1) Reccomended Brands- obviously lots of brand options- Subzero/Wolf, Viking, Decor, etc and GE monogram on the lower price end. Obviously longevity/reliability is important.
Wolf. Wolf is a quality brand. Easy to maintain and to fix. Viking used to have an edge a long time ago, but they've been wrought with issues. The most common issue will be replacing your igniters or even the entire ignition system on a gas range. Save yourself a headache. They're cheaper for a reason.
Wolf comes in sealed and unsealed burners. Each has their pros and cons. It really depends on how you want it and whether or not those pros and cons are ideal for you. The biggest benefit of a sealed burner is the ease of cleanup you'll have if something spills over. Open burners can be a bitch to clean but offer higher power output. Both burner designs come with special shapes on prosumer models or traditional round burners.
2) Brand matching- apparently this is a thing. I’m just confused what happens if you buy a Subzero Fridge, they don’t make dishwashers. How much of an issue is this for future home buyers.
Doesn't really matter. Some brands excel at certain things and fail horribly at others. It's really up to you, and these are products that are ever changing and improving. Our last remodel was in 2009, so take my advice on this particular point with a grain of salt. It's changed, but regardless of that, you should see fantastic durability and ease of maintenance with Wolf products. Dishwasher wise, I'd go with Asko. They're a brand distributed under Wolf/Sub Zero and they're phenomenal. Practically bulletproof.
3) Stainless vs wood paneled front fridge and dishwasher. Thoughts?
Stainless. Wood can be nice, but think about resale down the road. If the next owner wants different cabinets, it'll just cost them extra money. In any case, these days large appliances like that are swapped out when it comes to a new house or the current owner buys new stuff with the intention of selling it off. It's much like a bath tub or shower; no one wants to touch stuff you used extensively.
4) All-in-One stove cooktop vs. separated oven and cooktop - Pros/Cons. Gas vs. Induction (or both, I believe you can do both with Wolf). Electric is out of the question.
Depends on your tastes and whether well accessible. Traditional stove won't make sense if the walking path is tight or the ergonomics are bad. With separated ovens, you do face other obstacles like maintenance access and the loss of cabinet space. Or if you have a ton of kitchen space, you can do both or each one.
Example: Full stove + wall ovens or full stove + wall ovens + separate cooktop.
As for fuel source. GAS. GAS GAS GAS. Nothing will compare to the power output these professional-esque stoves can put out in gas format. Restaurant grade stoves tend to warp the very best pots and pans over time from their power output. Prosumer appliances like Viking, Wolf, et al. will be a small notch below these.
These gas stoves now come with an auto shutoff if a leak is detected or the ignition system fails.
5) We want a built in fridge. Side by side is out of the question given we don’t have a ton of space for a giant side by side. That leaves French Door vs. fridge on the top w/freezer drawer on the bottom.
Without knowing the dimensions available, it's hard to say. Ideally, for safety reasons and looks, a bottom loaded freezer is probably the best option. Aside from that, they come in traditional large door or French door. Get one without an ice maker or water dispenser. Less headache, and more room. If you must have a RO water unit, get it installed somewhere else in the kitchen with easy maintenance access. Or if you've got a walk in pantry with a water line, set it up there. Better yet, buy a bottom loading water dispenser and hide it away. This is the least maintenance requiring machinery. We have a second refrigerator in our butler's pantry, and a large chest freezer in the garage.
Also have an ice maker that runs on a separate RO system.
6) Counter top material. Granite and Marble are nice, but require a bit of maintenance. Perhaps a quality synthetic alternative.
Quartz. It comes in a variety of colors and styles. The very good quartz, like that Israeli company I told you about, makes some of the best (and expensive) quartz I've seen that rivals marble and granite in aesthetics. Few people will know the difference. Marble is beautiful, but it stains quickly and incredibly easily. Quartz also comes in various finishes, so the world is your oyster, so to speak.
Silestone is a company that specializes in quarts only products. People often think it's a type of countertop when it isn't. They make some very nice stuff at various price levels. I know for fact that they've offered custom counter top projects well into the low $100K range. Anything is possible if you're willing to pay for it.
