House furnishings/appliances question.


 
Bruno

Bruno

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Brett’s washing machine thread got me thinking.

We are having some major work done on the house and will be replacing all of our appliances and furniture.

If you had to do this, is there any game changing ideas you have come across in your experience?
Any must have features you use often?

Again this could be cabinetry, appliances, furniture, lighting. I’m just looking for any great ideas that made your life experience better.

Thanks.
 
I’m very pleased with the LED under cabinet touchless lighting I had done! One corner was dark ad Dick’s hatband (as my father used to say) now, I can actually work over there! So, more lighting is a big one for me! I trip,Ed the cans on the new tracks too.
And I love my Bosch dishwasher! Darned near silent, does a fabulous job. Had to do some kicking and screaming about some service on my Frigidaire fridge but, they did make it right finally. The “chrome” finish came off the knobs on the stove after about a year and a half so, I just bought some replacements, OEM were not going to be any better so, I skipped that headache and got aftermarket ones, they don’t have the red “pointer” but, they are much more robust.
I did a drinking water tap which I am pleased with, and an under counter dishwashing goop dispenser that feeds on a gallon jug.! Necessary? Not really but, very convenient.
USB ports are nice, I switched out one receptacle for those but, added two 4 plug receptacles around the room to make up for that loss. We now have a nice “charging spot” that everyone knows about so, that’s convenient.
I think that’s about all I had done.
 
I did a kitchen remodel about this time seven years ago, it was a lot more work than I guessed, but in the long run it was worth it

tvwbb.com

My first kitchen remodel

Never done this before, have hated the tile forever, love tearing it out Cleared the bar (stove top will be replaced) Gonna raise that down spot, what a lousy design The leaky window goes bye bye Got rot? Yeah buddy... I couldn't get a quote below $20K, so I figure I'll do it...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com

Like Tim, I suggest LED lighting. I've been slowly replacing lighting fixtures with LED light fixture, it really brightens up the place
 
I'll concur w/ @LMichaels . LED under cabinet lighting is wonderful. Make sure you get fully sealed electronics, humidity in my experience under cabinets with coffee makers, electric kettles & the like tend to cause problems with LEDs.

Love our Bosch dishwasher, save for doesn't quite dry like I'd like. The Bosch refrigerator is only about 3 years old, but <knocks wood> has been very nice so far.

One of the things I did when we bought this house 15 years ago was to replace selected outlets with auto-sensing LED nightlights (half of a duplex outlet is lost.) And the bathrooms all have GFCI outlets with an LED lightbar built in. It's awfully nice to be able to navigate at night without lighting up the house.

LEDs in general. Aside from fluorescent fixtures in the mechanical room and the back garage, and the 3 way nightstand lamps in the master bedroom, everything is LED now. I haven't replaced a bulb in years.

Whole house water sediment filter, especially if you have an instant heater.
 
Well one thing fo sho, I will NEVER EVER buy La Z Boy furniture EVER again. What expensive junque. THeir warranty is worthless, the furniture is worthless and literally falls apart in less than 2 years, their service is AWFUL. Next time I will simply buy from Costco or Sam's. For 1/4 the price you get WAY better stuff. And if it breaks and I toss a $600 chair to the curb? Well it's a lot easier to take than tossing a $3,000 chair to the curb!
 
My g/f convinced me to spend the money to replace her Dad's recliner. It was falling apart, I'd already started to Frankenstein worn out fasteners & such. We spent what sounded like an inordinate amount of money on a powered recliner (yes, I am just waiting for that to fail,) but it does have 1 REALLY nice feature. In the control panel, there is a USB A port. Holy crap, don't need a wall wart plugged in now, I can just plug into the chair, and it is a high amp port.
 
I have ports in my Sam’s club couch, very convenient! The loveseat wore out rather quickly but, was nice while it lasted. The ports are really nice, this one has two “normal“ plugs in it as well, makes finding a plug when vacuuming very easy!
 
not sure the layout of the kitchen and if this is an option or not. If the nook for the refrigerator can be made deeper than cabinets then you can put a standard size/depth fridge and have the front more even with cabinets.
 
Bruno said:
Brett’s washing machine thread got me thinking.

We are having some major work done on the house and will be replacing all of our appliances and furniture.

If you had to do this, is there any game changing ideas you have come across in your experience?
Any must have features you use often?

Again this could be cabinetry, appliances, furniture, lighting. I’m just looking for any great ideas that made your life experience better.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
One thing I've always thought would be great in the kitchen is radiant floor heating.
 
+1 on undercab lights. I have the ones that you can touch to turn on at the individual cabinet.

If you go LED, then the color temperature should be considered. Maybe its me but it annoys me to have a mix of warm and cool lights. finding a color temp that you like is key then get them all to match. I like 3000K. Its brighter white but not too harsh.

If you have recessed can lights that take a BR30/BR40 type bulb you might consider LED conversion kits like these. I replaced 65W bulbs with these that use 9W. They are dimmable and you can select the color temperature.

It is a simple conversion from a bulb to these replacing the trim ring and all.

