In this article, you’ll learn about the eleven best luxury appliance brands, their strengths and some possible drawbacks.
Ultimately, this article will help you start your kitchen project and clarify the top brands for how you use appliances.
Table of Contents
Fisher & Paykel
Fisher & Paykel has some impressive pro ranges. They feature a combination of induction and gas burners. In fact, their 48 inch is half gas at 23 and 15,000 BTU burners with the other half being induction.
They also offer column style refrigeration. Their double drawer dishwasher has always been different. You have some interesting but limited color options as well.
However, it is limited in terms of selection. Columns are only 30, 24, and 18 inch widths. 36 is by far the most popular.
Dacor
Dacor was purchased by Samsung four years ago. They went from being a family-owned company to being part of one of the most innovative multi-industry companies.
They market some interesting pro ranges with steam and high tech finishes. Dacor also has stainless interior refrigerator columns with cool controls. And it’s all WiFi enabled.
With the rapidly innovative Samsung behind Dacor, their appliances could be worth considering in the future.
The problem, at least with Samsung, is service after you buy it.
BlueStar
Their Platinum series ranges have one of the highest outputs of 25,000 BTU with the only pure convection system with a gas range.
BlueStar is a range company and you could buy any type of pro range from 24 to 60 inches. You can have French top, grill griddle, and even a series with French doors in a limited size.
Their new pro refrigerators are all metal on the inside and are designed to fit a chef’s pan.
Also, you can completely customize your range with 1000 different colors and ten trim options. For colors and customizations, BlueStar is the best on this list.
75% of BlueStar ranges sold are customized in a color. Without question, if you want a unique look with color in your kitchen, Blue Star is your best choice next to La Cornue and the ranges are excellent.
However, BlueStar is not for everyone. Their ranges are basic, without even clocks and certainly without smart functionality.
Unlike most of the others, BlueStar is not a full range of appliances. Just cooking and refrigeration.
Viking
In many ways, Viking was the first luxury brand. Debuting the first pro range in 1987. Over the years, they added other appliances to round out a whole suite.
Their best ranges are the Tuscany and their 7 Series pro ranges with the most powerful sealed burners.
Their new Rose Bold range is beautiful. They have a promising new refrigeration line after years of issues.
However, Viking was plagued by service-related issues, especially for refrigerators and dishwashers.
Middleby’s current management has improved the product over the last three years.
SKS
SKS has been the fastest growing premium line, mostly because it’s been the most available.
However, the product is worth considering for its features. Their 48 inch range has 23,000 and 15,000 BTU sealed burners along with induction and Sous Vide.
Their ovens are convection in the main oven with a full steam oven in the side. And it works well, according to our tests.
Their column-style refrigerators have the largest internal capacity and are all stainless on the inside.
The whole SKS line is WiFi enabled through LG’s ThinQ app.
SKS may not have the name of the others, but they are worth considering.
But the problem with SKS is they have a limited amount of products. Sous Vide should be an option, not an included feature.
JennAir
JennAir won Best New Product at the Architectural Digest show back in 2018 with their current lineup.
Highly styled products are available in the Rise and Noir series. Their wall ovens have always been the easiest to use. It will calculate the time, temperature and even show you how the food will look before you cook it.
The whole line is available with WiFi connectivity. JennAir will elevate your cooking with their cooking app for fresh recipes.
However, the line has been plagued by poor availability. And it’s almost locked into their 2018 introduction and hasn’t evolved since.
True
You can buy True in a 42 or 48 inch refrigerator or in a designer refrigerator, freezer, beverage, or wine column.
The units have ten custom color options, with six for hinge accents. True is all stainless on the inside and impressive in terms of installation.
However, you can’t place a panel on a True refrigerator, and ice makers are not available in any of their freestanding units.
Thermador
Thermador changed their styling of their line up a couple of years ago. Their strength has always been a cooking with their Star Burner and extra low simmering feature.
Their pro ranges are reasonable and have two series, the Pro Harmony and Pro Grand with the availability of steam ovens in the larger 48 and 60 inch sizes.
They also have the most extensive line of integrated refrigerators with new stainless interiors.
Their refrigerators have better bin storage and allow you to push it open as well as pull it with a handle.
Thermador has the most wall oven options with side swing doors, steam ovens and combination wall ovens.
They incorporate one of the best WiFi experiences with their Home Connect app as well.
