Spent: $1,998
Stove/Oven Range: I picked this Samsung range out purely because it was the one that looked the most like a gas range. We did have to buy the power cord separately (about $20). My only complaint with it is that the oven's temperature ranges a lot. I got an oven thermometer and that helps me better understand what the difference is between what the range says the temperature is and what it actually is. What We Spent: $798
Microwave/Vent: I straight up picked this Samsung model because the stainless finish matched our stove and it had buttons. My husband liked the power of the vent though I think it's a bit loud (but we don't use it that often so it's not a big deal). What We Spent: $223.20
Dishwasher: This was our splurge. Since we came in under budget on our range and microwave, I was comfortable adding the difference to the cost of this LG dishwasher than my husband fell in love with. It IS really cool. The interior is completely stainless steel and has these awesome racks that are completely customizable. It also has a food chopper upper thing inside (like a food disposal system) which means even less scraping beforehand. We did have to buy the installation kit/cord adapter separately (about $27). It's been a year and my only complaint is that, while the child lock stops Melanie form turning it on and off, it doesn't stop her from randomly pushing the other programming buttons and changing the wash cycles. What We Spent: $699
My husband also decided to purchase an extended warranty on the fridge which came to $120.
So, all in (with tax), our total was $3,992.68. Not bad! We've been earmarking $180 a month so that we can pay it off early (or have a small buffer in case we can only pay the minimum one month).
It took about 10 days from our purchase date to get the appliances delivered. The delivery guys were excellent (and VERY concerned that I not do anything since I was hugely pregnant) and super patient when I insisted on opening and examining every appliance (installation was also free but since we didn't have any counters or cabinets in… that was pointless). He also programmed the fridge and freezer and gave me a quick tutorial on how to use it. All and all, this was a great (abet L O N G) experience.
Any of you in the market for new appliances?
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