As you are looking through house plans or have already purchased the plans for your dream home, you are probably envisioning the kitchen and the type of appliances you would like. The appliance selection process can be a very exciting and intimidating part of building a new home.

Major appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers & dryers, gas and electric cooking ranges, ovens and cook tops, microwave ovens, and dishwashers have greatly improved over the last several decades. They have increased in functionality, energy conservation, and there is a greater selection of styles and colors that are more readily available. This also means there are many more items to consider when selecting your new appliances. With so many choices it is helpful to ask yourself several questions:

As you are going through the process of selecting your new appliances, it is beneficial to coordinate with your builder. This is important so that appliance sizes and functions can be accommodated for. For example if you are going to have a gas cook top you will need to have gas lines run to the appropriate location, or water hookups might need to be installed for door icemakers. If proper planning is done, it will save costs in building and will allow you to incorporate almost any appliances into your dream kitchen.

The good news is that many companies offer great savings when purchasing your entire kitchen at once. These packages known as “Contractors packages” are offered for less due to the number of units you are purchasing. My other favorite to save money is to go to your local “Major appliance store” such as Sears and find out where there open stock or discount store is located. Along with the “minor damage” units that have anything from dents and dings to scrapes they also have miss orders, open boxes and other items with various reasons for discounts. My advice is once you have decided on your needs then spend some time shopping for the best price for your selected manufacturer.