Brian Holcombe
I would really only put money into a kitchen for a house that one would expect to live in for quite some time. The trend of upgrade to sell only makes financial sense if you are in special circumstance or doing it on the cheap. In our case we're certainly lucky that our labor is free so long as we do not mind committing the time to it, so we generally buy quality material and still come out well ahead. I can build an upgrade almost on-end without fear of overspending.

I'm all for good appliances so long as they offer an improved utility, but the utility is primary for me ahead of creature comforts which fail in short order or become redundant. IE; I would not want a built in espresso machine unless it was a commercial unit with a very long expected life and ability to repair. Building in mid-range appliances always seems like expensive effort to me.