For some reason, all the blogs I’ve read never really talk about the appliances. Some renovators ignore them and then have pretty countertops and backsplashes but unattractive and outdated appliances. Some show these beautiful kitchens with top-of-the-line appliances but fail to mention that the gorgeous range you’re looking at cost them $5,500.

The point I’m trying to make is that appliances are a big deal and they shouldn’t be forgotten during a kitchen renovation. They are the reason you have a kitchen. You use them everyday. They should be functional but they can also be really pretty.

OUR goal was to get some pretty stainless steel appliances on a pretty little budget.

Lay out some of the things you need out of your appliances. The most important thing to determine up-front is the size. You can’t get that big, wide, french door fridge if you don’t have room for it in the kitchen.

Don’t forget to measure the height, width between cabinets, width between the shoe moulding on the floor (if your fridge will be incased), and the depth. When we started, I had no idea that some refrigerators are much deeper than others.

Once you have the measurements down, think about what is most important to you – the range? DO you have to have gas? Do you have to have the knobs on the front? MUST you have a double door fridge, or could you settle for the freezer on the bottom/top?

For us, the fridge was the most important appliance and it having double doors with an ice/water dispenser on the front was really essential for how we wanted to use it. The only other important things were that we wanted stainless and we needed a gas range because that’s what the hookup was in the house.

We started with consumer reports. Functionality and durability were our main focuses on this hunt because we didn’t want to have to buy these babies again anytime soon. After getting some good research in, we decided that the best bang for our buck would be to go with Kenmore appliances – which are only sold through Sears.

In looking up the nearest Sears location, I realized that there is this cool place called the Sears Outlet. Essentially, it’s this place that misfit Sears appliances go and are sold for way less than retail. Some are returned because the buyers didn’t like them when they were delivered, some are there because the delivery guys dinged them up a little, some have replacement parts, etc. It’s essentially like going into the sale bin at the semi-annual sale at VS. There are a lot of duds – like that bright purple cheetah print bra (what in the hell can you actually wear that under?!) but then there are some gems like that super comfy t-shirt bra that is perfectly new and half off. You have to have a good eye and ask a ton of questions, but if you find one, take the sticker off of that sucker or someone else could steal it!

So, we went to the Sears Outlet and found a two-door refrigerator that was stainless, had an ice and water dispenser on the front (Goodman was really adamant on that one) and that had a teeeeeennyy tiny little mark on the right side. (Seriously, it was like 2 inches max.) We knew that the scratch would be covered by the cabinets the fridge would be up against so YAY! We got the fridge for HALF OFF retail and absolutely nothing else was wrong with it.

After that we knew that we wanted the matching range and dishwasher so that they all had the same handles and such. It just-so-happens that Black Friday was upon us, so we went to the nearest Sears and picked out which ones we wanted, and then waited to purchase them online on Black Friday. This also saved us about a grand (appliances are expensive y’all).

Don’t try to deliver and install yourself. It’s cheaper, yes, but not worth it. If you were to mess it up (which is very likely – these things are huge and very fragile) it’s on you. If THEY mess it up, you get a new one fo’ free. And if they install it… it will be done correctly. You don’t want to mess with water, gas, and electric lines at the same time. Not a good idea.

I could go on and on about how great I feel with our good deals and how grateful I am to finally have a dishwasher. Gone are the days of hand washing!!! (Well almost) But I’ll leave this one here! After you’ve got them, don’t regret anything. Be happy about the choice you made!

Do whatever research you can online before you go into a store and deal with a salesman. Those guys are put on earth to up-sell you, so don’t be fooled.

Don’t forget to have fun with it! Goodman and I had fun debating over which functions were more important to us and drooling over high-end quadruple-door refrigerators.  G would stand with the doors open, admiring all the space that potential food could fill and say “In our retirement house babe – this one is going in there.” 😃