Honestly, you don’t need advanced kitchen appliances to have a fully functioning kitchen. In fact, plenty of people get along just fine with only a microwave to heat up their frozen dinners. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t outfit your kitchen with the best tools and equipment you can find — it just means your kitchen probably doesn’t need all the bells and whistles that kitchen designers, appliance makers and others try to sell you.

Best Kitchen Appliances

But how do you know what you don’t need? It doesn’t hurt to review the best of the best Smart kitchen appliances out there — and it doesn’t hurt to buy a few of them if they truly will improve the functionality and appearance of your kitchen and home.

Bread Machine

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Your oven can make bread, so why would you need a dedicated bread machine? As it turns out, bread has multiple steps and can take hours of hands-on time to prepare — which is why many people outsource it to their bread machines.

The best bread machines on the market transform bread and yeast into masterpieces. Top models mix, knead, prove and bake the dough, and they have programmable settings for different types of bread. If you can’t go a day without a fresh loaf, you might need to invest in one of these best kitchen gadgets.

Rice Cooker

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Rice can be the most infuriating part of any meal, mostly because it can be a mystery how it cooks. Some types of rice are ready in a few minutes while others need to stew for an hour or more to become more than al-dente. You’ll need to devote prime stovetop real estate to cook rice that long, and at the end you’ll need to scrub the rice pot.

However, you can avoid all the headaches and heartaches of cooking rice when you have a rice cooker. The rice cooker is one of the must have kitchen appliances because they have the exact right settings for different types of rice; they make getting whole grain into your meal incredibly easy.

Ice Maker

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Americans go wild for ice; we put more of it in more of our beverages than any other nation — and that’s due to the long and profitable history of ice in North America. While most American households have a freezer that can produce ice, that ice typically isn’t the best quality or quantitative enough to sate Americans’ needs.

If you love ice and can’t get enough, you might want to invest in a dedicated ice maker. These top kitchen appliances come in many styles, from portable and countertop to undercounter to major commercial appliances, and the best are programmable, so you can achieve the exact size and texture of ice that you crave.

Wine Cooler

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Every educated wine drinker knows that their vintages need to be stored in a precise environment to retain the delicate flavors created by their vintners. The best wine coolers not only chill wine but also manage humidity, light, air purity. This is required to keep the bottles in pristine condition. If you enjoy wine for more than just the antibodies, you need a high-quality wine cooler to keep your flavors safe.

Beer Dispenser

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Finally, beer aficionados have the opportunity to sample high-quality brews, like wine lovers have done for centuries. While most craft beer comes in bottles, beer fans agree that the flavors are best straight from the draught. Fortunately, you don’t need to journey to your favorite brewery anymore. Especially, if you have a beer dispenser in your kitchen. Also called kegerators, they make it easy to tap a keg of beer — and keep it in good condition. The best beer dispensers chill kegs to the perfect drinking temp and allow for the perfect pour, which is what you might need if you only drink beer the right way.

Warming Drawer

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There is little more frustrating than preparing a meal and having different elements be ready at vastly different times. You don’t want to serve ice-cold mashed potatoes  — and for that reason, you need a warming drawer. Warming drawers keep food warm, so you don’t need to stress about coordinating your cooking schedule perfectly. Often, warming drawers are part of an advanced oven, so you might need to upgrade larger appliances to gain access.

There are so many things you don’t need in your kitchen. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have them or won’t take advantage of them. Whether you are redoing your kitchen or looking for ways to upgrade cooking skills, these appliances might be for you.

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New kitchen appliances are expensive, and as manufacturers add more bits and bobs to them — like fancy doors and smart connectivity — refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers and other appliances are only getting higher in price. If you bought a house that has older appliances, you are probably champing at the bit to replace them with updated models, but if you can’t afford to buy them outright, you should probably wait.

Best Kitchen Appliance Tips

Until then, there are some things you can do to make your appliances look a bit better — and to help you afford replacements when the time comes. Here are the best kitchen appliance tips from experts:

An Appliance Warranty

First, before you do anything to your appliances, you should consider covering them with home appliance insurance — otherwise known as a home warranty. This protection will help you keep your appliances running while you save up to buy a new set. Even better, if one or more your appliances break down due to regular wear and tear, your warranty provider will help you replace them.

There are a few important caveats to this protection. First, you need to be diligent about maintaining your appliances. Though you might not like them much — and you might hope for them to break down sooner — your warranty won’t kick in if there is evidence of improper maintenance. Then, you need to contact your warranty provider to discuss your interest in updating your appliances in any of the following ways. Modifications to appliances might nullify your policy, so it is wise to check before you take any steps.

A Coat of Paint

Whenever you are dissatisfied with how something looks in your home, a fresh coat of paint should be your first idea for a fix. However, when it comes to appliances, not just any paint will do. You need a paint that will stick to the current finish of your appliances and will be able to resist the extreme temperatures your appliances often reach.

Fortunately, you have a few options, which include:

• Appliance epoxy paint. You can brush or spray this on like normal paint, and you should find typical appliance colors (i.e. white, black, silver) available.
• Typical spray paint covered with enamel gloss spray. This is a suitable solution if you want your appliances to be crazy colors that aren’t available in appliance paint. The top coat is mandatory to seal the paint.
• Automotive paint. For just a bit more money, you can take your appliances to an automotive paint shop to have them pimp your kitchen set.

A Layer of Film

If paint will invalidate your warranty, there is another option available to you: film. Just as you might peel and stick tints on your car and home windows, you can apply a layer of vinyl to your appliances to give them an instant face-lift.

The most common film transforms your white or black appliances into stainless steel, but you can find more intriguing skins if you are willing to take a design risk. You can even replace the film on your appliances seasonally to refresh the look of your kitchen every few months. However, doing so might seriously cut into your savings for a brand-new set of appliances.

New Handles and Doors

Most appliances follow standards for their handles and door fronts, so it isn’t difficult to replace them with updated options. To accomplish this, you might start by contacting the appliance manufacturer, who can provide a list of panels that will fit your current models. If you are dissatisfied with these options, you can turn to companies that offer custom-order panels, which will provide you exactly what you want in style and color.

This is a good option if your appliances are only just outdated and unlikely to stop working within the next few years. It allows you to update the look of your appliances in a professional manner without affecting how they function.

Additional Features

If you don’t want to change your old, unwanted appliances that much, you can still do things to hide their appearance and add features you might need and use. For example, on any of your appliances that lack glass fronts (like your refrigerator or dishwasher) you might hang a whiteboard, a corkboard or even a pegboard, where you can make notes, post important documents or gain additional storage for kitchen utensils.

How your kitchen looks is only limited by your imagination. There are solutions for updating your appliances at every price point, so you should start thinking about how you want your kitchen to look and take steps to accomplish it today.