Our New Build Kitchen Appliance Selections: Beautiful, Functional + Budget Conscious
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
One of the things I’ve learned while building our forever home is that there are so many decisions that can quickly become overwhelming.
Appliances are definitely one of those categories.
There are endless brands, endless features, endless reviews, and somehow you can find amazing reviews and terrible reviews for the exact same appliance. 😂
For our kitchen, I decided to come back to one simple question:
What do we actually need our appliances to do for our family every single day?
For us, the answer was simple: we wanted appliances that were beautiful, reliable, functional, and fit within our budget.
Keeping Our Kitchen Appliance Choices Simple
I think sometimes we can make decisions more complicated than they need to be.
I absolutely love seeing beautiful luxury kitchens with oversized refrigerators, multiple ovens, and high-end appliance packages. There is nothing wrong with that!
But for our family, that just wasn’t the direction we wanted to go.
I personally don’t believe a $10,000 refrigerator is going to serve my family any differently than a well-made refrigerator that fits our needs and budget.
The goal for our kitchen was not to create the most expensive kitchen possible.
The goal was to create a kitchen that functions beautifully for the way we actually live.
Why We Chose KitchenAid Appliances
In our previous home, we had KitchenAid appliances and honestly loved them.
They were:
beautiful
reliable
easy to use
functional for our everyday life
We never had any issues with them, so when it came time to choose appliances for our new build, going back to KitchenAid felt like the right decision.
I know appliances can be such a personal choice, and every brand will have people who love them and people who don’t. At the end of the day, I chose based on our own experience, the design, and what made sense for our family.
Our Appliance Budget
Our budget for:
kitchen appliances
two sets of washers and dryers
was approximately $10,000.
With the selections we made, we are currently on track to stay within that budget before any sales, promotions, or discounts that may come up.
We have not officially ordered all of our appliances yet, so there is still a chance we could save even more.
For us, this budget felt like the right balance of investing in quality while still being thoughtful about where our money was going.
Our Kitchen Appliance Selections
One of the biggest kitchen decisions for me was the cooktop.
We chose an electric radiant cooktop because it fit our preferences and our lifestyle.
I personally prefer the look of a clean cooktop surface, and I wanted something functional without adding unnecessary complexity.
For our wall oven, we chose KitchenAid again.
I wanted something simple, reliable, and something we would actually use.
While there are so many smart appliances available now, I personally didn’t feel like I needed a lot of extra technology in my oven.
I wanted an oven that:
heats consistently
is easy to operate
looks beautiful in our kitchen
The refrigerator was one of those appliances where I had to remind myself not to overcomplicate things.
There are so many beautiful options available, but for our family, we wanted a refrigerator that:
stores our food well
fits our kitchen layout
functions reliably
A beautiful refrigerator is great, but at the end of the day, it needs to keep our groceries cold and serve our family well.
For the dishwasher, we chose a panel-ready option so it blends seamlessly into our cabinetry.
I love when kitchens feel cohesive, and hiding the dishwasher behind the cabinet panels helps keep the overall look clean and timeless.
What We Did Not Include: A Microwave
One thing you won’t see in our appliance selections is a microwave.
We actually do not use one in our home, so we decided not to include it in our kitchen design.
This is one of those decisions that is very personal, but it was an easy choice for us because it’s simply not something we rely on.
Our Appliance Philosophy
At the end of the day, I think the best home decisions are the ones that fit your actual life.
Not everyone needs:
the biggest refrigerator
the most expensive range
every smart feature available
Sometimes the best choice is simply something that works well, looks beautiful, and fits your family’s needs.
For our forever kitchen, we chose appliances that we feel confident will serve us well for years to come — without spending money on features we don’t actually need.
And that feels like the right choice for us. 🤎
Our Final Kitchen Appliance List
Follow Along With Our Forever Home Build
I’m sharing every decision, cost breakdown, and lesson learned as we build our home from the ground up — from foundation to finishes and everything in between.
Follow along as we continue creating a home that is beautiful, functional, and truly designed for our family. 🤎