Over the long Labor Day weekend, laying low while Lulu and Mel recovered from surgery, I fell victim to the Sunday circular. With a little extra time on my hands, I was lured in by the colored newsprint advertising extreme discounts on kitchen appliances. You know, appliances we had NO intention of buying just days earlier as we planned out our "quick kitchen spruce up 2.0."

After two days of research and gently introducing the idea to Alex, we found ourselves getting into the car for a trip to h.h. gregg. We had debated the issue a bit over the weekend, and finally came to the conclusion that even though it's a luxury, our appliances' days were numbered and it might just be time to look at purchasing new ones. The range and dishwasher are about to celebrate their 30th birthdays, and the fridge, although much newer, was clearly an entry level bare bones model when it was purchased 15 or so years ago. 

The dishwasher wasn't doing much washing these days, and the stove cooked unevenly and had a bad habit of randomly shutting off. I was concerned that they might give out at any time -- likely planning their demise for a day when we were entertaining house guests or friends -- or even worse, the relics could even be considered a fire hazard (I may be grasping here, but let's go for it). 

With open minds, detailed notes on prices and product numbers, and a budget of $2500 or less, we started our quest. We knew we were limited to specific dimensions, especially for the refrigerator and dishwasher, to work with our existing cabinetry. We also knew that we needed to stick with an electric range, to avoid the time consuming and costly step of adding a gas line. After all, we have big plans down the line to relocate the kitchen to the room that we currently use as our family room, so we want to minimize the work and costs as much as possible. (That might be hard to believe, as this post focuses on the purchase of new appliances!) 

We did a little browsing on our own before a salesperson offered to help us. We then spent the next hour and a half reviewing all of our options, and decided upon the following:

• GE 22.2 Cubic Foot Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator: The fridge was the primary reason we had been lured into h.h. gregg that day. In my wildest dreams, I never thought we'd be able to purchase a stainless steel french door refrigerator for around a grand. This affordable model, coupled with a good sale, convinced me to rethink holding out on new appliances for several more years.  

• Samsung 30" Stainless Steel Smoothtop Electric Range: Let's call a spade a spade here. Electric ranges just aren't as gorgeous, sleek, or sexy as their gas counterparts. Alex and I are both decidedly underwhelmed with the look of the range, but it sure beats what we have going on in the kitchen currently. And if it cooks evenly and doesn't go on strike mid-dinner, we'll call this a success. But at least we didn't end up with this hobbit stove...
  
  
  

• Samsung 24" Stainless Steel Dishwasher: Unlike the range, we're really excited about the new dishwasher. I love the sleek stainless look, and we can't wait to try out a modern day dishwasher. Our current model sounds like a freight train full of circus animals and hobos is running through the house, and despite the big show, it still doesn't get our cutlery clean. Here's a photo of both the new dishwasher as well as the stove we ended up purchasing.

We opted not to purchase a new microwave, since this is the one kitchen appliance we replaced ourselves just a few years ago. (The old one may have caught on fire while I was cooking Christmas dinner for my inlaws. Don't ask how I managed that one.) Our existing microwave is black, and since there's so much black in the new range, coupled with the fact we like our microwave, we opted to save our $250.

We were feeling pretty good about our purchases until we encountered a small hiccup upon check out. It seems the refrigerator we had selected was discontinued. The floor model was available for purchase, but it featured a golf ball sized dent right in the middle of one of the doors. No go. With the entire appliance purchase now in limbo, the manager generously offered to discount a nicer LG french door sitting directly to the right of "our" refrigerator that was slightly smaller in size (20 cubic feet instead of 22.2). 

This LG refrigerator, originally priced at $1800, marked down to $1400 but offered to us for $1000, has a slightly better lower storage drawer and a very similar look to it. Knowing it would fit our space and actually give us two inches to play with, we gladly accepted and were on our way. 

Funny side story, as we were checking out Alex checked in on Instagram where several people had said "STAY AWAY FROM LG!" We were caught between a rock and a hard place, but we decided to go for it anyway, all because we still keep telling ourselves this purchase is "temporary." We'll see how it works out long term, and we might need to let several people give us a big "We told you so!"

So how did it all shake out? 

• Fridge: $999.99 (was $1799.99)
• Range: $600.00 (was $799.99)
• Dishwasher: $500.00 (was $699.99)
• Hook Up Kits and Tax: $142.80
• Delivery and Haul Away: free with $79.99 rebate
• Total Spent: $2242.79 (savings of $1199.98)

So now we wait a few days until the new appliances can be delivered, and I'll continue feeling like a kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve. To ease the pains of installation, I'm putting off grocery shopping to try to put a dent in the items already in our fridge and freezer. I guess it's my own version of the television show "Chopped" -- trying to make delicious meals using strange and random items on hand. We'll see how that turns out. 

So there you have it -- yet another way this "temporary kitchen spruce up" has spun out of control. Never in my wildest dreams when I bought that rug on clearance from Home Goods did I ever imagine it would lead to new appliances down the line. But I'm not gonna lie. I'm super psyched at the idea of having a beautiful AND functional place to cook, bake, and entertain.

Want to weigh in on our purchases? Feel free to let us have it if you have strong feelings either way. I know people can get pretty worked up about appliances, and rightfully so, since we all depend so heavily on them.