1706119985912.png

www.homedepot.com

Commercial Electric 5/6 in. Integrated LED White Dimmable Recessed Light Trim with Adjustable Color Temperature, (4-Pack) NS01dA09FR2-259 - The Home Depot

The Commercial Electric 5/6 in. Color temperature select LED downlight is an easy way to upgrade your existing can lights to the sleek look of recessed lighting and LED energy efficient technology. These
www.homedepot.com

( edited for clarity on a couple of items)
 
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my kitchen has a built-in microwave in a cabinet with counter top below it.

20240124_104110.jpg

The cabinet is 24 wide, about 17 inches deep, and has an elec outlet behind it. It fits a counter top microwave well with the trim kit. The trim kit has a piece that helps funnel the hot exhaust out he front vents.

If you have space it works great. Not having it take up counter space is a plus and also not having it over the top of a cooktop / range is also a plus.

edit: the trim piece around the microwave was originally white and I painted it when I replaced the appliances with SS. Looks like I need to do some touchup.
 
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One thing I'd definitely recommend is at least one cabinet with a lazy susan. They work great for organizing spices, rubs and other items you use often when cooking, both indoors and outdoors. We have one in a corner cabinet and I'd love to have at least one more. Not only are they great for organizing but they make great use of corner space and narrow cabinets.
 

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DanHoo said:
+1 on undercab lights. I have the ones that you can touch to turn on at the individual cabinet.

If you go LED, then the color temperature should be considered. Maybe its me but it annoys me to have a mix of warm and cool lights. finding a color temp that you like is key then get them all to match. I like 3000K. Its brighter white but not too harsh.

If you have recessed can lights that take a BR30/BR40 type bulb you might consider LED conversion kits like these. I replaced 65W bulbs with these that use 9W. They are dimmable and you can select the color temperature.

It is a simple conversion from a bulb to these replacing the trim ring and all.

View attachment 85509

www.homedepot.com

Commercial Electric 5/6 in. Integrated LED White Dimmable Recessed Light Trim with Adjustable Color Temperature, (4-Pack) NS01dA09FR2-259 - The Home Depot

The Commercial Electric 5/6 in. Color temperature select LED downlight is an easy way to upgrade your existing can lights to the sleek look of recessed lighting and LED energy efficient technology. These
www.homedepot.com

( edited for clarity on a couple of items)
Click to expand...
I used these when I did our kitchen. They're great
 
A vented rangehood that actually has enough cfm to do the job. We've had 3 since we moved west and at best they are barely adequate. My parents house built in 1954 had a through the wall fan with a beaded chain to open and close it. Was loud, but very effective at exhausting cooking biproducts.
 
All great info, keep em coming.

I was thinking over the range microwave with a vent to the outside. Any thoughts on if those get the job done?
 
Bruno said:
All great info, keep em coming.

I was thinking over the range microwave with a vent to the outside. Any thoughts on if those get the job done?
Click to expand...

What range / cooktop do you have? How wide? how many BTU?

I recall from somewhere the bare minimum is 100 CFM per linear foot of a cooktop but there are lots of variables.
 
Bruno said:
All great info, keep em coming.

I was thinking over the range microwave with a vent to the outside. Any thoughts on if those get the job done?
Click to expand...
Depends on your stove burners and how many BTUs they put out. Generally, the ones integrated into a microwave are weak at best, although, venting to the outside is a big plus.
 
Bruno said:
All great info, keep em coming.

I was thinking over the range microwave with a vent to the outside. Any thoughts on if those get the job done?
Click to expand...
negative idea IMO. too much moisture emanating from the cook top which decreases the life of the micro control panel. in addition, the hood fan that's built in will be an anemic 200 cfm up to 290 cfm. which basically moves no air and makes your house stinky if cooking something with oil or that's stinky.

i have and installed this one:

therangehoodstore.com

ZLINE Ducted Under Cabinet Range Hood in Stainless Steel (625) - The Range Hood Store

The ZLINE professional under cabinet stainless steel hood is designed to be both elegant and powerful, featuring the industry's only lifetime warranty motor. This hood is made from 430-grade stainless steel and is a ZLINE classic. Its durable construction, modern design, and lifetime warranty...
therangehoodstore.com therangehoodstore.com

works perfectly, can be loud on highest setting, and has only sucked one small child out of the house (j/k).

easy to clean (toss the baffles in the dishwasher to clean them).
 
depending on how much space your kitchen has, a spice drawer for organizing spices and keeping your backups (main large containers) in the pantry.

i am looking at these for our new kitchen: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GB35JP1?tag=tvwb-20

and if you have kids or guests over frequently, a beverage fridge is real nice. or you can use a spare fridge in the garage if you have a garage.
 
Brett-EDH said:
depending on how much space your kitchen has, a spice drawer for organizing spices and keeping your backups (main large containers) in the pantry.

i am looking at these for our new kitchen: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GB35JP1?tag=tvwb-20

and if you have kids or guests over frequently, a beverage fridge is real nice. or you can use a spare fridge in the garage if you have a garage.
Click to expand...
One thing I miss most about our house was the garage (dad) fridge!!
 
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