steel or white kitchen appliances?

[justcantwait]

When we remodeled about 4 years ago, I went with black and haven't regretted it one single day. White and stainless are too hard to keep clean. We have white cabinets and a white range hood (black would have stood out too much), blue granite-look laminate counters and a gray and black vinyl floor that looks like burnished metal. Glass backsplash and handles/pulls on the cabinets/drawers. I love my kitchen and couldn't imagine it giving me the same feeling with white or stainless steel appliances. Besides, my cousin just had his home appraised and was told his stainless appliances and granite countertops were "dated" . I say go with what works for you, don't worry about resale. Good luck!

Kathy

 

[queenpatricia]

It all depends on your taste. The new brushed stainless is nice because it doesn't show fingerprints. I prefer white or off white myself. Don't get a side by side as if you have any problems with it, it is very hard for any serviceman to work on it. My husband works on them & he should know. As more problems with the side by side. I have a freezer on the bottom which like very much.

 

[mamaLori05]

That's a really important tip too, and could actually swing the decision in favor of stainless. There's a HUGE range of stainless appliances available right now, but far less in white if you're looking for higher-end features. I thought my DH was going to have a heart attack when we were looking at ranges - a 36", 5 burner, dual fuel range in stainless starts around $1500, but the white ones I've found run more than twice that. The stainless trend is so ingrained in the appliance/remodeling market right now that there's a gap in availability. You can find basic appliances in white and you can find really high end professional/specialty appliances in white, but the higher end models from the everyday manufacturers like GE, Kenmore, etc. are all stainless.

I'm not sure where you have been looking, but we just bought all new appliances in October at Sears and they all came in White. They showed the stainless on the floor, but they were all available in white as well (it was listed on the price tag). We bought a Kenmore stove, an LG french door fridge with freezer on bottom, a maytag overhead microwave, and a maytag dishwasher with stainless interior all in white. Oh, and Maytag front load washer and dryer in white as well. All the appliances we looked at in the store came in white, black, and stainless. With the exception of white and black being a little bit less expensive. I also wouldn't consider any of the applicances we bought "basic". they were the higher end ones.

 

[Halle]

You know, I've never been able to put into words what it is about stainless that rubs me wrong (besides the constant cleaning), but your morgue comment is exactly it. Thank you!

Now, when I go into a showroom and the salesman is pressuring me into paying the stainless premium and he says, "Why not stainless?" I can say, "Because I don't want to cook in a morgue! The chicken may be dead, but I'm not going to embalm it, thank you."

Thanks!

We bought new appliances in August, salesman kept trying to get me to buy stainless instead of white (I have white cabinets) and I told him that stainless (since it was popular in the 60's) has always made me feel as if I were in a morgue!!

 

[PA Princess]

We built a new home in 2009 (settled in June) and we had to make the appliance decision. I went back and forth, but in the end decided to get what I liked - white. I know the pressure to get the SS is huge between HGTv and the stores and such, but we owned a few SS items in our last home I really disliked them.

I think black looks nice in some configurations for people, but I am just not a lover of black...I prefer bright and light overall and the white just fits better with that for me. We have 4 kids and my mom who live here and clean up is easy. I even purchased a white sink which I adore...always hated the cold sterile feel of a SS sink.

Glad to know I am not alone in a preference for white appliances - with all the hype you start to wonder!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Very pretty Purseval! Your wood work is very nice and does make a difference in the total look. We went with white panel doors on the pantry and white trim. I took out the wood floor and put in ceramic in a white/cream swirl pattern. Then painted the room a light yellow. I think part of choosing a new kitchen is having something different than you had before! I like the black in yours, it matches nicely and brings out the granite counter colors.

 

[2binak]

I'm sad to hear that black appliances seems to be "out". I prefer the look of the black, with wood cabinets and granite. I think it looks really warm.

Another fan of black appliances here. I was always one to go with white appliances & neutral color cabinets & counter tops, even though I love warm tones, I was just afraid to go too dark with a kitchen, but when we built our last house, DH's cousin, who is a young interior designer, convinced us to go with black appliances and dark countertops. She said stainless and neutrals were overdone and that black & dark tones would look amazing. I was hesitant, but went with it and I have to say, I LOVE our new kitchen!

 

[jlm]

white-but that is just my personal opinion~ I use to clean houses for 8 years-white was the easiest to clean imo....
Jen

 

[Belle5]

I have not read all the replies. We have owned three sets of kitchen appliances--black, white and stainless (matte). There is no comparison, in my mind. The stainless is stunning! It would be difficult for me to buy a house with white appliances at this stage in my life. I am spoiled by the stainless. I still have a black refrigerator and really wish I would not have purchased it...I can't justify replacing it, though--still works great and blends in with the black granite counters.

