As with all kitchens, there are some basics that must be accomplished, such as picking out the style of the cabinets, type of backsplash, and granite. All of that has gone pretty smoothly. Surprisingly. Or not - my architect husband smartly defers to me unless I've picked out something that he does not like. He can overrule me if he really wants to (shhhh, don't tell him), but he rarely does.
The most complicated part so far had been finding cabinets that meet our stringent requirements. I only have a certain amount of space in the kitchen. The window is already where it is. It is a smallish galley kitchen with a breakfast area. There's not a lot of room for creativity. The biggest change from the old kitchen layout-wise is that the refrigerator and oven have switched sides, and I've increased my workspace area and improved the flow. While it pains me to pay the premium, we had no choice, we had to use custom cabinets for our not-so-standard cabinet sizes.
But even that was relatively simple. Picking out a new refrigerator also took very little time. 1) Go on internet to find listed best units 2) Go on amazon to find real people reviews 3) find frig with best value/price ratio. Simple. I'm going with a GE frig with bottom freezer.
I am fine with my current oven and dishwasher, both fairly new and workable. However, to maximize my counter space, I want to take the microwave off the counter. A hood/microwave would have served the purpose nicely, but then the 7 year old would not be able to use it. So I've opted for a built-in.
And this is where all of my problems started. The procedure I used for the frig failed me at step #2. Every time I found a highly rated microwave, I read the reviews. For every brand (and I looked up all of them) the reviews were peppered with similar comments ("broken right out of box" "stopped working just after warranty expired" "sparked" "went on fire" "only lasted 2 years" "only lasted four months" "disrupted my wifi and phone signals"). These went on and on.
I went to "high end" microwaves and found that for $1200 (!!!) the quality still sucks. In fact, it seems that the smaller and lower end the microwave is, the longer it lasts and the fewer safety-related issues are found.
Personally, I've had a panasonic for over ten years and been very happy with it. So I thought I'd go with that. But there were so many safety issues with it, as well as quality issues, I was afraid to take the risk.
What really kills me is the more money I spend, the worse the quality seems to be. I can't go with something small. I need a large size and something that can be built-in using a trim kit if it is not already a built-in. The drawers would not work because they don't seem to heat evenly without a carousel.
So I subdivided the category: 1) Expensive Microwaves that have safety and quality issues 2) Expensive Microwaves that have quality issues.
Clearly, I'd prefer #2 in this disgusting but unfortunately very real situation. The plan being to buy the microwave at home depot or best buy and get the super-extended warranty due to all the quality issues. Even though amazon prices are the best for most of these items, I need the protections that Home Depot can offer.
I've also analyzed the nature of all the complaints with the safety and quality issues, and I have a theory. I think that the issue is related to the higher voltage microwaves. The one I've had forever is 1100W and that seems to be the magic number. Go above that and they start shorting out, blowing fuses, sparking, and causing the parts to fail quickly. There was a suggestion to have your microwave on a separate circuit, just like you'd do for a high wattage item like a regular oven. I have a feeling that doing this will fix a lot of the problems, but of course requires an electrician and some kitchen planning.
