Luxury. Premium. Designer. I've heard the upper-end appliance category referred to by many names. Honestly, no one name has caught on. I know one of my competitors calls this category "Designer". When talking to customers, I usually say "Luxury-slash-Premium."
Regardless of the name, the above adjectives refer to a "bespoke", gourmet kitchen, the type of kitchen you might see in movies or television dramas set in Park avenue apartments or oversized homes set back in affluent beach towns or suburbs.
A typical luxury kitchen will consist of a built-in refrigerator, a professional-looking stainless steel range, a powerful and stylish venthood over the stove, and a nearly silent dishwasher. In addition, extra amenities such as microwave drawers, built-into-a-cabinet wine coolers or beverage centers, warming drawers, steam ovens, and even a clear-ice maker. Possibilities are almost endless - and here I'm only focusing on the appliance segment; I'm not going to touch such uber amenities as pot fillers, undermounted sinks, built-in audio, and so on.
What do you gain from spending on such a beautiful kitchen?
Well, first and foremost, there's the "Wow!" factor. A seven-foot-tall refrigerator that's nearly flush with your cabinet, or that impressive oversized range, will always catch the eye of anyone visiting! (In addition, luxury appliances can only increase resale value and turnover.)
Superior performance: Refrigerators keep temperature more even and can help extend the shelf life of perishables. Ranges will have burners that boil water more rapidly than conventional stoves, but can also reduce the burner flame down to lower temperatures that maintain a delicate simmer Ovens maintain temperature extremely evenly, and use larger convection fans that allow you to do multiple items at the same time. Dishwashers clean without prewashing and can be almost inaudible.
Convenience: The taller, shallower depth of a built-in refrigerator allows you to organize and find food more easily - no more shuffling items around to find that leftover chicken in the far back of the fridge! Stove tops have rounded cooking areas to make spill cleanup easier. Vent hoods have dishwasher-safe baffle filters, similar to restaurant filters, instead of mesh filters.
Peace of mind: Most of these pieces will have enhanced manufacturer warranties.
This all sounds wonderful, right? It does to me. Unfortunately, these pieces would not fit in my kitchen.
In addition to being able to budget for these more expensive appliances, one does have to have a sufficiently large kitchen. Many newer homes, with expanded kitchen space and open-floor plans, can accommodate these pieces. Older or smaller homes can be challenged.
To give you an example of what you can do, I've put together a luxury kitchen. I'll use the Thermador brand throughout. (Most of the time you'll find yourself keeping all the appliances the same brand, and there are advantages to this - which I'll get to in a moment.)
Lets's start with a 48" French Door refrigerator in stainless steel. We'll skip the external ice and water dispenser - we still get an icemaker inside the freezer and a fourth drawer, however. (#T48BT120NS)
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/t48bt120ns.html
If your kitchen isn't THAT huge, no worries! We can get this same unit in a 42" or 36" wide configuration.
Let's add a range that would make a professional chef proud! We'll go all out and get their 48" all-gas Pro Harmony range with 6 star-shaped burners, the lowest simmer temperature in the industry, and a built-in griddle #PRG486WDH)
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/prg486wdh.html
Over this massive range, we don't dare skimp on a vent hood and powerful blower. How powerful, you ask, for your home? I'll leave that discussion for our sales professionals, but suffice to say that these powerful ranges put out a lot of heat, and you do want to be sure to have a blower in your hood that is up to the task!
For purposes of this example, we'll use a chimney-style hood with an internally mounted 1000 cfm (cubic feet per minute) blower that will duct up above your ceiling and then out:(#PH48HWS, with blower VTN2FZ)
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/ph48hws.html
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/vtn2fz.html
Finally, Thermador makes a wonderful dishwasher (FYI, Bosch is the parent company of Thermador, and is well known for the quality of their dishwashers in a variety of prices!). Nothing overly fancy here; the #DWHD640WFP model gives you three racks of capacity, along with thorough and quiet perfomance.
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/dwhd640efp.html
Ok, one more piece. My wife has always wanted a wine fridge in the kitchen, so we're going to add a built-in 24" wine cooler with UV-resistant glass and two temperature zones: (#T24UW905RP)
https://www.mannystv.com/products/Thermador/the/t24uw905rp.html
As far as pricing goes, you'll find that most luxury level brands have a universal price policy (similar to an iPhone). Remember back when I mentioned that most customers keep the appliances the same brand? The reason is that instead of discounting prices for the main items (refrigerator and range), most luxury brands will offer free or extremely discounted prices on the vent hoods, dishwasher, and secondary refrigerators.
In our example here, you would pay the normal retail price for the fridge and range, but would receive the dishwasher and vent hood absolutely free! Most of these luxury brands have promotions similar in spirit to the Thermador promotion - again, our sales staff will be glad to walk you through the specifics.
Finally, remember this is just an example. As you can see from the pictures I've posted here, possibilities are almost endless.
We almost never put together the same kitchen twice!
Purchasing, delivering, and installing these high-end appliances can be very detail-oriented. You'll want to be sure to take some time planning out your kitchen. I also suggest that you sit down with a sales professional (such as we have here at Manny's!) who can help guide you through what can be a complicated process.
I realize this type of kitchen isn't for everyone. Having said that, if you are in the market to make a luxury statement with your kitchen, please reach out to the sales consultants in any of our thirteen showrooms. We can help you put together the kitchen of your dreams!
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