 

[cnlmom]

I always was a beige girl....last fridge I had was Beige....had that sucker for 18 years. Just replaced it last month with Black. I thought black would be outdated and 80ish when I first though about it. Was going to go with SS, but after further thinking, I realized I really was not crazy with SS I was just getting what I though I should get, not what I liked or would look best in my kitchen.

I agree with the statement that HGTV and such make you think you need to replace perfectly good things. Our house was built in 1961 and the cabinets are the original pine, actually the original owner made him himself. They are not "trendy", but are built very solid, there are lots of them and best of all they hold my dishes just fine thank you. We thought about replacing the cabinets, but honestly it was just to much money and with some other updating, they look just fine. We replaced the hardware and the old white flecked with gold forminca countertops 12 years ago because it was heavily worn, (and ugly beyond belief) with a black granite looking laminate (at the time Granite was not popular or readily available at a reasonable price). At the time, I wanted to have a matching fridge, but the old beige one worked just fine....so we lived with it for over a decade til ol' bessy broke.
Already have a black microwave, oven and dishwasher.....made more sense to go with black and I LOVE it.....everything matches and it looks sharp.

What matters is that we like it and it is functional. Now we are not selling anytime soon, but if we did, we would just leave it. I cannot imagine being so silly as to not purchasing a house I otherwise liked just because the fridge was not stainless steel. Amazes me when I watch house hunters and I hear all the comments about how people do not like paint colors or simple fixes and such......I want to yell, Jeepers, it is just $20 paint dingdongs....look at the layout, look at the location, look at the square footage, look at the size of the yard, look at how it is maintained.... not the paint or fridge color!!!!!
But I digress......

 

[mamaLori05]

I cannot imagine being so silly as to not purchasing a house I otherwise liked just because the fridge was not stainless steel. Amazes me when I watch house hunters and I hear all the comments about how people do not like paint colors or simple fixes and such......I want to yell, Jeepers, it is just $20 paint dingdongs....look at the layout, look at the location, look at the square footage, look at the size of the yard, look at how it is maintained.... not the paint or fridge color!!!!!
But I digress......

My husband and I say the same thing! It is sooo funny to watch the people on HGTV say I love this house, but I really don't like the appliances or this paint color. Um...they're not permanently attached to the house people! I do love that channel though! SOOO addicting.

 

[kacaju]

My husband and I say the same thing! It is sooo funny to watch the people on HGTV say I love this house, but I really don't like the appliances or this paint color. Um...they're not permanently attached to the house people! I do love that channel though! SOOO addicting.

I am glad I am not the only one that thinks this way!!

 

[mdsouth]

I always was a beige girl....last fridge I had was Beige....had that sucker for 18 years. Just replaced it last month with Black. I thought black would be outdated and 80ish when I first though about it. Was going to go with SS, but after further thinking, I realized I really was not crazy with SS I was just getting what I though I should get, not what I liked or would look best in my kitchen.

I agree with the statement that HGTV and such make you think you need to replace perfectly good things. Our house was built in 1961 and the cabinets are the original pine, actually the original owner made him himself. They are not "trendy", but are built very solid, there are lots of them and best of all they hold my dishes just fine thank you. We thought about replacing the cabinets, but honestly it was just to much money and with some other updating, they look just fine. We replaced the hardware and the old white flecked with gold forminca countertops 12 years ago because it was heavily worn, (and ugly beyond belief) with a black granite looking laminate (at the time Granite was not popular or readily available at a reasonable price). At the time, I wanted to have a matching fridge, but the old beige one worked just fine....so we lived with it for over a decade til ol' bessy broke.
Already have a black microwave, oven and dishwasher.....made more sense to go with black and I LOVE it.....everything matches and it looks sharp.

What matters is that we like it and it is functional. Now we are not selling anytime soon, but if we did, we would just leave it. I cannot imagine being so silly as to not purchasing a house I otherwise liked just because the fridge was not stainless steel. Amazes me when I watch house hunters and I hear all the comments about how people do not like paint colors or simple fixes and such......I want to yell, Jeepers, it is just $20 paint dingdongs....look at the layout, look at the location, look at the square footage, look at the size of the yard, look at how it is maintained.... not the paint or fridge color!!!!!
But I digress......

My husband and I say the same thing! It is sooo funny to watch the people on HGTV say I love this house, but I really don't like the appliances or this paint color. Um...they're not permanently attached to the house people! I do love that channel though! SOOO addicting.

We share these same comments at my house! Truly it is amazing how superficial people are that they just have to have stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops just because everyone else has them or so they think. So many people are totally clueless how easy it is to paint and cheaply too!

We also laugh at the ones that want to buy an older home for the character but then they complain and act surprised that the 100 plus year old house that they are looking at doesn't have a grand master bathroom and bedroom or a walk-in closet!

We updated our kitchen a few years ago. We already had a black dishwasher so we bought a black microwave under the cabinet, black stove and black frig (French doors with the freezer on the bottom). I love the black appliances! They are super easy to clean and look classy.

I, especially, love the frig with the French doors/freezer on the bottom. My great aunt used to have a frig with the freezer on the bottom when I was growing up. I thought it was so cool as a kid and have always wanted one. I remember going frig shopping 15 years ago and wanting one but they wasn't any in the stores. Then with our second house and our remodeling of the kitchen three years ago, I found one and bought it. It is ideal! The freezer on the bottom has so much more room than my previous side by side frig in a comparable size.

 

[arminnie]

I would never buy a black stove again!! It's impossible to keep as clean as a white stove.

My experience is just the opposite. I just moved from a home with a black flat top to a condo with a white flat top. I have to clean the white one every time I even boil water! Just the residue from a sponge will turn brown when I turn the heat on. I guess I didn't know my black one was dirty.

Today's stainless is tomorrow's Harvest Gold.

I so agree with you!

I've been reading that turquoise is the new "in" color. I remember my neighbor getting all turquoise appliances when I was a little kid.

I have two homes (three counting the one I am moving out of). I have stainless in my condo that was converted in 2005 and white in the condo I just bought. I am convinced that the stainless will be out of date sooner than the white.

I have granite in the condo with the stainless. I put granite in another home 17 years ago. I need new countertops in my newest condo, but I don't think I'm going to go with granite. It's been around too long to be "in". I think I'll just go with formica until I totally redo the kitchen (if ever).

I'd prefer to just have one home (New Orleans), but kept a home here (Arkansas) because of my father. Unfortunately he died just two months after I bought this latest condo. So that may be influencing my lack of motivation to spend much money here.

 

[TxRabbit]

Watching buyers on HGTV will drive you nuts. Keep in mind, that generally, when buyers fall back on comments like paint and appliances, it is because there is really something else about the house that they dislike. The buyer's on the shows generally don't have the vocabulary to put into words WHY they really dislike the house. Odds are there is overall feeling about the layout and room function that isn't clicking with them, and they can't really put that feeling into words, so they make comments about what we at home can view.

Back to topic. I have to say that this is quite encouraging to read all the varying opinions. We have white appliances. Stainless might look all right, but white looks better in my traditional kitchen. We are hoping to hit the market this spring. It's nice to see that someone else may actually appreciate the white!

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not sure where you have been looking, but we just bought all new appliances in October at Sears and they all came in White. They showed the stainless on the floor, but they were all available in white as well (it was listed on the price tag). We bought a Kenmore stove, an LG french door fridge with freezer on bottom, a maytag overhead microwave, and a maytag dishwasher with stainless interior all in white. Oh, and Maytag front load washer and dryer in white as well. All the appliances we looked at in the store came in white, black, and stainless. With the exception of white and black being a little bit less expensive. I also wouldn't consider any of the applicances we bought "basic". they were the higher end ones.

I checked both Lowes & Home Depot locally, as well as Kenmore, GE, and Maytag online. Part of the problem is that I'm looking for something very specific - a 36" 5 burner range, preferably dual-fuel but gas would be okay. Looking for the 36" width limits the selection to the top lines from the major brands, Kenmore Elite, GE Profile, KitchenAid Architect, etc or to the pricier brands like Jenn-Air and Electrolux, and I've not had any luck finding any of those models that come in white. The models with the features I want are promoted as "commercial grade" and stainless kind of goes hand-in-hand with that.

I'm kind of glad I didn't find anything at the big boxes, though, because I found a beautiful Aga stove that has everything on my wish list and very old-fashioned styling. It is expensive, but I figure a stove is an infrequent enough purchase that it is better to spend more and get just what I want than to live with something I don't love for as long as it lasts.

 

[Colleen27]

I've been reading that turquoise is the new "in" color. I remember my neighbor getting all turquoise appliances when I was a little kid.

OMG, really? In my very first apartment, I had a turquoise refrigerator that probably dated back to the 60s, the kind with the freezer compartment inside the fridge that needed frequent de-icing lest it turn into a giant block of ice. It was the ugliest, most user-unfriendly, inefficient POS I've ever had the pleasure of owning.