Our New Kitchen featuring GE Café Appliances
Are GE Café Appliances worth it?
It’s hard to believe that we have been in our home for over two years now and have touched 90% of of it from the roof to the crawlspace. I will say that the space that gets the most traffic and use in our home is our kitchen and because we knew this would be the case we wanted it to look the best.
Let’s Start from the Beginning
Before we moved into this home we had 2 months to make as many improvements as we could. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to include the GE Café Appliances brand because I loved the customizable aesthetics plus the smart features. The existing kitchen had not been refreshed by the owner in many years and it had very entry-level appliances. Our goal was to keep the footprint of the kitchen the same to minimize our construction costs and be able to invest in higher quality appliances. Troy actually demoed the kitchen floor himself which was surprisingly much more labor-intensive than he expected, but I’ll save that for another blog post.
So as you can see, it was not terrible! Just not the level that we wanted to spend most of our time in.
The Design of Our New Kitchen
Rendering made by Lesli from McNeill Brown Interior Design
Cabinet Color
Believing that the cabinets we in decent condition, our original plan was to just have them repainted and add new hardware. I was adamant about doing this beautiful Dard Hunter Green paint color from Sherwin Williams but it took some convincing to get my husband on board. What sold him was that this color is basically Michigan State green which is his all-time favorite sports team.
Cabinet Hardware
I knew that I wanted to do the matte black finish with brushed bronze hardware from the Café Appliances selections options, so when considering the new hardware that I wanted to add to the freshly painted cabinets, I selected this beautiful modern geometric with a brushed brass accent. I splurged a little bit on the hardware because we thought we were not buying any new cabinets, but as with many remodel projects, we would find out during the demo that we indeed would need new base cabinets. Again, I’ll save that story for another post!
Countertops
Our previous home had granite countertops that we didn’t love. Since this kitchen had about half the countertop space that we had previously, we decided to upgrade the horizontal surfaces to a lovely quartz with a latte color veining
Flooring
The previous owner had layered on several laminate options which were sufficient for the renters that he had living here, however, we chose to continue the white oak hardwood flooring that was in the front rooms of the home throughout the first floor.
Our GE Café Appliance Package
Refrigerator
To maximize the flow and floor space in our new kitchen, I wanted to make sure that our refrigerator was counter depth. In this kitchen, it allows for a flush line from the corner of the wall to the countertop edge, to the refrigerator door hinge. It’s something that you may not notice immediately, but anyone who is navigating this space would notice if there was a standard-size refrigerator here as there was before. What I love about our GE Café Refrigerator is that there is filtered cold water, ice, and even a hot water tap right in the door. You can also enable the Wifi to allow the refrigerator to remind you when the filter needs to be changed.
Double Over Range
We cook quite a bit! One of the things I really wanted was a double oven so that I could bake and simultaneously roast and or bake two different things at the same time. The two ovens in our GE Café Double Range are not the same size, so there can be smaller items cooking in the top oven or larger items on the bottom. My favorite feature of this oven is that the bottom has an ‘Air Fry’ setting which allows you to get “instant” preheat and convection airflow. I use this setting all the time for cooking bacon or even Addi’s favorite frozen foods.
Microwave
I’m sure you’re thinking what could be special about this GE Café Microwave? Well let me tell you, this one is far from ordinary! With countless pre-programmed settings for rewarming specific foods, it makes selecting the right amount of time to microwave a breeze. And, this microwave has a toaster over setting to allow oven heating without having to use your full-sized oven. Additionally, it has a combo cooking setting which allows for convection cooking AND microwaving at the same time. Wow! I haven’t played with this setting much because honestly I haven’t found the best way to use it yet. If you have tips on that, please let me know!
Dishwasher
So I can confidently say that this dishwasher is the best one I have had in my 20+ years of living on my own. Being able to select a sexy handle makes the exterior of this GE Café Appliance dishwasher look way more luxurious than most that you’d see when shopping for appliances. The concealed digital control makes
Frequently Asked Questions about Café Appliances
Who makes Café Appliances?
Café Appliances are manufactured by GE appliances which has been producing top-of-the-line home appliances for over 100 years.
Does Best Buy sell Café Appliances?
Yes! In fact, you can buy them at Best Buy using your Best Buy Credit card and often pay them off with no interest for 18 months.
What is Café Appliances’ customer service like?
We have used GE Café Appliances’ customer service once and they were awesome to work with. After a brief phone call, I was able to schedule a technician to come out and look at an issue with the fan rattling on our range and once he assessed it, he ordered the parts and returned to repair it within a week.
Do you actually use the Café Appliances App?
Yes! I love that I can preheat my oven when I’m not at home and also schedule a time for my oven to go off if I am doing a slow cooking recipe.
GE Cafe Appliances mobile app
Which is better - Kitchenaid or Café Appliances?
You may be considering Kitchenaid because they are a comparable quality and price point to Café Appliances. I have never owned new Kitchenaid appliances, so I cannot attest to their function but I do have clients who have them in their home and have no complaints. Ultimately, I think that either choice would be great for your home and just depends on your preferences I stated before.
My Honest Review of the GE Café Appliances
After living with and using these appliances for over 2 years I can honestly say that I would recommend them to a homeowner who is seeking to update their kitchen. As a professional interior designer, I always advise my clients that no appliance that is purchased for your home is going to last the length of your mortgage. Buy the best you can afford at the time of purchase that also suits your taste and usage because those variables WILL change. Overall the quality of the GE Café Appliances will last us for the time that we plan to be residing in this home and they fit the footprint of the kitchen, which we do not plan to change.
If I had to do it all again, I would still select the microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator models that I chose however, I really miss cooking on a gas range so I would opt for that instead of the electric cooktop that I currently have.
It was a long journey to get our kitchen from where we started to where we are now and we are very happy with it! Our kitchen remodel would not be the same without our GE Café Appliances.
This GE Café Appliance package was gifted to me in exchange for review. All opinions and thoughts on the appliance are my truth. I partner with several affiliate platforms where commission may be earned based on clicks and or purchases, and I would love it if you decided to use the links above! Affiliate links help bloggers like me to fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.
