The Top 7 Kitchen Trends of 2021: Our Predictions

What we expect to be most popular in Garland and the surrounding area. 

2020 is almost over and that means many of us are looking at making changes in our lives and in our homes. For many of us that means looking at the top trends that are going to be popular in the coming year. We're taking a look at the top 7 to see what companies are predicting will be popular in 2021. 

- Colored Stone Counters And Backsplashes

Like we talked about with paint colors it's time to bring color into the kitchen. We at ARS love this idea. Let's move away from sterile White and try out different patterns and natural stones. Bonus points if you want to get the look without spending a ton of money you can do peel and stick tiles for your backsplashes. This also means that you can change them out more easily and test out which ones you like best. 

- Mixing Materials

People spent a lot of time in their kitchens this last year. Learning how to make sourdough, cheeses, or just mastering basic cooking. People want their kitchens to reflect them and part of that is bringing in new materials and textures. We fully expect to see cabinets in wood and wood-textured panels for filling in small spaces around the kitchen.

-Multifunctional spaces 

In the coming year, even more, people are going to be working from home. For many of us, this means having an office space that we can close away. It's not always feasible within the way your home is set up though to dedicate an entire room to an office. Companies have started responding to this new need by offering furniture that can serve both as storage and as a small desk without taking up much space when not in use. We expect to see furniture and design ideas that expand on this need over the next several years. 

-Fluidity between inside and outside

As we talked about over the summer people are breaking down the line between inside and outside. There are not just outdoor kitchens, but outdoor living rooms, offices, and even bedrooms. And people are also looking to bring the outside in with a resurging interest in not just individual plants scattered throughout the home but entire gardens. As Time continues we expect to see this trend go in many different directions.

- All Black Kitchen

We expect the trend of the all white kitchen to continue for at least a few more years. However, there is also a trend that we have seen over the last year towards sleek and elegant all black kitchens. While we don't expect this one to catch on in Texas, you might see it pop up in some of your friends’ or relatives' homes. After all, the South has to deal with quite a bit more heat than just what your oven puts off. 

- Gold Finishes

Over the last decade we've had copper and bronze finishes. We've had aged versions of both. And stainless steel has still reigned supreme. In the coming year we've seen companies hinting at offering gold finishes for everything from your faucets to your stove knobs to your refrigerator handle. The question is going to be whether we get aged gold next.

-Portable Fixtures

When so many of us have been trapped in our homes for the last year, and the threat of another full closure on the horizon, it's no surprise that we're restless in our homes. We want to move from room to room, to get up and pace. To that end our lights and audio elephant are becoming more portable. People don't want to fight with wires and plugs to try and get things positioned around the home when you move from place to place. Instead companies are starting to offer ways to take the lights with you as you move. 

Those are our top seven predictions for the trends of 2021. We probably missed some, after all we're only human. Let us know your predictions for the coming year in the comments below or over at our Facebook. 

If you found this page not because you're looking for how to remodel your kitchen or home in the coming year but because your appliances are driving you up a wall you've still  come to the right place. We aim to be the best appliance repair company in all of Garland and the surrounding area. You can make an appointment by calling us at ((214) 599-0055) or setting up an appointment on our website. We're here to keep your home running.

Freezer Comparisons: Miele versus GE: Who Does It Better?

Ratings/Reviews/Comparison

As Covid-19 stretches longer, and warnings of a nation-wide shutdown loom, many of us are looking at food preservation of one sort or another. The first spot that many of us look at is our freezers. Everything from individual ingredients and spices to full meals can be stored away and frozen. 

 What happens when you and your freezer are on the outs though? Its started to have keep different sections colder than others, or it says it’s at 0*F but really, it’s more like 10*. 

In those cases, many would start looking around for a new freezer. Which to choose though? A freezer is a freezer right? It keeps things cold, and that’s all that matters. Well, not necessarily. Let’s take a look at two of the best rated in the industry and see how they tackle the issue. 

