Stainless Steel, or Black Kitchen Appliances?

[brunette8706]

Hello All!

A little bit of backgroun information we did put black granite counter tops in our kitchen in 2009. Now I want to get a new range, over the range microwave and dishwasher. My dilemma is, shall I go with the stainless steel? I currently have white now my cabinets are white. Or shall I go with Black?

I'm afraid to invest in these appliances then some other new color will takes it's place...lol! What would you do? Now, I heard bronze is coming out..not sure how true that is.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much! Brunette

 

[kacaju]

what color is your fridge and do you plan on replacing that as well soon?
I personally do not like the look of stainless steel at all.
If you have no plans on replacing the fridge and it is white..I'd go with white.

 

[ilovepcot]

I've never liked the look of stainless, and it's been done to death. Aren't any other people getting sick of it??? Anyway, when we remodeled our FL home 4 years ago, DH talked me into stainless and it's been a lot of work to keep clean. We just remodeled our kitchen in NC (May) and I wouldn't even discuss stainless. We have all matching black appliances and I love them.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hello All!

A little bit of backgroun information we did put black granite counter tops in our kitchen in 2009. Now I want to get a new range, over the range microwave and dishwasher. My dilemma is, shall I go with the stainless steel? I currently have white now my cabinets are white. Or shall I go with Black?

I'm afraid to invest in these appliances then some other new color will takes it's place...lol! What would you do? Now, I heard bronze is coming out..not sure how true that is.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much! Brunette

IF you'r interested in resale stainless will garner you more $$ and you already have geranite, so thats what Id do, knowing you will need all the appliances to be stainless to "match" down the line
With white cabinets, I think black would be a lovely contrast...but again, not really a bang for your buck...
If you love the black, go for it....YOU have to live with it and enjoy it....
if moving in the next 5-or so years, go stainless!

Good Luck deciding!

 

[brunette8706]

Hi All!

Yes, I have the black granite, with a blue pearl going through it. It's very pretty (if you like black, lol).

My fridge is white, but I can always change that out next year.

This all started because we need a new dishwasher. Geez, if you get a new dishwasher then you need to get a "new" EVERYTHING ELSE! lol!

I thought black would blend with the black granite.... I like more of a sophisticated look in a kitchen, I don't like real kitchenity looking kitchens, (that's just my taste, lol).

Yeah, you know we went to Sears and looked at all the Stainless Steel dishwashers and all I saw was a BUNCH OF FINGER PRINTS! It's seems like on the stainless steel, you can really see finger and hand prints! GEEZ! LOL!

I don't know what to do!!

 

[scrapquitler]

My kitchen is a mish-mash. The wall oven is black. The range top is Stainless, the dishwasher has a reversible panel that can go either black or white. They were all that way when we bought the house. The fridge was white. But then it died and needed to be replaced. My choice was black, but that was a special order. I just couldn't wait 2-3 weeks when my fridge was dead, so I ende dup with stainless steel. I HATE it.

I don't care about resale value, by the time I move, either there will be a new style or my appliances will be dead. Go with what you like. Just remember that the stainless steel is a PITA to keep from looking like a mess. With black at least I could just use windex and wipe.

 

[brunette8706]

My kitchen is a mish-mash. The wall oven is black. The range top is Stainless, the dishwasher has a reversible panel that can go either black or white. They were all that way when we bought the house. The fridge was white. But then it died and needed to be replaced. My choice was black, but that was a special order. I just couldn't wait 2-3 weeks when my fridge was dead, so I ende dup with stainless steel. I HATE it.

I don't care about resale value, by the time I move, either there will be a new style or my appliances will be dead. Go with what you like. Just remember that the stainless steel is a PITA to keep from looking like a mess. With black at least I could just use windex and wipe.

*
Oh WOW! That's what I was thinking it would be a PITA to keep clean!! LOL! I do love the black though!

Thanks for all the comments!!!

Does anyone else have any more suggestions/comments!? tHANKS AGAIN! bRUNETTE!

 

[FINFAN]

we have had to replace our DW and Fridge, chose black...oven is on its last leg and when we can afford to replace it it will be black as well. Currently our countertops are white, but the plan is to replace them with a teal-ish or sandy colored countertop with black flecks in it. Our cabinets are oak, medium and so is the floor. I love having the black appliances...my whole stepford neighborhood has stainless appliances. To me, they just look so industrial and not in a cool, trendy way. They make a kitchen look dull to me (no offense to those who love SS, but I have yet to be wow-ed by them) To me then main thing is the quality of the appliance, then the color. One thing about our old white appliances that bugged me was that they were not the same shade of white as out countertops, so to me it clashed...not too badly, but noticable to me. They looked flat, especially the fridge. The black ones we have are glossy,(and I love that they reflect light) which would probably go fine with your granite countertops. Anyway you can post a pic of your cabinets/countertop? You know your taste best, if you have a piece of your countertop left over, take it with you to the appliance store and hold it to the ones you like.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I personally like the look of stainless steel. Nowadays they have some great cleaners that don't take any additional effort than if you had black or white appliances.
The black appliances next to your black granite might not give it that contrast or "pop" that you need. I think it will look too monotone. Steel against black would give it a nice contrast.

 

[Southernmiss]

We bought our house in 2003 and were able to pick the colors from the builder package.

