Selecting Luxury Kitchen Appliances

Selecting luxury kitchen appliances is a very personal decision. In fact the entire kitchen design process is highly individualized. Do you love to bake or jar preserves? Are you a busy dad with an keen eye on nutrition? Do you entertain frequently? Do you have caterers or serving staff during parties? It is vital to consider how you will use your kitchen to select the right appliances. And many kitchen designers recommend selecting appliances first, before designing the layout and cabinetry.

Researching appliances before you design your kitchen, especially newer technologies such as induction cooktops and smart, integrated appliance systems will save you disappointment as well as time and money, by avoiding a surprise to accommodate different appliance needs.

High-end appliances offer superior utility, well-crafted design, and exceptional durability, and innovative technology. And, all those options can be dizzying. Consider the key appliance selection factors below to help to narrow the wish list and help you make a well-informed decision.

Appliance Aesthetics

Kitchen appliances have a strong influence on the ultimate design of the kitchen. In many modern luxury kitchens, the goal is to have the kitchen disappear when not in use. But many of us still want our kitchens to make the statement that “I love to cook” with a red-knob stove taking center stage.

Consider your appliances’ overall appearance and whether you prefer minimalist designs, completely integrated and hidden, classic or black stainless steel or other finishes, or striking statement pieces. This ensures your appliances fit well with your personal style and are a complementary part of your space.

Appliance Brand Reputation

Luxury appliance brands often have a history of reliability, great aesthetics, and a high level of customer service. Reading reviews from both experts often found in websites dedicated to providing unbiased information and also consumers often in the form of online reviews can provide useful insight to steer you to the best fit for you.

Learn more about our luxury appliance brand partners.

Post-Purchase Support

Luxury appliances last a long time, but they can fail so it is important before investing to be aware of warranties and the availability of replacement parts and service technicians in your area. Ensure that you can get repairs quickly when needed.

Innovative Features

Appliances are about saving time and perfecting specific cooking techniques for the perfectly executed recipe. Luxury appliances offer many ever-evolving innovative features that you should explore keeping in mind what is important to you. If you entertain a lot, you will enjoy smart oven features that defrost, then cook, then keep warm without your attention. Or refrigerators with flex zones that offer more refrigeration when needed while flexing to frozen foods when necessary. It is important to invest in features you will use rather than purchasing them because they have the latest digital bells and whistles.

Once you have a short list of appliances, take a close look at the latest features to ensure that you can become comfortable with them. A visit to a local retailer to get hands-on experience setting the temperature or a timer, can go a long way in helping you understand what it will be like to own an appliance.

Also, consider if any of the latest technology might not be a fit for how you use technology. Not a big smart phone user with apps that control security and light systems? Then controlling your refrigerator on your phone may not be for you.

Luxury Appliance Trends Worth a Look

Induction Cooking

Traditional cooktops, gas or electric, heat a surface such as electric coils or iron grates for gas burners that transfer the heat to the pan. Induction uses a magnetic field under a countertop’s surface that induces heat directly in the pan rather than on the surrounding surface. So, your pan is the heat source, not the cooktop itself. This means that you can remove the pan and immediately touch the cooktop without getting burned.

Luxury induction cooktops offer so many advantages:

• Flexible counter space that can be used for serving or other purposes when the cooktop is not in use
• A sleek, ultra-minimal look
• Prevent accidental burns especially for families with children or a loved one that may be at risk of leaving the cooktop on
• Precision temperatures at extreme highs and lows for the perfect sear and delicate sauces
• Easy, quick cleanup
• Energy efficient and clean electric cooking.

Combination Convection Steam Oven

By melding convection and heat in one oven, the taste and texture of leftovers are as they were the day before or in the restaurant. And, for bakers and gourmet cooks, combi convection/steam ovens put specific settings for perfectly browned artisanal quality breads and delectable roasts at your fingertips.

If your talents and cooking interests lie in between reheating doggie bags and gourmet meals, the combi oven offers convenience for everyday meals such as cleverly defrosting then cooking without over-drying frozen meats or prepared meals.

The convection-steam technology preserves the fresh taste of food by maintaining the moisture level especially for foods that tend to dry when reheating such as pasta.

Smart Cooking

Whether wanting to cook more but not well-versed on times and temperatures or are just a busy person who needs their appliances to prepare meals without their constant attention, smart appliances may be for you. These appliances offer pre-programmed settings that ask you about weight, desired doneness, and whether it is fresh or frozen, then using a built-in temperature probe placed in the food, the oven cooks the dish perfectly.

For example, if preparing a medium-rare prime rib roast, the oven will convection roast at 450°F for 30 minutes for an enticing sear that seals in juices. Then it switches to 225°F to roast until the inserted temperature probe achieves the medium-rare temperature of 135°F. If your smart oven is Wi-Fi connected, you don’t even have to stay close by to hear the “ready” alert, you can choose to receive the “ready” notification on your phone so you can take the dog for a walk around the block or play with your toddler on the backyard swing set.

Innovative Refrigeration

Refrigerators come in many configurations including the newer French Door and snack door models that make access to your food convenient. Things to look for in today’s refrigerators are:
Air purification to remove odors, viruses, bacteria, and even ethylene gas which is the ripening agent that causes produce to spoil more quickly.

Dual refrigeration keeps cool, moist air in the refrigerator and cold, dry air in the freezer. These appliances maintain the right humidity and temperature to prevent food spoilage and taste-tainting freezer burn.

Appliances to Consider for Entertaining

Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Do you consider your sink an appliance? We do! The Galley Workstation is customizable and transforms from prep to serving to clean-up effortlessly. You can cover it to create more counter space (and hide dirty pots and pans) for serving or use accessories for the perfect buffet presentation especially when chilled foods such as crudité and boiled seafood are on the menu.

Luxury Wine Chillers

Foodies and their friends often enjoy wine at dinner parties and other occasions in an entertainer’s home. So a built-in wine storage unit that does more than just chill wine is essential if you are an oenophile. Zoned wine fridges store precise, ideal temperatures and keep humidity consistent.

Top wine chillers offer low-e-coated double paned glass doors filled with argon gas to protect your wines from damage from UV light. The argon gas also enhances insulation to promote consistent temperatures in the wine refrigerator. Rubberized motors ensure no vibrations cause chemical reactions that can damage the flavor of the wines.

A Dishwasher or Two

A high-end dishwasher or two, is today’s necessity for home entertainers.  This appliance makes cleaning up a party as you go super easy as washable items are tucked away as the host surreptitiously collects plates and glassware while chatting with guests.

When choosing a dishwasher, capacity, noise level, and energy efficiency are top comparison points. Adjustable racks and specialized wash cycles expand the versatility of dishwashers, for example, a quick wash cycle when you just need to run holiday ware through a wash after a year of storage or a delicate cycle that gives a lower temperature for delicate glassware or fine dishware.

Remember the Small Stuff

While selecting major appliances, explore countertop appliances as well so that you can design appliance garages, drawers, slide-outs, and other organizers with convenient built-in power outlets in drawers or where needed.

When One Kitchen is Not Enough

While exploring your needs and desires in a kitchen, you may realize that you need more than one. Especially for frequent entertainers and big families, a second kitchen or butler’s pantry can be just the thing to make everyday living and big parties easy.

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