Features of GE - FUF17DLRWW

Starting off let’s look at GE, an American staple. 
-Garage ready

GE knows that the temperatures an American homeowner has to deal with varies widely from one state to the next. To appeal to the broadest market, they’ve made sure that their freezers will maintain temperatures in your garage whether it’s 0*F or 110*F. 

-The highest rated upright freezer lineup in the industry 

Based on the combined data of different major appliance retailers nationwide, GE is rated as the 

best upright freezer in the industry. 

-Lock with key

If nothing will do but to keep your spouse out of your ice cream, or that set of cookie dough you’re saving for Christmas day, this model comes with a lock. (We’re sure there are other reasons that you might need a lock on your freezer, but we all know the need to protect the ice cream.) 

-Clear slide-out freezer bins

Part of the package for this model is four full width, clear-sided freezer bins that slide all the way out, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Instead of hunting on your hands and knees, you can grab out the bin you need and look through it on a table, and close the freezer in the meantime. It’s a win for your hands and your electric bill. 

-Audible temperature alarm

What’s worse than getting a meal ready and coming back to the freezer later to find out that you left it open, and now things are defrosting? Not much in our opinion. That’s why GE’s freezer offers an alarm if it gets below a certain point. 

-Exterior electronic temperature control

We’ve talked about how it maintains your set temps, and how it lets you know if that’s changing. But when it comes to actually setting the temperatures, GE is still thinking of you and how to keep your food cold. They’ve placed the temperature controls on the outside, eliminating the need to open the freezer to adjust them. 

-Turbo Freeze

After you’ve grabbed what you need, shut the door and gone about your day, the freezer sets off an extra cold blast of air to bring temperatures back to normal. 

-ENERGY STAR® Qualified

All of that, and it’s still Energy Star rated, which means it’s saving your food and your wallet. 

Features of Miele -F 2471 Vi

Now let’s head over to Germany and check out what their giant, Miele, has to offer. 

-Separate water and ice dispensers.

Instead of having to worry about your water freezing in the line, and thus breaking, Miele made it simple. They gave both the water dispenser and ice dispenser their own lines to run off of. 

-Handleless design

If you’ve looked in a decor magazine over the last year, or seen some of our own posts on the matter, you’ve seen that the trend is to have your appliances look more like cabinets. For many of us, this also means a handleless design. Miele is right on board with this trend. 

-Push2open for convenient door-opening assistance

Following right on from the previous feature, they’ve engineered the freezer with an easy push to open system. No handles would seem  like a problem, but thanks to this, you don’t have to worry. A light push and the door pops open. 

-Light floods the interior thanks to LED elements – 

The lights in this freezer are all LED elements, which means they’ll live longer and provide a truer light as well. 

-Communication with the machine could not be easier – WiFi Conn@ct

Why worry about your freezer when you’re out and about? With the Miele app you can check on your freezer no matter where you are. Worried that it’s too warm? You can see that by just pulling out your phone.  Or if you don’t have your phone handy, you can just ask Alexa. 

-Convenient control thanks to color touch display MasterSensor

Miele offers an easy to use exterior display for adjusting the temperature settings. 

-Defrosting is a thing of the past

Miele MasterCool appliances offer a NoFrost system. This system keeps cold, dry air circulating around the appliance so that ice doesn’t build up inside the cabinet. It eliminates ice buildup on food also, which means that you can always open and close drawers easily. All of this together has the additional benefit of protecting the freezer’s evaporator units, and being energy efficient. 

Comparison 

After looking at both of them, which do you prefer? The American workhorse or the German glitz? We’re still debating about which one is better ourselves. On the one hand, the GE freezer is perfect if you’re looking to turn your garage into a  second pantry. We could see this being especially useful if you’re a hunter, or have a large family. On the other hand, the Miele fits into your home beautifully. It fits into the connected home of the future, and the NoFrost system means that it also cuts down on the amount of food waste you have to worry about. 

What are your thoughts? Do you have experience with either brand? Let us know over on our Facebook page, or in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you! 