I have black formica counter tops but they look like granite (I didn't have the option of granite) with a medium cherry color cabinet and then we bought black appliances and that was about the time stainless became in vogue. I chose to save a few bucks and go with the black instead of granite.

I have been pleased with the outcome and haven't missed the stainless.

 

[minnie1012]

I have black granite and when we moved in the appliances were all stainless steel. Well she didn't have kids and was hardly ever home so it was beautiful. I actually don't like the black granite or the stainless steal because its hard to keep clean. The stainless constantly had water drip marks (on the dishwasher from loading) or fingerprints. I felt like I was constanly cleaning and it never seemed to look as good as when we moved it. Well the dishwasher broke and I got a black one! The fridge mainly gets dirty around the handle but I hate the no magnets and cleaning the fingerprints so we are going to get a black one of those when that goes.

 

[LuLuO]

I don't care for stainless either. I went with black in my kitchen. I have light maple cabinets and dark counter tops.

 

[beachcomber]

I personally like the look of stainless steel. Nowadays they have some great cleaners that don't take any additional effort than if you had black or white appliances.
The black appliances next to your black granite might not give it that contrast or "pop" that you need. I think it will look too monotone. Steel against black would give it a nice contrast.

I agree. There are some great wipes, even, that work well...and quickly! (Just as quick as a regular "clorox" type wipe)

 

[StephMK]

My cabinets are a warm French vanilla color so we went with clean steel for the fridge - magnets stick - and a stainless/black stove & microhood. The stove is not hard to keep clean. The DW is in the corner near the sink and I chose black. IMO, it blends in because the other appliances have black accents and the DW gets the dirtiest so black is easier to keep clean.

Honestly, we have not had any issues keeping our fridge clean. A few smudges but no daily fingerprints or anything. I like it but I hate the side by side. My next one will be a french door style!

 

[ilovepcot]

As far as having a hard time keeping stainless clean...that isn't my only issue with it. The stainless that wraps around the oven top has ugly spots where tomato sauce splattered on it and *nothing* has removed them. I also have marks from boiling water that couldn't be buffed totally out. Because I paid more for this stove than my first car, I called and complained *LOUDLY* about this problem. A rep came out and took a look and left me with a product to use. It DID NOT work. The spots stayed and no product on the market, including one from the company rep can remove them. Oh, the product is KitchenAid. Tell all your friends!

 

[ilovepcot]

As far as having a hard time keeping fingerprints off stainless...that isn't my only issue with it. The stainless that wraps around the oven top has ugly spots where tomato sauce splattered on it and *nothing* has removed them. I also have marks from boiling water that couldn't be buffed totally out. Because I paid more for this stove than my first car, I called and complained *LOUDLY* about this problem. A rep came out and took a look and left me with a product to use. It DID NOT work. The spots stayed and no product on the market, including one from the company rep can remove them. Oh, the stove is made by KitchenAid. Tell all your friends!

I was told by someone who is a fabricator using stainless that the reason I have this problem is the very low quality of steel (cheap!) being used now by the appliance manufacturers. Well, at least with dear old KitchenAid.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My kitchen sounds a bit like yours - white cabinets with black and brown granite and black appliances. All of our appliances were in good working order so we kept them when we remodeled. One of the best things we did was put in undercounter lighting. It makes everything shine. I think your kitchen will look beautiful as you describe it, even with the black appliances. Go with what you like, especially if resale isn't an issue.

 

[IDoDis]

We have black appliances. When people get water & ice out of the fridge door, some of the water drips down the freezer side of the fridge. I'm constantly wiping it because my family is too lazy to wipe up after themselves. Well, now there's this drip line going down the freezer side that won't go away, no matter what I clean it with.

Does anyone have a good product to take away water stains on black glossy appliances without taking away the gloss? We have very hard water out here. Even with the water filter in the door, I still get water stains and it's driving me nuts.

 

[ilovemk76]

Hello All!

A little bit of backgroun information we did put black granite counter tops in our kitchen in 2009. Now I want to get a new range, over the range microwave and dishwasher. My dilemma is, shall I go with the stainless steel? I currently have white now my cabinets are white. Or shall I go with Black?

I'm afraid to invest in these appliances then some other new color will takes it's place...lol! What would you do? Now, I heard bronze is coming out..not sure how true that is.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much! Brunette

I hate the look of stainless steel appliances especially the fridge. An appliance is functional and should not be the centerpiece of the kitchen.

But in your case I would not put in black appliances with white cabinets.

I would get a white dishwasher, a white range with a black top and a white hood w/ microwave.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

As far as having a hard time keeping fingerprints off stainless...that isn't my only issue with it. The stainless that wraps around the oven top has ugly spots where tomato sauce splattered on it and *nothing* has removed them. I also have marks from boiling water that couldn't be buffed totally out. Because I paid more for this stove than my first car, I called and complained *LOUDLY* about this problem. A rep came out and took a look and left me with a product to use. It DID NOT work. The spots stayed and no product on the market, including one from the company rep can remove them. Oh, the stove is made by KitchenAid. Tell all your friends!

I was told by someone who is a fabricator using stainless that the reason I have this problem is the very low quality of steel (cheap!) being used now by the appliance manufacturers. Well, at least with dear old KitchenAid.

Reading from the end of the thread. Have you tried Cameo and a microfiber cloth? I had "splatters" on my stove area and used that. I have a Blue Star stove though not Kitchen Aid.