The Kettle Condundrum

The little red kettle that used to sit on our stove has garnered lots of compliments from readers and friends alike.  Unfortunately, it was recently retired after enduring a battery of assaults.  First, Hubby turned it on empty, which is a huge kettle no-no, proceeding to burn some of the red enamel onto our element to boot.  Next the removable whistle, which was such a pain to remove when the kettle was whistling because it was piping hot and a really tight fit, was left too close to an element and melted.  Oops.  Lastly, a problem neither of us caused: a piece of the handle snapped off, leaving behind a sharp, hand slicing spot.  This was when we decided a new kettle was in order.

I had heard good things about Overstock.com (O.co) so I looked at their selection of kettles.

I immediately fell in love with a whole slew.  After running from store to store (and still coming home empty handed), it was such a time-saver to be able to compare different brands, features and colours at once.

Left to right: KitchenAid Green Apple Porcelain Kettle, Paula Deen Signature Kettle Butter Speckle, Paula Deen Signature Blue Kettle, Paula Deen Signature Blue Kettle, KitchenAid Mustard Kettle, Circulon Silver Kettle, Rachel Ray Curve Kettle Orange, Paul Deen Signature Olive Kettle, KitchenAid Peacock Porcelain Kettle

I managed to narrow it down to two, very different styles: the Paula Deen Signature Olive Kettle and the Rachel Ray Curve Kettle in Orange.

I loved the vintage look of the Paula Dean kettle, but the Rachel Ray kettle came in Hubby's favorite colour!  Plus, the dress in one of my vintage posters is this same rich, persimmon shade.  I am warming up to orange, and knew that this vibrant colour would look great with my turquoise kitchenware and our glossy grey counters.

The major selling point for Hubby (who had strong opinion on the kettle purchase) was that the Rachel Ray kettle has a one-piece whistling spout (the lid flips up) and a nice, curved handle which has no moveable parts to break.  Overtock also features reviews, and the reviews were positive for this kettle.

Our kettle arrived quickly, and I've been making coffee and tea like a Barrista for weeks.  The kettle does not disappoint!  The handle is comfortable, the whistling spout perfectly contains the steam and is easy to flip up with the same hand that is holding the handle.  These are all luxuries to us and make us wish we'd replaced our old kettle ages ago.  The best part is that the colour online was really true to life and the exact rich, persimmon-y hue I was hoping for.  I'm pretty sure I'll continue getting compliments about the (new) pretty little kettle on the stove!  And we promise to take better care of this one.

For anyone who, like me, is a little nervous about buying things online, you should know I was really impressed with the shipping.  Now that I have an Etsy shop, I pay attention to these things.  The box was inside another box and stuffed with bubble wrap.  It arrived perfectly safe and sound (and fast!).

P.S. Overstock.com provided the Rachel Ray kettle to review.  However, I requested to review a kettle and selected which style I liked (with Hubby's input!).  I was not encouraged, prompted or asked to write a favorable review, nor was I asked to write about Overstock in general.  I was just so impressed with their selection and service, I had to tell you.  I will definitely turn to O.co next time I'm shopping for something, especially because they make it easy for Canadians by calculating duties and taxes at checkout and offering affordable shipping to us!