7) Reccomended washer and dryer, preferably stackable? I know front loaded washers were once a vibration issue if not located in the basement or concrete slab. I’m not sure I understand the difference between spending $<1000 vs $2000+ on washer and dryers.
I'm going to say Samsung. Miele is a good brand, like Sceptical says, but their service centers are sparse here. There's a few authorized service centers in Boston, for example, but maybe just one will deal in service for kitchen appliances, and the rest will be for their vacuums or washers. The Samsung units we have were installed roughly 9 years ago or more. I forget. We use both washer and dryer 2-3 a week, usually large loads. I've yet to notice an issue with their exterior or interior. I recently inspected the silver plate system inside the washer and it was as pristine as it was the day we got them. This has changed, so you may want to check CR, but I caution you on this. CR's testing can be incredibly stupid at times, such as last year's articles on dish washers. There's a very good brand but it looks very dated. It's called Speed Queen. Really dated look, but very modern inside.
Also, I'm not a fan of cleaning modes on ovens. You will rarely need to use if it you do some maintenance cleanup after cooking anything in there, aside from cookies or cakes. All it does is expose the internal portion of the oven and anything else to extremely high heat and burns anything in it. An enzyme based cleaner and a sponge will clean just about anything, including baked on crud. Dawn Professional in a small bucket with hot water and a sponge works. Run a wet, soapy sponge across the crud, set it and forget it for an hour. Come back and wipe it off with a towel. Or use a nylon brush to gently scrub the crud off. The enzymes in the Dawn solution eat fats and proteins.
Stainless steel will tarnish and or show splotches. I've tried just about every single cleaner out there and nothing comes close to using Pledge. The furniture stuff. Yep, you read that correctly. Wood furniture spray is the best cleaner, and forms a non-oily barrier preventing fingerprints for up to six weeks. Warm soapy water (Dawn again) works just as well, but the Pledge is easier. It will restore stainless steel to what it looked like the day you bought it. Including removing that cloudy oxidation, making it brighter as it cleans and cleanses the metal, and it protects it with a very thin oily film to protect the metal. You won't be able to feel it.
The only reason we didn't do Miele was that at the time, and even now, the nearest non-vacuum repair center authorized by Miele is over 100 miles away. Whereas I can have a Viking or Wolf specialist/technician with parts by tomorrow afternoon. General brands like GE or even Kitchenaid don't offer this type of white glove service.
Before you do purchase anything, read up on it and go talk to some restaurant owners. They can give you the lowdown on their professional grade Wolf or Vikings. The stuff you buy at the consumer level is a trickle down from the professional stuff. If you've got a rewards credit card or a store card that offers a percentage in cash back with no limit, charge it on that. At the time of our purchases, we had such a route and did everything on the card, and paid the balance off in three or four payments since there was a 12 month interest free period. I'll have to look at the paperwork, but I believe the total was under $28K for everything so it was decently priced, considering prices are higher now. Plus, that great cashback.
The great thing about the professional style stuff is that they sit on feet, usually, and it's easy to clean spills or dirt or dust underneath the unit. As someone who likes things to be clean and sanitary, it was a huge selling point for me.
Also, if it's feasible, get a central vacuum system installed for the kitchen and high footpath areas. It's going to make general vacuuming or sweeping a cinch. You guys are already planning on doing extensive remodeling, now's the right time to consider this and not way late into the remodeling phase. This stuff is pricey for a reason. It lasts.
Here's a huge protip: I know a certain someone you're close to wants to be hands on with everything... but hire a professional designer. Often times, they can get you the same product for much less or they can import something at a fraction of what you would pay.
Home paint wise, stick with the higher lines of Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams, and have your contractor buy the paint through their supplier. The home improvement store or the paint store ones you can buy tend to be of lower quality. It also costs less if they buy it. The same high end Ben Moore that costs $60 a gallon will cost them a fraction because they buy so much of it.
Also, if you think you'd want to replace the windows in the near future (under 15 years), have them replaced now. It's a headache later on.
