Saturday, October 17, 2009

In Which We Test Drive Appliances

Jer and I took a trip down to Best Buy to check out some different types of appliances today. After trying out a variety of refrigerators, stove tops, ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers, we came to a number of conclusions.

First of all, a bottom-drawer freezer is definitely the best option for us. Jer is able to access both the freezer and refrigerator pretty well; all of the freezer and the bottom half of the fridge as opposed to the bottom half of both the fridge and freezer on the side-by-side model. Also, as Renate pointed out, the fridge and freezer shelves are fairly narrow on the side-by-side model, so the layout on the bottom-drawer freezer/french door refrigerator is better.

Secondly, we're either going to have to get a built-in oven with a separate cook top, or we're going to have to find one with all of the controls on the front of the oven. Otherwise there's no way that Jer can reach them. If we don't have a separate cook top, Jer will only be able to reach two burners.

Of course, the bottom-drawer fridge and the front-oven/separate cook top options are all on the way-expensive side of the appliance price spectrum. I'm not sure exactly why ADA accessible is synonymous with luxury, but there you have it. Hopefully we'll be able to find some good bargains.

As for microwaves and dishwashers; he can get into just about any model of either, though the dishwashers with the loop handles are a little bit easier (and more expensive). Of course, he can't reach the microwave the way the cabinets are set up right now, but oh well-- at least he'd be able to get to the oven, which is what he uses most anyway. That and his espresso machine-- right now I get to make his fresh-ground lattes every morning, and since I'm not a coffee drinker it will be nice to quit playing barista and let him go back to fixing them just how he likes them.

Next on the list is finding either a floor store or a commercial installation of the different types of floors we're considering (laminate, hardwood and strand woven bamboo) to see what the best surface for wheeling around on is. I'll be calling flooring stores tomorrow to come up with somewhere Jer can test them out. Whichever one we choose is going to end up going down in almost the entire house, so we'd better make a good decision!

I'm trying to figure out right now where the heck we're going to put the library-- we have just under a thousand adult books (and about three hundred children's and young adult books) and so putting them all in the office is becoming increasingly impractical-- we've run out of room on the seven bookcases in our current office and the new one isn't going to be much bigger. It would be so awesome if we could find a place in the new house to have a real library instead of the mismatched bookshelves we've got now, but I'm not sure where we could do it. Maybe we could convert the dining room or something-- line it with shelving from floor to ceiling, put up a ladder, and throw a couple of wing back chairs in there. Or maybe not-- those library ladders are about a thousand bucks a piece. A thousand dollars. For a ladder.

Oh well. A girl can dream, right?

~Jess

10 comments:

Brechtje said...

Hi there,

Maybe you can find the bookcases you are looking for at Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/seattle)
I looked in their magazine and they even have a ladder (about 50 dollars)
I always find what I am looking for at Ikea for a good price.

Good luck!

stellarparenting.com said...

The billy bookcases at Ikea have lots of great options, we have bookcases everywhere in our house and one of the things that works best is hallways, if there is room, you can get them built right in and make the shelves just the size you want. I faind getting things built in is often easier and soemthimes even cheaper if you are having other stuff done as well.

Anonymous said...

I think if you can do the built ins you should. Maybe Craigslist or IKEA would have a ladder like what you want for cheaper. I wonder how hard it would be to convert a ladder or build your own????

I know that Best Buy will do price matching with appliances and sales. I have used it not only for other stores that are selling something in the area but with online places too. You just need to show them the page with the item and the price. Sometimes if you call around to little Mom and Pop appliance places they can get you a deal on last year's model. That is how we ended up with the world's largest fridge with the bottom freezer drawer when we bought our house this year. I would also check out the Habitat for Humanity Restore. They have all kinds of things there and if you tell them what you are looking for they can keep an eye out if they don't have it.

Good luck!

Greymare said...

Hey, I'm totally on board with converting a dining room to a library. Jason and I keep talking about doing that, when we have a house that has a dining room, that is. Actually, one of my college roomies did that with their house and it turned out looking really nice. No ladder though. We could always get you one of those folding step jobs...

Anonymous said...

If you have a Sears outlet store nearby, they often have good deals, with full warranty etc.
Also, the smaller appliance stores can be more willing to deal. They say that if you go in with cash you can buy yourself a great deal. It's worth a try!

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited about your remodeling plans! You should definitely try Ikea for the bookcases. I too dream of a library with a ladder. Sigh...
-Jing

Renate said...

Albert Lee at Southcenter has some good deals on appliances. We bought our JennAire stove and GE dishwasher there. Am not too crazy about Sears; their customer service sucks.

Rena said...

a fellow bookaphile. My bedroom/office is crammed with books. I keep trying to get rid of some but then just turn around and buy more. It's an addiction.

It is bizarre how appliances that are "easier to use" are also more expensive. Is there any way you can get assistance buying appliances? If he needs them to feed himself in his own home, it seems SOMEONE must be able to help buy at least one thing you need.

Anonymous said...

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I heard persons from this org interviewed at Blogworld last week. A current support program is for IT - perhaps a computer does not need to be on your list to buy.

Barbara

Mary Cyrus said...

I second the Sears Outlet idea. That's where we got our bottom-freezer french door fridge, for half off the retail price, since it was a floor model with a few dings and scratches that would come with the wear and tear of use anyway.

 
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