Buying white after Labor Day

Posted on November 14, 2005 by Gene

For those of you who are wondering, I decided to go with white appliances. My kitchen is green with white trim, and I figured that white would work best — and if the current trend toward stainless steel should falter, white is pretty much timeless.
I was disappointed in what became a fait accompli with my refrigerator: I had three requirements, but I didn’t think they’d restrict my choice as much as they did. Because the kitchen has a center cooktop island, I had to find a counter-depth, side-by-side model. Regular doors or a regular depth model would be too close to the island, making it difficult to open the doors. Add to those two requirements my choice of a smooth white finish — no texture, please — and it narrowed the choices down significantly. In fact, I had my choice of exactly one model. And of course, it turned out to be hyper expensive. I can’t understand why counter-depth refrigerators cost up to $500 more than the bigger model. More for less, you know?
Putting it on my Sears card saved me 10%, which was helpful.
Today, I ordered a washer and dryer. Again, expensive — because I have expensive tastes, and bought the most efficient models available to conserve water and electricity. (I decided against the washer/dryer combo model.) This time, I settled on Home Depot, which is offering a $150 gift card with purchase and 10% off with a coupon from the post office change of address packet. A bargain! Still, I’m about $1000 over budget already. I guess I’ll make it up with a cheapo cooktop and dishwasher; although judging from the prices I’ve seen on in-wall ovens, I’ll be over budget there as well.
Time to redo the budget, eh?