Although their cooking appliances are new, they feature single convection only. They also lack menu driven controls like Wolf, JennAir and Miele.
Like many other manufacturers, Thermador does have availability issues as well.
Miele
Miele’s wall ovens and steam ovens feature a menu driven MasterChef program. And the Steam assist uses three bursts of moisture. It’s great for caramelizing foods or automatically baking 17 different types of bread.
Miele’s pro ranges and steam ovens have M series controls, making them the simplest to use.
Their new G7000 and their low priced G5000 series dishwashers and compact laundry are the best in the industry.
Even with all these features, Miele’s appliances are generally reliable. However, Miele’s contemporary styling may not fit every kitchen.
While the controls are advanced, you have no WiFi and it can’t be operated remotely from a phone. Miele is the only major company without WiFi and app integration on their pro range and wall oven.
Gaggenau
If you want truly unique looking appliances, then Gaggenau is your best choice. They were designed by Bang & Olufsen, the Danish modernist designers.
Their products are reliable and they have the best functioning steam ovens. Along with their side swing ovens, they have a commercial-looking 36 inch pizza oven.
Gaggenau is the best you can buy for precision cooking with more cooking modes than any other oven on the market. They also have a wide variety of cooktops and hobs.
However, the controls on Gaggenau are mode driven rather than the intuitive swipe controls in Miele and Wolf.
You do have more with Gaggenau, but you have to spend more time learning.
La Cornue, Subzero & Wolf
La Cornue, Subzero, and Wolf are tied for first place for best luxury appliances for 2022.
Because it’s really hard comparing a La Cornue range to a Wolf range.
La Cornue is completely customizable with 50 colors to choose, but costs two to three times more than a Wolf range. La Cornue do offers larger ranges, while Wolf has a much more broad line of ovens, cooktops, and range tops.
Wolf, however, has their new Wolf Gourmet system installed in its dual fuel ranges. Place the food in the oven, select how you want to cook, and the range will provide the optimum time, temperature and even the rack position.
La Cornue is French made but owned by a US company. While Subzero and Wolf are American made and family owned.
You’re probably leaning towards one or the other because there are such different products so let’s just start with La Cornue.
La Cornue
La Cornue is French made but owned by a US company Middleby. It is beautiful and will enhance your kitchen’s look like a piece of furniture.
However, your ability to customize the range truly sets the La Cornue apart. You can choose gas burners, induction, grill, teppanyaki and French top as well.
The oven has an arch top for natural convection, their oven can be customized in electric or gas.
By the way, electric is better for baking, whereas gas with its moisture heat is better for roasting and broiling.
It’s also your ability to customize that separates La Cornue from every major brand. It’s all made to order, so almost any combination is possible. They have over 8000 variations, plus you can choose your own.
Although it’s great looking and customizable, La Cornue has simple controls.
Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero is still the most well known luxury appliance company. They’re American owned and operated with factories in Arizona, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
Sub-Zero has the most refrigerators offered in various sizes. They focus on keeping food fresher longer.
They’re serious with their features consisting of vacuum sealed doors, air filtration, and an air scrubber.
The Subzero air scrubber cleans ethylene gasses off spoiling foods to keep food fresh.
They’re also the best for preserving wine keeping light, heat, humidity, and vibration from destroying the tannins of the wine.
Sub-Zero may be the best, but it’s also the most expensive refrigerator on the market.
Most wall ovens and dual fuel ovens, feature their Verticross convection blower. This provides more consistent heat than the standard convection fan.
Their Gourmet function allows you to choose the food and how you want to cook. The oven calculates time, temperature, and even rack position.
For pro ranges their dual fuel is new with the blower convection, touchscreen, Wolf Gourmet integration, and now with Smart functionality.
Along with Blue Star and La Cornue, Wolf features a French top configuration. French top can cook many foods at different temperatures on the same surface.
They also offer a full array of speed and steam cooking products as well.
However, their pro ranges need a bit of updating for self-cleaning and more output.
Takeaways
Luxury appliances have evolved to be some of the most advanced products in your home.
However, service is a problem in certain areas. You may think you will see that Lexus and Mercedes service treatment, but in fact, most companies on this list do not operate service.
Besides exploring your options, it’s very important to know the service behind all these brands before you buy.
You will love cooking on a pro range, induction cooking surface, or steam oven. Just make sure it can get fixed.