Kitchen appliance decisions are different from furniture decisions in one important way: they’re often emergency purchases. A refrigerator that fails in July in Southeast Missouri is not a planned shopping experience. A range that stops working the week before a holiday isn’t a leisurely decision.
Whether you’re planning ahead or replacing something that just failed, here’s what matters when choosing kitchen appliances.
Refrigerators: Configuration First
The three primary configurations each solve a different problem:
Top-freezer: Fresh food on the bottom, freezer on top. The simplest mechanical design, historically the most reliable, and the lowest purchase price at comparable capacity. Most of the refrigerator is at a convenient access height. The freezer requires bending to access items in the back. Ice makers and water dispensers are available but not universal.
Side-by-side: Full-height fresh food on the right, full-height freezer on the left. Good for kitchens where door swing clearance is limited — neither door has to open as wide as a full-width door. The vertical format means both fresh and frozen items are at eye level. The tradeoff is that wide items (large platters, pizza boxes, sheet pans) don’t fit well in either compartment.
French door: Fresh food at eye level in a wide two-door compartment, freezer in a bottom drawer. The most popular configuration currently. Works well for households that access fresh food frequently and frozen food occasionally. Bottom freezers require bending, and items in the back of a deep freezer drawer can be difficult to access.
Capacity: Measured in cubic feet. The standard guidance is 4–6 cubic feet per person in the household. A family of four typically needs at least 18–20 cubic feet total.
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Ranges: Electric vs. Gas
Gas ranges provide instant, visible heat that responds immediately when you adjust the burner. Temperature control is intuitive — the flame shows you what you have. Gas burners can handle all cookware types, including cast iron. The requirement is an existing gas line, and if your home currently has an electric range hookup, adding gas is a separate plumbing project.
Electric smooth-top ranges heat evenly, are easy to clean (a flat surface versus burner grates), and work in any kitchen regardless of fuel availability. They require a dedicated 240-volt outlet. Glass-ceramic smooth-top surfaces can crack under heavy impact — dropping cast iron is the most common cause.
Oven considerations: Convection ovens use a fan to circulate heated air, which produces more even baking temperatures and shorter cooking times than conventional ovens. If you bake frequently, convection is worth the premium. If you primarily use the oven for roasting and reheating, a conventional oven is adequate.
Dishwashers: The Spec That Matters Most
For households with open floor plans where the kitchen is visible and audible from living areas, the most important dishwasher specification is decibel rating. Standard dishwashers run at 50–55 dB. Quieter models run at 44–48 dB. At 44 dB, a running dishwasher is barely audible from an adjacent room. At 55 dB, it’s a constant background noise.
Wash cycle performance is relatively consistent across Whirlpool’s dishwasher line. The differences between models are primarily in noise level, cycle options, and drying system. Heated drying is standard. Heat-assisted fan drying (found in mid-range and upper models) produces consistently drier results, especially for plastics.
One Thing Worth Knowing About Southeast Missouri
Service availability matters more in this region than in urban markets. When an appliance needs repair, parts availability and technician familiarity vary significantly by brand. Brands with strong service networks in larger metros can have limited local service presence in Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Kennett, and surrounding communities. It’s one of the primary reasons we carry Whirlpool — their service network and parts availability in Southeast Missouri are reliable.
We carry Whirlpool refrigerators, ranges, and dishwashers in our Sikeston showroom. Professional installation is included with every purchase. Call (573) 471-3585 or visit 950 S Kings Hwy, Sikeston, MO 63801. Monday–Saturday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM.