As I’ve said before, you don’t have to spend a fortune to buy a beautiful set of kitchen appliances. In this article, you’ll learn the best affordable luxury brands, their best products, and their problems as well.
Read to the end to find out the number one brand for 2023. There’s a lot to cover so let’s get started.
8. KitchenAid
KitchenAid upgraded their dishwasher line two years ago. They now have four levels of wash action and a cool new third rack.
After the dishwasher line, the line is basic.
Their popular refrigerators haven’t changed in at least ten years. Their most popular series are single evaporators instead of dual evaporators for better temperature management like the other brands.
And their newer dual evaporator refrigerators are incredibly expensive.
The stoves are just okay, but do have good capacity. They haven’t changed in a while.
KitchenAid is also not WiFi enabled. A few years ago, it may not have been an issue. Now WiFi has some decent functionality, as you will see.
KitchenAid is a good name, but the products are unspectacular.
7. Fisher & Paykel
Fisher & Paykel is an interesting portfolio for appliances like counter depth refrigerators, custom finishes and dishwasher drawers.
They have an interesting new product, including pro style ranges in custom colors. I use the word interesting because you may be looking for a diversion from stainless steel.
Cafe has some options and Fisher Paykel is in that same category with red, white and black finishes.
The products have a certain design edge to them as well, so it’ll look different from your neighbor’s kitchen.
Their panel-ready integrated refrigerators are $5,000-$12,000 less than other built-in types.
They’re also the only company with a double drawer dishwasher, and their availability has been excellent as well.
6. Samsung
I had to put Samsung on this list after I featured their much publicized Bespoke as a product you should not buy.
I like Samsung. They were the first company I had designed into the appliance. As a result, every brand had to follow, and now everyone’s kitchen looks better.
The same is true for most of their current products. They’re mostly affordable and good looking. Their refrigeration is well conceived with tons of models from French drawers to double drawers and four door refrigerators.
However, some of their products can be overengineered as well. Their double oven ranges cannot reach temperature independently, and I like their family hub refrigerator with a smart tablet built into the door. But really, your phone has more functionality.
And I do like the color options on the Bespoke, and I don’t want people mad at me again. But the colors should be on your stove as a central focal point your kitchen.
Lastly, their customer service, as everyone has commented, can’t keep up with the demand.
5. GE Profile
GE Profile has decent functional products. Their ranges have 21,000 BTU output burners with good capacity.
You buy French door refrigerator in any number of sizes and styles, and their new dishwasher with special sprays for bottle and silverware may be the best at $999 on sale.
GE Profile is similar to their cafe line just in basic stainless steel without customizable options of the more upscale products.
All GE appliances are WiFi enabled through their Smart HQ app. We’ll talk a bit about smart functionality later in the article.
4. Beko
Beko is one of the fastest growing brands around the country. Better appliance availability is part of the reason.
Beko has a front control range, a French door refrigerator, a quiet dishwasher, and microwave for under $6,000.
It also looks good and has excellent first year reliability. They rank highly on availability, innovation and reliability.
For instance, their range has surf convection with a larger fan than the others, along with slats on the side for better overall airflow and even cooking on all racks.
Refrigeration has blue lighting in its drawers to promote photosynthesis, and an Ethylene filter to keep food fresher longer.
Their new corner intense dishwasher has WiFi, an unbelievably quiet 39 decibels rating and an intense wash to clean oven, casserole dishes.
And Beko is all about sustainability. Their new front-load washer tub is made out of recycled plastic bottles.
Beko has a limited name recognition and it’s a limited product line.
3. Bosch
Bosch has always been considered one of the best affordable luxury brands. The part of the BSH corp, along with Thermador and Gaggenau.
Their crystal-dry dishwasher uses volcanic elements to absorb moisture and emit heat. It can even dry plastics.
Their refrigerator is popular as the only freestanding refrigerator with two compressors for more consistent temperatures.
They place stainless on the back of the refrigerators because it absorbs cold better, and their Home Connect WiFi system is highly rated.
Great dishwasher, fantastic refrigerator. However, they don’t have a lot of cooking options and they lack the product selection of other brands.
2. LG, LG Studio & SKS
Let’s give LG some credit. Nobody has had better availability than LG during the last 18 months except for maybe Beko.
Their products are the most reliable, based on 40,000 service calls completed by a service department last year.
It’s also unique with interesting products for refrigeration and have their see through InstaView door and slow dissolving craft ice options.
Their stoves are amongst the largest, with a 6.3 cubic foot pure convection, even in gas.
All their appliances are WiFi enabled and can be operated remotely through an app on your phone.
The best part is these appliances are available and starting at $6,499 for the suite.
LG Studio has some interesting products as well, and their SKS line has a unique titanium finish on their appliances.
Finding service is a con if your store doesn’t have any. I could say the same for most of the others as well.
And also LG has no color choices.
1. Cafe Appliances
Had a hard time placing Cafe or LG one or two? Either way, you should consider Cafe if you don’t want another stainless kitchen.
Cafe has their most popular alternative, white. Yes, white finishes are returned with different handle finishes like copper, black and brass.
The black finish and copper handle is a nice option as well.
Cafe also has a mirrored finish with exceptional gas and induction double oven ranges, including a six burner 30-inch gas range.
The refrigeration includes Kurig coffee as an option and their whole line has WiFi connectivity as well. Smart HQ is another interesting WiFi app.
They added modes like steakhouse and turkey modes, among others.
As I said, smart is getting smarter. LG and GE are working on self-diagnosis on the appliances to send a signal of problems before they become issues.
Not a ton of options like most, but it’s a pretty solid line.
Key Takeaways
You can spend $6,000-$15,000 for affordable luxury appliances and several different finishes and features.
Before you spend 30,000 in a luxury kitchen appliance package, check out these brands for less than half.
You can always combine certain luxury elements, like a professional 30-inch range and an affordable luxury package without blowing your budget, and you have plenty of options.
We always recommend starting with cooking or figuring out what’s important to you and working from there.
Availability will still be a problem for certain appliances, like refrigerators and dishwashers, so consider all your options.
Lastly, make sure you know who will be fixing your appliances before you buy them. Samsung, Beko, LG and GE along with the others are smart considerations, but only if you get them fixed properly.