On the other hand, if you’re not looking to replace your freezer just yet,it just needs to have someone take a look, you can always give us a call at ((214) 599-0055). You can also set up an appointment via our website. We aim to be the best appliance repair shop in Carrollton, whether you need help with fixing your freezer, kicking your washer back into shape, or just doing some preventative maintenance, we’re here to help. 

Organizing Your Fridge for Efficiency and Safety

Or how to keep your food from becoming sentient. 

Have you ever opened up your fridge to have to dig through stacks of leftover food, bags with questionable contents, and a head of lettuce you thought you had thrown out last week? All just to find the one jar of mayo you need for a sandwich. Or what about putting some hamburger onto a plate in your fridge before work, and coming home to find it spilled down all three shelves and now you have a mess to clean up. These situations are ones we all face when we don’t have an organized fridge. Fortunately, there is a way to fix it. 

What Most People Do

Most of us will toss our food into the fridge without any sense of order.  Crushable things might be on top, to keep them away from any damage. On the door, you have the weird and annoying thin shelves that are only good for eggs, drinks, and condiments because what else are you going to fit there? Then you have the drawers at the very bottom that claim that they’re perfect for fruits and vegetables. Except, if you’re like the majority of us, that ends up meaning you have a head of bland lettuce that rolls around for a month, a couple of apples in the other drawer, and one corner that might have been a tomato at one point, but now you’re waiting for it to gain sentience. 

And the rest? The whole great middle of the fridge? That’s Free Territory. That’s where you put leftovers, the meat you’re defrosting for tonight, this week’s lunches, and anything else you can put in there. If it can be stacked, it will be. Of course, that means that if it can be forgotten about, it will be. 

Why Do I care?

A good question. First off, organizing your fridge will mean that things like the weird semi-sentient tomato are less likely to happen. When you know what you have, you can plan accordingly for your meals, and keep foods from spoiling before they get used.  More importantly, it cuts down on cross-contamination. When you have your foods stacked every which way, and without any clear separation between them, there’s too great a chance for foods to touch things they shouldn’t. There are three different types of cross-contamination that we're talking about.  One might be as simple as one piece of fruit spoiling and then being pressed close to another and causing it to spoil. Or you might go up another level and you’re dealing with two different foods being stored next to each other when they shouldn’t. An example of that is squash and apples. Apples give off ethylene gas which will make the squash turn yellow and spoil before they should have. The third level is the one we hear about in schools, but don’t always think about. Storing raw fish and meat in your fridge, even in the store packaging, is complicated. It doesn’t take much for some of the juices to drip and get onto anything nearby in the fridge. This can be just from you reaching in and grabbing the meat, and it drips off your hand. It can be from overflowing onto lower levels, from any of the edges of the shelf. How it happens, doesn’t really matter. The problem is still that whatever it’s dripped onto, if not properly enclosed, is now unsafe to use. 

What You Should Do

You’ve undoubtedly realized that this isn’t a state you want to be in. If nothing else, wasting food bites into your pockets over the long term. How then to organize your refrigerator? With buckets and boxes and time-consuming systems? Sure, you could do that if you have plenty of time, but we certainly don’t. Instead, we looked to the experts to see what they had to say on the matter. 

Let’s start on the door, working from the top shelf down.

The top shelf on your door is best utilized by putting your dairies here. That’s going to mean eggs, butters, and any cheese you use regularly. If you are putting cheeses there, you’re going to want to wrap them in either wax or parchment papers, to keep them isolated from smells. 

The middle shelf should be dedicated to condiments, salad dressings, marinades, and similar concepts. 

Your bottom shelf on the door should be for all beverages, and if it’s large enough, milk. 

There, now your door is all done and dusted. Still with us? On to the body of the fridge. Again, we’ll start at the top and work our way back down. 

The top shelf of the fridge should be used for foods that are ready to eat. This can be everything from foods you’ve already cooked, pre-made meals, salads, pickled foods and fruits, either already sliced or whole. 

