Designers and real estate experts agree that Sub-Zero and Wolf are still the luxury kitchen brands most sought-after in homes today. And there’s good reason. They offer a heritage of quality and innovation unsurpassed in the appliance industry and provide features and lifestyle benefits that are key to discerning homeowners in 2023 and beyond. If you’re researching luxury kitchen brands in New England, you’re in luck, because Clarke, New England’s Official Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove Showroom and Test Kitchen has three locations where you can see and compare more models of these appliances than anywhere else. Clarke isn’t an appliance store, it’s a brand resource where you can explore these appliances in designer kitchen settings to imagine how they might look in your own home. Clarke consultants are not salespeople. In fact, they don’t sell anything at Clarke, but they do offer private tours to help you research the best technology for your new home or kitchen remodel. While browsing a Clarke Showroom, you’ll probably encounter a Clarke Chef who will share a taste of what these appliances can create.
A History of Engineering Marvels
In the 1930s, Westye Bakke was hired by Frank Lloyd Wright to design custom refrigeration for the legendary architect’s homes. In 1945, Bakke launched Sub-Zero Freezer Company, introducing the first system for preserving food at ultra-low temperatures…literally sub-zero. A decade later, he pioneered dual refrigeration creating separate sealed systems for refrigerator and freezer, revolutionizing kitchen design by inventing built-in refrigeration. In every decade since, Bakke’s now world-class design and engineering company has introduced a new innovation. Refrigerator drawers, Integrated refrigerators that disappear behind cabinet panels, wine storage, induction ranges and much more.
In 2000, Sub-Zero acquired the residential side of Wolf, a industry-leading commercial range manufacturer. They have given the cooking appliance company new life with iconic gas ranges, dual-fuel ranges, induction cooktops, convection steam ovens and so much more. Through Sub-Zero and Wolf’s nearly 80 years, many appliance companies have come and gone, but Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove (their newest division focused on dishwashers) have stood the test of time and proven to be the best luxury kitchen brands in the U.S. and beyond.
According to Architect Bob Borson in his “Life of an Architect” website, “ I am going to confess that if I won the appliance lottery, I would select Sub-Zero Wolf appliances.”
A Full Range of Cooking Options
Wolf earned its reputation as the best luxury brand for cooking appliances by offering options that homeowners want. Ranges, cooktops and rangetops, ovens, microwaves, warming drawers, module cooktops, coffee systems, vacuum seal drawers, outdoor grills and ventilation.
Within all these categories, Wolf has created hundreds of models that fit a wide range of sizes and technologies to suit each homeowner’s vision of their luxury kitchen. Gas cooking, electric cooking, dual-fuel, induction, convection steam cooking and the list goes on. This is why a trip to a Clarke Showroom is so helpful in clarifying what will work best for you, your family and your home design.
Food Preservation that is Second to None
With Sub-Zero’s refrigeration pedigree, it’s no wonder that home listings that mention a Sub-Zero actually sell faster and for more money than other luxury brands. According to real estate listing site Zillow, among homes priced in the top-third of the market, “a Sub-Zero fridge proved a valuable investment, netting a 38 percent premium over otherwise high-end listings” mentioning other refrigerators. In fact, records show that the term “Sub-Zero kitchen” entered the real estate lexicon in the 1960s as shorthand for “a home that gets all the high-end details right.” It is still seen as the best luxury refrigerator brand available.
Sub-Zero offers the widest selection of refrigeration solutions with various widths, innovative configurations (like the designer-favorite refrigerator drawers), and limitless exterior customization with stainless or custom cabinet panels and hardware. Beyond full-size and undercounter refrigerators and freezers, you can integrate wine storage in your kitchen, wet bar, master suite or study. With Sub-Zero, you can enjoy fresh food and drinks anywhere – even outdoors.
The Wolf Convection Steam Oven is Pure Luxury
Every Wolf appliance contributes to the company’s standing as the best luxury kitchen brand, yet one gets more rave reviews than any other: the Wolf Convection Steam Oven. Eight out of ten homeowners who see this versatile oven in action – and taste the results at a Clarke showroom – add it to their kitchen design plans. According to Clarke Boston Showroom Manager Jeremy McCulla, “The Convection Steam Oven is actually three ovens in one. It can be used as a traditional convection oven for roasting and baking, as a steam oven exclusively, or as a combination of steam and convection.”
This is more proof of Wolf’s standing as the best luxury kitchen option. “So many homeowners automatically plan double wall ovens,” said McCulla, “and when you change that second oven from a traditional wall oven to a Wolf Convection Steam Oven, you’ve catapulted the performance and convenience in your kitchen.” In fact, for homeowners with small space in a condo or summer cottage, the Wolf Convection Steam Oven can be the perfect primary oven. The Wolf Gourmet Mode is magical. On the electronic display, you choose from 14 categories of food and the climate sensor detects the volume, shape and consistency and adjusts the time, temperature and humidity for guesswork-free, delicious results. You can cook everything from a 24-pound turkey to soufflés, frozen appetizers to baked potatoes. What’s more, the steam setting allows you to rejuvenate leftovers to their original restaurant taste and texture. This is luxury at its finest!
Let Your Luxury Kitchen Brand Shine Outside
With the rise in popularity of outdoor living, you’ll want to think about luxury kitchen brands that extend to your outdoor kitchen too. With Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove, you can design the same performance and aesthetic you enjoy inside your home into an outdoor kitchen that makes entertaining a delight. With a range of Wolf Outdoor Gas Grills, outdoor cooking can go far beyond steaks and burgers. And, Wolf Warming Drawers will keep your food deliciously warm until your guests are ready to dine (and a separate set of Warming Drawers will keep towels toasty by the pool.) With Sub-Zero outdoor refrigeration you can keep drinks and fresh foods near the action on the deck or patio. And your Sub-Zero Outdoor Icemaker will always be at the ready to chill soda or cocktail al fresco.
The Best Luxury Kitchen Brands are Worth Exploring
Whether you are designing an indoor or outdoor kitchen, or simply researching a replacement for a built-in refrigerator or oven, you are wise to keep Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove appliances on your wish list. Over the past decade, many appliances have been touted as “luxury” options simply by cladding them in stainless steel and marketing them as “designer models.” It’s important to realize there is a difference between true luxury brands and look-alikes. Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove have proven their cooking and food preservation prowess and are truly the best luxury kitchen brands available. Visiting a Clarke Showroom is worth your time to understand all your options and the many features and benefits that make them standouts in the kitchen design world.
