29 April 2007

e the appliance owner

wrapped up in this whole home ownership thing is appliance ownership--confusing, expensive, overwhelming waters to navigate for the first-timer. who knew there were that many options out there!? yesterday mom was in town and we spent a good chunk of the day in appliance world--three different stores, to be exact. in my previous life, while in department or home improvement stores, I breezed right past the appliance sections--I had no need to pay attention. every kitchen I had ever lived in just came with a fridge, oven, dishwasher, microwave, etc. that was a given. now, I found myself with the opportunity to select my very own. Overwhelming!

I was very excited to be picking out a brand new fridge and washer and dryer. but after several hours in sears, I was ready to collapse! and at the end of the day, my wallet was ready to collapse!

the washer and dryer were not so difficult to select--there was a one day sale on one specific brand, so pretty much that choice was taken care of. mom and I found the simplest models that still had the features that I needed. but boy, can you spend a bunch of money on some of those super fancy ones! if I paid that much for those models, I would expect them to load, unload, fold, iron, and put away the clothes themselves :)

refrigerator selection did not go as quicky! I guess because I cared more about what it looks like--the washer and dryer are going into an upstairs closet--not to be seen unless you're in the closet. the fridge I bought, however, is really PRETTY! that's not a normal adjective I use for appliances, but it applies here. I can't wait to get it into my kitchen and see how it looks! I got a stainless side-by-side, with black trim and accents (water & ice dispenser) on the front. it's also an energy-star model, so hopefully it won't use too much energy!

the fridge is perhaps the biggest single-item purchase I've ever made...and as I sit here I can't believe I now own one! I don't have it yet, but it's being delivered the day of closing...I can start refrigerating things immediately :)

so when I post pictures of my new place, I'm sure you'll get some views of the appliances--their proud new mama wants to show them off :)

7 comments:

Elizabeth said...

You can start refrigerating things right away???? Cool. Sounds sexy! B & J got a stainless steel fridge and it looks really nice. It really sets a great tone in a kitchen since it's such a big item. What do the stove etc look like? I've been putting off buying a stove for a while, making do with basically 3 eyes on the stove top and a whack stove (temp is off by 100 degrees).

Erin said...

The stove is an older model that is black and stainless--a workhorse that's got some age on it, but appears to still work fine.

the dishwasher is black and never-been-used--so I'll be breaking that one in.

I knew I would either go with black or stainless for the fridge, because of the appliances that were already there. and I just didn't want a huge all black fridge--I thought it might be too dark in there.

the cabinets are white, and the countertops are a fake butcher block. actually, the same laminate that was in mom and dad's kitchen all of my growing-up years.

your stove sounds like the one in my apt now: one big eye, that only works on occasion, and an oven that is hotter than it should be :o)

Ldani said...

I'm not jealous of the owning, but I'm super jealous of laundry facilities in your home. Very few apartment complexes in CA have laundry hook-ups in each apartment.

JM said...

We're going to be right there with you before too long...but we'll be doing less picking and more cost effective shopping. :) I'll have to get some input from you (and everybody else) when we get there.

j.j. said...

If B & J stands for us...then we do not have a stainless fridge LIZ!!!! I really wanted one, but we opted for black. I've been very happy with our selection (side by side with bottom freezer)and the color looks good with the rest of the appliances.
We also recently had to buy a new washer...what a hassle...and expensive! Ours was pretty pricey but I'm hoping it will last us for 15 or more years =)

Elizabeth said...

Sorry, I'm a dodo. .:-) so, Erin, are you gonna tell us what your crazy drawing was?

Erin said...

sorry liz, i forgot!

that collage was a section of the building (what you would see if you sliced it vertically and looked at the cut) showing the grove of oak trees adjacent to the project.

the building is student housing on the GT campus--and the project is about memory and tectonics--hence pictures of the concrete castings in the background.

here is the thesis statement for the project:

In a research university where technology is omnipresent, the virtual nature of our contemporary culture fosters an increasingly placeless society accompanying a physical nowhere-ness of our environment. Andreas Huyssen argues, “The turn toward memory is subliminally energized by the desire to anchor ourselves in a world characterized by an increasing instability of time and the fracturing of lived space.” Through undergraduate student housing and accessory spaces, the program foregrounds the undervalued aspects of life in a technologically-saturated campus culture. How can the tectonics of architecture and memory operate to foster dwelling and place-ful-ness for the undergraduate student?