Moving on to the middle shelf, or shelves of your fridge. Here is the one thing that doesn’t change much between the original version of your fridge and this new and improved version. Here is where you’re going to put your various leftovers. Tupperware is your friend because then you can put in the other foods on these shelves. Cheeses, that are prepackaged, eggs in a carton, and any cold cuts and sandwich breads.  (Although we will point out that if you are going through a loaf of bread in a week, it’s perfectly acceptable to  keep your bread in a breadbox.) 

Finally, we have the bottom shelf. Here is where you’re going to be putting any meats that are raw. Beef, chicken, pork, fish, it doesn’t matter. It goes here. The ideal method is to store them in sealed containers. So take them out of the store-bought packaging or at least put them into a casserole dish either before you let them defrost or cook them. 

We’re not ignoring the crisper drawers, don’t worry. However, they’re much easier to deal with because they are sealed. When storing vegetables, there are a few tips for keeping things fresh longer. Start off by washing your veggies before you store them. Wrap them in paper or plastic in order to prevent contamination (better safe than sorry.) For salads and herbs, you’ll want to wrap them in damp paper towels before storing them to prevent them from drying out. 

Now that you know how to organize your fridge to keep your food safe and fresh for the longest amount of time, what do you think? Are you going to make the change or would you rather stick with your current system? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you.

If you’re having issues with your refrigerator, or any of your other appliances, we’d love to help! We’re here to serve, whether your refrigerator has stopped running or your dryer is making a really weird rattling noise. You can call us at ((214) 599-0055) or go over to our website to make an appointment.  We want to help all of our clients in Garland and the surrounding areas. 

French Door Refrigerators: LG vs Dacor

Who Makes the Best French Door Counter Depth Refrigerator? Reviews & Ratings

When it comes to refrigerators, we know that defining the best depends on several different factors. What do they cost? What features do they have? Will they fit in my kitchen? In this article, we’ll show you two of the highest rated refrigerators on the market from LG and Dacor, what features they have to offer, and where we think they would fit best. They are both 36” counter-depth French door refrigerators, widely acknowledged by experts as being the best in their class. 

LG SIGNATURE 23 cu. ft. Smart wi-fi Enabled InstaView™ Door-in-Door® Counter-Depth Refrigerator

Model: URNTC2306N

Price: $7,199.00

InstaView™ Door-in-Door® - One side of the fridge will have a mirrored panel that will illuminate the interior with two quick knocks. Now you can look inside without having to open the door. No more staring into the fridge wondering, “now what did I need?” 

Auto Open Door™

LG has put in a detection feature on the foot of the refrigerator. It projects a light which, when stepped on, will open the fridge doors. We can only hope that it takes more than tripping into it to cause the door to open. 

Voice Control

If the light projector isn’t futuristic enough for you, LG has made it so that by saying “Hi LG” the ThinQ will open the door and set the ice dispenser to your favorite mode. 

FRESHShield™ Cooling

The ThinQ has ducts located at the top of the refrigerator to form a barrier of cold air between the shelves and the doors. 

ThinQ®

The ThinQ App acquires information on your usage to build a tailored experience for your home. It ramps up cooling performance and ice making during peak times and reduces these features during off hours to conserve energy and spare your electric bill some pain. 

Door-in-Door® Adjustable Shelves

You can change the height of your in-door shelves to match what you need most. 

Textured Steel™ Finish

Custom Chill™ Pantry

Problems? 

So far, there are only three issues we’ve been able to find with this model. 

• Some people have an issue with the glide and serve drawers freezing over.

• There were a few instances of being unable to connect the fridge to the owner’s phone. 

• There have been a handful of issues with the master circuit board frying after a month of use, although to LG’s credit, this does seem to be a rare occurrence. 

We can see this being the workhorse of a busy home. If you’re always running, this fridge is perfect for you. The different options for easily opening the doors mean that no matter how much you’re hauling inside, you can get it into the fridge with ease. If you want to be able to control your home from your phone, this fridge is for you. 

