We did some big updates in the Storefront kitchen in the past year. We added the 7 foot long coffee bar, enlarged our peninsula, added a new sink, ceramic tile backsplash and of course our DIY concrete countertops.
One thing we didn’t change was the appliances. The appliances came with the house and were two years old and still looking/working like new. While we did not choose the appliances but we do get a lot of questions about them.
So here goes, our review on our Samsung Kitchen Appliances.
Samsung bottom mount refrigerator freezer. See here for current version of this fridge.
The fridge gets two thumbs up on appearance. It is a clean lined fridge with no visible handles (they are inset handles on the side of the fridge door and top of the freezer.) The controls are located on the top of the freezer and are easy to control and do have a child lock. The stainless steel is a high quality and polishes and cleans to a streak-free shine very easily. The interior storage is great with two climate controlled produce drawers at the bottom, and a mid level cheese drawer. The door has lots of shelves and cubbies to hold all of our condiments. (Why do I have more condiments than actual food in the fridge?!)
The freezer is large, but to be honest it’s a bit hard to access. It opens with a swinging door, then inside are two drawers. You have to completely open the door to access the drawers which makes it a bit more complicated to reach in and grab a few ice cubes. It does hold a fair amount of food and does a great job of self defrosting. However due to the self defrosting, it can “eat” ice cubes meaning that if you make a tray of ice cubes and leave them in there they will eventually shrink and disappear. The moral of the story is use your ice or lose it.
Overall score. Three awesomes out of five.
Samsung Dishwasher. Current model here.
When we moved in the appliances were brand new, and had never been used. The first time we turned the dishwasher on, it worked for ten minutes than turned off with a leak sensor activated. After three service visits we were told it was a manufacturers default. However the model had since been discontinued and we could either have the lower model, or we could have a store credit for the amount the previous owner paid (on sale) to buy the more expensive model. Being the broke new home owners we were, we opted for the lower model. Big mistake. Our new dishwasher has been disappointing from day one. The display system is unattractive and the stainless steel quality is poor. It does not clean up half as well as the fridge, and mars so easily with spots and splashes. It never looks good, and is dull in comparison to the fridge. We could overlook all of this if it worked well but… the dishes are perpetually dirty, especially things on the top rack. We purchased the recommended dishwasher tabs and use Jetdry, and yet there are always food particles on our dishes. Probably half of the dishes need to be rewashed after coming out of the dishwasher. Plus one cycle takes several hours to complete. If it meant clean dishes, I could live with it, but dirty dishes and a long cycle have me wanting to sink some cash into a new (quality) dishwasher.
Overall score. One awesome out of five.
Samsung electronic range. Current model here.
The stove is made with the same quality stainless as the fridge and cleans up great. The oven is fast to heat and has a very consistent temperature. The oven door has a really great seal. Sometimes too good, and it can tend to steam things slightly. The broiler is very powerful (and has two settings) and is perfect for broiling. The one downfall is that it has a hidden bottom element, and if anything overflows or spills while cooking, it will hit the bottom of the oven and burn instantly making tons of smoke and causing a big mess. The oven controls are easy to use and the oven emits an “I’m hot!” noise when its done. The stove-top is a flattop electric. It has four burners. Two small, one large, and one combination small & large. It also has a 5th warming burner. The burners heat up fast and offer good control. There is a “hot surface” light that indicates one or more of the burners are still warm. The one con is the cleanup for the glass cook-top. It takes major dedication (and elbow grease) to keep that thing spotless! Luckily El Granto is a little bit… we’ll say “obsessed” with it being clean (which is funny because he rarely uses it).
When we renovated the Storefront, a gas line was run into the basement below the stove. When we are ready to update the stove, we will absolutely be switching to gas and the cooking performance and control gas offers. We are a foodie household, and while this stove does good enough, it has room for improvement.
Overall score. Three awesomes out of five.
Samsung combination microwave/vent hood. Current Model here.
This puppy is a little workhorse. It does a good job extracting moisture and smells from cooking. It also has a nice light perfect for shining light on the stove. It is also a pretty good little microwave. We’re not really microwave people, but it’s great at what we need it for (melting butter, defrosting, cooking a baked potato.) It’s got a lot of pre-programmed items, and they do work well. The potato & defrost are bang on. Its got a good display, and is easy to use. It comes with a removable “shelf” which makes it easier to reheat more than one item at once. While it is very good for a microwave, I would get more use out of a large exhaust hood in its place.
Overall score. Four awesomes out of five.
Closing Thoughts: We have quite a lot of Samsung items (I am typing this from a Samsung Chromebook in front of our Samsung TV.) We are happy enough with all of the kitchen appliances except the dishwasher. I would not recommend a Samsung dishwasher. It severely under-performs, and we will be tossing it and searching for a new (non Samsung) model soon. My favorites are the fridge and microwave/vent. BUT if you offered me a gas slide in range, I would throw my Samsung electric range under the bus, but it does work well, and is definitely a quality stove.
What kitchen appliances do you have and love? Can you recommend a good dishwasher?
*We have no affiliation with Samsung, and this is our unbiased, unpaid honest review.
