I am in the process of finishing up design of a major (as in gut to the
walls, and take down one of those) kitchen redo. Right now I am trying
to settle on appliances. Money is definitely an object, so I was
targeting higher-end mass market (Kitchenaid/Bosch level) for most
things, a bit higher for the rangetop.

I'm basically settled on fridge and dishwasher, and thought I was on the
others. (Ignoring my general inability to make a decision and
tremendous buyer's remorse even before I buy anything :-)) However...

I had decided on a pair of KA 30" single ovens (model KEBS107S), but
I've read a lot of reports of problems with KA ovens (and maybe this
specific unit) dying due to thermal cutouts burning out when
self-cleaning. And actually, I own a KA range that has had overheating
related failure issues. KA apparently denies that there are any design
problems, so it's hard to tell if they have fixed this. Based on my
concerns, the appliance place I've been dealing with suggested as
possible alternatives a Bosch (HBL545) as a pretty comparable unit at
about the same money, or perhaps the Dacor Millennia Renaissance
(MORS130) as a (significantly?) higher quality unit at ~$400 or so more
each. Has anyone here had experience with any of these - good or bad -
or suggestions of other ovens?

I've been looking at the DCS 36" 6 burner rangetop (CP366) sealed burner
unit, since it seemed to be the least expensive of the high-end units
(about $1K less than the Wolf (RT366 or SRT366), and (not as but still
substantially) less than the others I've looked at). I recently
discovered that the BTU output on the big burners on the DCS are 15%-20%
lower when running on LP than on natural gas - not sure how significant
that is. Also, I had the appliance expert at my kitchen contractor (who
won't be getting a cut on the appliances, so has no dog in the fight)
indicate that the DCS is her least favorite of the alternatives (well,
she's apparently even less of a fan of Viking, but that wasn't in
consideration). Has anyone experience - again, good or bad - with the
DCS and/or suggestions of alternatives. Also, anyone with Wolf (or
other higher priced spread) - do you think your unit is worth the extra
money, and why? Aesthetics counts for something - this is going to be a
very expensive redo (by my standards, anyway) and I want it to look good
- but cooking performance and cost effectiveness counts for more.
Finally, all but Wolf seem to use only sealed burners these days (Wolf
offers both open and sealed) - do people with experience with both have
any strong preferences to offer?

Lastly, the appliance place suggested a Best (Broan) K260A 42" hood with
a 1200CFM fan. I'm not sure how I feel about the looks of that, but my
major concern is that it is loud - at max speed, Best indicates that it
generates about 10 sones. Even if I run it flat out only occasionally,
that implies it may be pretty noisy even on medium. It was suggested
that Vent-a-Hood (not sure which model) might be a quieter alternative
in the same general quality and price range (~$1500 including blower).
Any comments (especially on noise and overall quality) on either of
these and/or suggestions of other (fairly reasonably priced) brands and
units?

Thanks for any info!

ted