Dacor 36 inch Counter Depth French Door with Recessed Handle 

Model: DRF36C000SR

Price: 3740.75

Precise Cooling Technology

The Dacor Digital Inverter Technology works to provide consistent performance with minimal fluctuations in temperatures. Dacor claims on their web site that their Digital Compressor has been said to ‘offer superior performance against the industry standard A/C compressor.’ 

Best In Class Food Preservation

Dacor understands that ‘freshness’ for food is best maintained with a constant temperature and an environment with high humidity. They say they offer the best preservation system in the home appliance industry, with the tightest temperature controls and unmatched humidity levels. 

FreshZone Drawer

This refrigerator offers a full width storage drawer that provides adjustable temperature settings. This means you can safely store meat, fish, deli items or even drinks in it, and have it at the perfect temperature for each, as long as you remember to adjust it when you change up what you’re storing. It also gives you a space to defrost items without having to leave them out on the counter, or worry that they’ll drip onto something else within the fridge. 

Twin Cooling System

This brand offers two independent evaporators to protect your food and to keep it tasting fresh longer. 

Interior Pitcher With Automatic Water Fill

Comes with a 48oz pitcher that fills automatically with filtered water. There is also an infuser option that allows you to add fruits, herbs or flowers for easy flavored drinks. We’re wondering if you could do herbal teas this way or if it wouldn’t work since the water is cold.. 

Power Cool

Automatic Humidity Controlled Crispers

Discrete Controls

External Ice And Water Dispenser

Problems? 

The only problem we could find was an issue with the speed of the ice maker. People were displeased at how long it took to get ice and how little they received when it was done. 

This fridge doesn’t come with a lot of bells and whistles. What it does have, it does them right. We expect that this would be perfectly matched for someone who wants perfection and expertise from their appliances. 

So, which is better? 

Like most appliances, this comes down to preference. What do you need most from your refrigerator? If you enjoy having everything connected in your kitchen for ease of use regardless of where you are, we think the LG would fit. If however you’re more the type who wants to have your home as a place of peace, without everything trying to get your attention, we feel the Dacor would be more your speed. It’s also a matter of price. You can still get an LG for considerably less, but it won’t have all of the features that this one does. What fits you and your lifestyle is going to be the biggest deciding factor. 

Do you already own a Dacor or an LG refrigerator? Do you love it? Hate it? Let us know over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you. If you’re dreading the holiday tomorrow because your appliances are on the fritz, we can help! Give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or place an appointment over on our website. We’re here to keep your appliances in tip top shape, for all of our clients in Frisco and the surrounding areas.

A Note About Pricing

Pricing on this blog is for reference only, and may include time-sensitive manufacturer rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing - but if you’re considering purchasing, please call the stores for the most accurate and up to date price.

What Separates the Best and The Worst Refrigerators

How Big Is the Gap in Ratings?

If you’re like many Americans looking for a new French Door refrigerator, you’re probably spending time looking at reviews. Which means you’ve probably seen Consumer Reports, and their ratings across many models of refrigerators. They are an impartial third party with a long history of looking out for the consumer rather than the companies. We wanted to check out what made the best and the worst, as rated by CR, so different. 

Consumer Reports separates their refrigerators first by the style and then by the size. We went for the most popular model among our clients, French Door refrigerators, and chose the 34” and wider selection.  

As of writing this, the most well rated refrigerator is the LG LRFXC2406S with 84 points total. The current worst, as rated by Consumer Reports, is the Whirlpool WRF550CDHZ with only 37 points. 

Consumer Reports tests the models on a variety of things, as well as comparing which features they do and don’t have. 

Features 

So let’s start with the features each has before digging into the testing.

Whirlpool also offers a counter depth  design, again, with the goal of making it look like a built-in model. 

 Adjustable Gallon Door Bins -  meaning you can move the trays around on your door. There when you need it, gone when you don’t. 

Temperature Controlled Full Width Drawer -  for storing meats, cheeses and other items  that you need on a regular basis. 

Two Tier Freezer - To organize frozen favorites with two-tier freezer storage, including two sliding bins.

Spill Proof Shelves -  Designed to contain liquids to a shelf and keep them from dripping down. 

