Kitchen Appliance Ideas

When we moved from NYC to Michigan, we met with a real estate agent and she asked us what we were looking for in our apartment, and I swear to you the ONLY thing that I said was:
"a dishwasher"

And she laughed and laughed.  She laughed because (presumably) everyone has a dishwasher, right?
not in Brooklyn.  I washed dishes for 2 years by hand (aren't I such a pioneer) and when we moved to Michigan I was SOOO excited and loaded up our dishwasher only to find out that our dishwasher didn't work.  It was broken and I was heart broken, and then it took 3 MONTHS for our apartment complex to fix it.  Now that means that I finally got my dishwasher in November, and as you know we moved to our house in January, where we discovered that....

The dishwasher does not work.

So all of you Michiganders who laughed at me when all I ever wanted was a dishwasher should know that I still don't have one.

In order to keep the cabinetry (which we like) we're going to replace the appliances at the same size they currently are... so that means we're looking for a 24" dishwasher,  energy efficient, stainless steel.
Here's what I'm thinking:

It's a Kenmore Stainless Steel 24" Built-in Dishwasher w/ Smart Wash Cycle 1389 Energy Star! (and yes I feel very much like this when I read that outloud) It retails at approximately $550.  We could easily get a lovely dishwasher for under $300 if we decided to go with white rather than stainless.  This is something that we'll have to consider as we move forward.  One of the things that I really like about this is that the buttons are at the top-- not visible and tucked away from the tiny hands which will eventually leave fingerprints all over it.

And now the fridge

Pretty, right?  Kenmore Stainless Steel 25 cu. ft Non-Dispensing Side by Side Refrigerator (energy star)
About $1200.  Again, if we go with a top freezer, then we can get under $1000, but this is a dream-inspiration-kitchen post so I won't go there yet.  We'll see what reality forces us to buy-- but the truth is that we have a working fridge, so perhaps we just wait and save and get exactly what we want.

The range:

Kenmore Stainless Steel w/ Black 30 in. Gas Self Clean Slide-in Range with Convection Cooking.

around $1300.  Again-- I really like it's... flatness.... the controls are there at the top (and they're lockable for babyproofing) and the oven would sit flush with the wall which appeals to me.  The Convection Cooking option?  I know nothing about this "convection cooking" but it can't hurt to have options, can it?  maybe it will make me the speediest most wonderful cooker in the world? who knows? 

From the comfort of the internet on my couch, I think these three items are really quite lovely.  Why Kenmore?  Because the internet tells me so.  Why Stainless?  Because it's shiny and bright.  

What will we do? Probably get the dishwasher in the next few months, and then replace the other appliances as we are able.

There will be more kitchen inspiration posts-- tile backsplash, flooring options (I think we have wood underneath our linoleum, so we may just go with that!) cabinet hardware... all forthcoming.  

In the meanwhile, I ask you:

Will we regret not having an in-door water/ice dispenser?

Is Stainless steel really very difficult to keep clean?  should we just go with white?  The total cost of stainless appliances is around $3000.  If we go with the same appliances in white, it would be approximately $700-$800 less.