Hello friends!
I hit the ground running today, and am fairly whooped already. What day is it? Wednesday?
But the universe seems to be in a joking mood, and thought it would be funny to render my dishwasher inoperable. Hilarious. It started with the spring on the door breaking, but I procrastinated dealt with it instead of calling an appliance repair person. But, on Thursday evening when I tried to start it, the control panel went as blank as the stare my kids gave me when told them we would have to wash dishes by hand. Yeah – totally blank. Nothing there.
So, since the cost to repair it doesn’t seem worthwhile at this point, I’m on the hunt for something new. But alas, nothing is ever easy, is it?
Don’t get me wrong – I love my paneled dishwasher. I love that it blends so seamlessly with my cabinetry. But now the trick is finding a dishwasher that will accommodate it (and that I like). A tricky combination.
I currently have Kitchen Aid appliances, dishwasher included. But I have heard great things about Bosch dishwashers. And Bosch does make panel-ready dishwashers like this one:
But since panel ready dishwashers aren’t mainstream, I’m trying to determine whether my existing panel will fit a non-Kitchen Aid dishwasher. All of this research means I’m going to be washing a lot of dishes in the meantime.
Suffice to say, I will be picking up paper plates, plastic cups and silverware tomorrow, since my family of five generates enough more dirty dishes than an Waffle House at 2AM on a Saturday night. So, I’m not going to be environmentally friendly for a bit. If you saw my dishes, you would stop by and drop off some of your excess paper products.
The upside of this problem is that I stumbled upon some AMAZING kitchen evolutions while surfing the web researching. Some even had panel-ready dishwashers. And yes, the trend is toward white kitchens, but oh, how individual they all are!
Seriously, gorgeous.
Notice the paneled dishwasher…
Holy gorgeousness Batman… Did you even get a peek at that view?
And check out this before and after:
And here it is now:
Wowie. Wowie. Wow.
(All images via gardenweb.com)
So, does anyone have experience with panel ready dishwashers? Dishwasher favorites in general? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you need me, I’ll be washing dishes.
18 Comments
Jenn(ifer)
February 7, 2012 at 1:17 pmHi!
I live in Germany so I am not certain this info helps, but it might so I will just give it 😉
I have a panel-bosch-dishwasher (love it, especially for its feature where you can flip over parts of the baskets to make them flat for bigger items…). It came with a template where to add screws into the back of the panel and it was really easy to install the (ikea) panel to the front!
You can see it here (first picture, with the towel)
http://heim-elich.blogspot.com/2011/11/so-sieht-es-hier-gerade-aus-kuche.html
Greetings from Germany!
Lisa Scibilia
February 7, 2012 at 1:45 pmWe had a Bosch in one of our previous homes, it was so quiet. I love the part about your kids and the blank stare – that's just what mine would do! "people wash dishes by hand?" is what they would say! Thanks for sharing all these gorgeous kitchens…..they inspire me to wait until we can do what really want with ours…..in 2025 🙂
Kat
February 7, 2012 at 2:32 pmWe have a GE Profile paneled one and love it. Super quiet and I love the look. My thing with picking out appliances was, while I like the look of stainless, I don't want to be wiping them down every 7 seconds. Love the seamless, integrated look of paneled appliances. You can check out my kitchen (it's almost done!) here. http://www.mapleleavessycamoretrees.com/2011/05/my-almost-finished-kitchen.html
lakemurrayfan
February 7, 2012 at 4:37 pmBosch!! So quiet and reliable – first one lasted 12 years without a single problem – just bought a new one and it's even quieter!
Stacy Curran
February 7, 2012 at 5:05 pmI have one, and i hate it because the panel doesn't go all the way to the top. It's Kitchenaid and 9 years old, so I'm sure you'll find a better one! The dw itself is great, just don't love the panel. If I could, I would get the stainless $2500 Bosch 🙂
Stacy
Melissa at HOUSEography
February 7, 2012 at 6:51 pmLove, love, love my Bosch! Bought mine through Abe's of Maine and it was significantly cheaper than anywhere else I could find. Free delivery and no sales tax certainly helped as well. I would never skimp on a dishwasher but definitley would on a fridge or stove!