Claimed Useable Capacity 19.7 Cu Ft 

Actual Useable Capacity 11.6 Cu Ft 

LG’s fridge comes with a CoolGuard™ - a metal back plate in the interior of the fridge, not only to offer a premium look, but also to ‘maintain cool air’. 

It’s sized for counter depth, so that it aligns with countertops and cabinets to give your kitchen a built in look, while avoiding the higher price tag. 

Tall Ice & Water Dispenser® with Measured Fill - We love this one. Finally an ice and water dispenser that will give you exactly the amount you ask for, and no more having to fit your water bottle at weird angles or use a second cup to fill it. 

Dual Ice Makers - LG offers the ice maker on the door, as well as a second one in the lower freezer compartment. Goodbye running out in summer! 

Slim SpacePlus® Ice System - The ice maker on the door has a slimmer profile, allowing for you to fit more food in your fridge, without giving up your ice maker. 

Claimed Useable Capacity 23.5 Cu Ft 

Actual Useable Capacity 15.7 Cu Ft 

Testing… Testing… One...Two...Three...

So, those are the facts. What they offer, and how they compare to one another in the features department.   Let’s switch over to how Consumer Reports rated them, and what they were rated on.

Thermostat Control :  Here CR is testing the refrigerators on their ability to: 

• Reach the desired set temps that the manufacturer suggests.

• Achieve the optimum temperatures for both the refrigerator and the freezer simultaneously.

• Keep those temperatures consistent, even when the room the refrigerator is in has large changes in its temperature. (So summer and winter in Texas for example.) 

LG scored a 5/5  Whirlpool scored a 5/5 

Temperature Uniformity: CR tests the models on how well they keep the temps even throughout the entirety of the fridge and freezer sections. 

LG scored a 5/5  Whirlpool scored a 4/5  

Energy Efficiency : CR tests the refrigerators on electrical consumption per useable cubic foot. So even if the two models were the exact same size, the one with the greater storage capacity is going to be more efficient. Which fully explains why the scores weighed out as they did. (Check out our earlier article about energy efficiency here.) 

LG scored 3/5   Whirlpool scored a 1/5  (ouch!) 

We’d also like to point out that the LG earned an Energy Star rating while the Whirlpool did not. 

Noise : CR measures noise based on two different times as well as in two different ways. It measures noise for a refrigerator based both on when the compressor starts up and during steady running. They also use a noise-meter alongside the more subjective responses of a panel of listeners. 

LG scored 5/5  Whirlpool scored a 2/5  

Ease Of Use: The last thing that CR rates the refrigerators on is ease of use. How accessible are they, how useful are the features and layout of the refrigerator and how well do the controls work.

LG scored a 5/5  Whirlpool scored a 3/5 

Let’s finish up looking at the price. The LG is priced at $3400 while the Whirlpool is $3195. Based on the prices alone, you might think that the Whirlpool is the better price. Given the issues that we’ve outlined though, we’re thinking that LG has every reason to command the higher price. 

How Does It Shake Out? 

Looking over the numbers, we have to say that the biggest difference between the two came at the Noise and Energy Efficiency settings. To us, that makes perfect sense then that the Whirlpool ranked so low. It’s also a good indicator of how seriously these things are taken when it comes to ranking different refrigerators on Consumer Reports. 

We do want to point out that this doesn’t mean that Whirlpool is a bad brand, or that all of their refrigerator models, or appliances rank this poorly. We took what Consumer Reports had tested and wanted to give you a look at what made those reports worth looking into if you’re purchasing new. On the flip side, this doesn’t mean that LG is always going to be the best bet. It’s that these models, as the market stands now represent the best and the worst of 34” French Door Refrigerators. 

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to reach out to use here in the comments or over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you. 

If you have any issues with your refrigerator (whether it’s an LG, Whirlpool, Bosch, Dacor or any other brand) we’re here to help. Keeping your appliances running in tip top shape is our number one goal. Reach out to us via phone ((214) 599-0055) or through our website.