This post has been a long time coming! Everyone wants to know, are the GE Café appliances worth the hype? Keep reading to find out our real opinion on the matte white GE Café appliances.
This post is not sponsored in any way, I just wanted to share my firsthand experience with using these appliances and let you know the pros and cons. Here we go!
Nate and I originally picked out these appliances in 2019 during the process of building our second home. Here’s the links to the specific appliances we purchased – Café Energy Star 23.1 Cu. Ft. Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator, Café 30″ Smart Slide-In Front Control Convection Range, Café Stainless Steel Interior Dishwasher.
This post contains affiliate links where I may receive a commission from any purchases you make. See my full disclosure here and thank you for using my links!
The Pros
The Look
I think we can all agree, the GE Café appliances are B-E-A-UTIFUL! The matte white and copper handles create the most gorgeous appliances EVER. Honestly, the fridge is my favorite because it is such a statement piece and those handles are like pretty jewelry.
You can mix and match
Did you notice that our range is stainless, but our dishwasher and refrigerator are the matte white? Back when we were appliance shopping, Nate and I were debating between the stainless range or the matte white range. The only difference – the matte white range was about $2k more than the stainless. We settled on the stainless range because of budget, however, we did purchase the copper handles that matched the other appliances. I loved the warmth of the stainless, but this one big con made me regret purchasing the white (keep reading to find out my biggest regret). By the way, did you know you can purchase new handles and knobs for any of the appliances? You can easily update or change the look of your appliances by just changing the handles.
Fridge Size
We opted to forgo the door water and ice in the refrigerator. I’ve heard that the water is extremely slow and the ice machine makes the door super heavy! So glad I was able to test a floor model before deciding to purchase and quickly realized that indeed, the door is much heavier with the ice maker in the door. The bottom freezer does have an ice maker and there is a water spout on the inside of the fridge. Technically, you still have both water and ice, they just aren’t built into the door. Because there is no ice maker in the fridge portion, the inside of the fridge is huge! We were able to fit so many more groceries, drinks, milk cartons, etc. in the fridge. This was a big bonus for us, you know, the whole family of 6 thing. I took this photo earlier this year, please don’t judge how messy the inside of our fridge was at that time. See how deep the shelves are in the doors? So much space for large containers and condiments!
Dishwasher Light
A little backstory, our first dishwasher was a Frigidaire Pro. We had no complaints, it cleaned the dishes well, it was quiet, but a little too quiet. Like you couldn’t tell when the dishwasher was running and we were constantly opening the dishwasher mid-wash cycle (que palm to face). It did have a blue light that shined on the floor under the dishwasher when the wash was complete, so we did like that feature. Enter the GE Café dishwasher! It has a light that displays while the dishwasher is running, halleluiah! The dishwasher is just as quiet so having the light is a must. You can actually see the top panel and see how many more minutes are left on the wash, which is super helpful if you’re just itching to unload those clean dishes. Anyways, a small orange light displays while the dishwasher is running and then the light turns white once the dishwasher is done. It’s the little things, guys.
The Cons
Freezer Size
Unlike the large fridge, the freezer is super small. We had the counter depth fridge, so if you have the full size, I think the freezer would be fine. We had to purchase an additional freezer chest for our garage, because we immediately ran out of freezer storage space. Don’t forget, we are also a family of 6, so we probably stock up on more food than most families.
Stainless is not fingerprint resistant
I repeat, the stainless is NOT fingerprint resistant! If you’ve ever had stainless appliances and kids, well then you know, the little finger smudges can be everywhere. I was constantly wiping down the range, yet the little finger smudges were always there. I can’t remember a dishwasher or refrigerator in the stainless. It would drive me nuts!
Price
If you are in the market for a new appliance package or are building a home, these appliances are less expensive than a high-end brand like Subzero or Viking; however, I think the Café appliances are overprized. You’re definitely paying for the design and look vs. functionality and quality. Luckily, we purchased through a local appliances store and were able to pay less than the retail price of the appliances. Honestly, who else makes a prettier fridge? If you’re in need of appliances and not looking to pay top dollar for a Viking package, the price is definitely worth it.
Unfortunately I can’t review the GE Café Microwave as we purchased a small, inexpensive, countertop microwave for our panty; however, I’ve heard good things about it.
After going over the pros and cons, I can say we most definitely loved our GE Café appliances. Maybe a little too much 🙂 We’ve already selected the black Café appliances for our new home that will be finished in the next few months. We even opted for the beverage fridge for our pantry and went the gas range this time. I’m excited to try the dual ovens for quicker cooking! I will share once we’ve tried out our new appliances and I can give a little more insight on the other features.
After creating this blog post, I asked Nate what his thoughts on the appliances, you know, from his perspective. His exact reply was “they get the job done”. So there you have it, Nate’s personal review.
Have you tried the GE Café appliances? Which color is your favorite?
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