Kristel
February 7, 2012 at 7:10 pmGorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! I so have kitchen envy right now it's not evev funny. I am in the middle of a project right now, but I'm willing to drop the paint brush and start remodeling my kitchen ;). Good luck with finding the right dishwasher, I had mine when we moved in, the only complaint I have is that I wish I had TWO dishwashers…is that possible?
Emily Anne
February 7, 2012 at 7:28 pmWow, you found some amazing photos. I'd be willing to not spend a dime for the next 5 years to have one of those kitchens. Good luck with the dishwasher, I'm going back to staring at those p1ctures now….
emilyjanuary
February 7, 2012 at 8:31 pmOur dishwasher, a Bosch, broke yesterday, and I just got home from picking out a new one, a GE this time. Yes, the Bosch was quiet, but we had to repair it several times in the last eight years and it beeped at us every ten minutes for an hour after running a cycle. I don't recommend them. But we'll see how I feel after getting this GE installed. 🙂
Kim @ Savvy Southern Style
February 7, 2012 at 9:34 pmI wish I had a custom panel on my dishwasher. Maybe next time we purchase one I will look into getting a d.w. that I can get my cabinet guy to build a panel for. I am sure whatever you choose it will look and work fine.
pam {simple details}
February 7, 2012 at 10:54 pmOur neighbors had a lot of trouble with their Bosch and it was pricey to have it repaired. When we did a kitchen remodel I had a carpenter make a panel for our refrigerator, we ordered doors to match the cabinets and he constructed a back panel for them to be mounted onto. I'm sure it would be easy with a dw. Great research, btw!! 🙂
Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
February 8, 2012 at 9:27 pmFabulous kitchens jenny!!!
Sorry about your dishwasher….I don't think I ever told you about our dishwasher. Remember that christmas party we had with 70 people, yes it broke that night…..the guy came out the week before christmas to fix it and had to order the pump….another party, no dishwasher…..Changed out the pump the following week, still didn't work..4 weeks no dishwasher, i was ready to fill up the dishwasher drawers and through them in my neighors washer ;)It is all fixed now 🙂
Good luck!
XO
Andrea
February 9, 2012 at 1:18 amI had a Bosch in our previous house and I was never happy with it. It didn't clean well and it wasn't nearly as quiet as it was supposed to be. I now have an Asko (paneled) and I love it. I got it at Custom Distributors in Fairfield and it was a floor model so I got it for a great price. I have never had any issues, it cleans great and it's super quiet. Bummer about your dishwasher. I had an issue with my dryer last week and I hesitated having it repaired. It ended up not being a big deal, but being without a dryer for a few days was tough.
Anonymous
February 9, 2012 at 2:13 amJenny….our dishwasher recently went to the recycling center….may it rest in peace….we researched and researched (yes consumer reports too)….we narrowed it down to two brands (I knew I also wanted it to look good…to me)….then I did the only thing I could do…..call my appliance repair man who has NEVER, EVER let me down. I told him I was down to Bosch and GE….he said hands down Bosch….Consumer reports was clear….don't go cheap and dont go high end…go midrange…they are the workhorses that are reliable and tried and true. So that is what I did….Bosch mid range…..I couldn't be happier….almost 2 months later…I would buy it again and again. Now I am researching refriderators…know what my repair guy said>>>>>Whirlpool…best compressors! Good Luck! Andrea
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LeAnne Richards
May 30, 2014 at 7:45 pmI know the is an old blog post, but I am in the same predicament now. My Bosch died and I need to purchase a new dishwasher hopefully that will fit the same panel. What did you end up doing? Did your panel from your Kitchenaid fit? My Bosch is obviously so old, I cannot even find the dimensions online (it was already in when I bought the home)
Jenny
May 31, 2014 at 2:30 amI ended up going to a specialty store for custom appliances, and was able to find another Kitchen Aid dishwasher that still fit my panel. Good luck! I feel your pain!
rick
November 16, 2015 at 8:10 amIt is a great blog and very informative.
VictorPalmer
December 8, 2015 at 2:00 pmA highly detailed blog on repairs.
http://centaursappliancerepair.com/