Stainless or white appliances?

[basil]

I have to buy a new dishwasher since mine died. I am planning to redo my kitchen sometime in the next few years. Current appliances are white, but I plan to replace the range, so I could go either way. I think I''ll keep the refrigerator, and that''s white too.

My kitchen currently has white cabinets and horrible bright yellow formica countertops. The walls are white and will probably stay that way. I''d eventually like maple or light wood cabinets and a darker colored countertop to coordinate with the brown tiled floor.

Should I go for white, or for the stainless? They are both the same price.

 

[diamondfan]

I like the contrast of stainless. Plus, many whites do not really match so you could end up with the whites clashing a bit. All of my appliances are s/s and I really love them. The newer ones have fingerprintless stainless surfaces, which is really nice! (kids plus dirty hands plus stainless fridge = high maintenance!)

 

[marcy]

I think the white appliances will look cleaner all the time as the stainless will show fingerprints and smudges pretty easy. I do like the looks of the stainless though.

 

[Heidi137]

I prefer the white-no fingerprints or scratches.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Stainless seems very harsh to me and doesn't create what I see as a warm kitchen environment. . .but it's the style that's current so it seems a better choice especially if there's any chance of reselling anytime soon.

My husband and I are planning to remodel our kitchen w/in the next year or two, so I can predict us debating which appliances to go with. In the end, I will push for white and hopefully my DH will agree (but he did mention stainless as being his preference!) lol

 

[lyra]

I had to replace my range recently so I had to make the same decision, as my fridge is next to go. We chose to keep with the white appliances, because when we were looking at the appliance store, many of the stainless appliances were already scratched up. We were shocked, because we were looking at the high end stuff too. I''d never go stainless because of the fingerprints, that drives me absolutely batty!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

My appliances are stainless steel so obviously I like the look. The cabinets are a light maple color and the countertops are kind of a dark green granite looking material. The contrast is nice. Fingerprints have not been a huge issue on the S/S - there are products out there that make cleanup easy. As DF said, the newer stainless finishes are fingerprint resistant. Also, if resale is an issue I would go with the S/S.

There is another option you might consider and that is getting a model that has an interchangeable face panel. That way you could get the white for now and then when you redo your kitchen you could change the panel to S/S or even match it to your cabinet doors.

 

[basil]

The model I''m considering is a GE "Clean steel" which is supposed to be more fingerprint-resistant than regular stainless. Anyone have experience with this particular finish?

I think if this was my forever house, I''d probably go with white, but we''ll probably sell in 3-4 years. For whatever reason, stainless looks more high-end or expensive to me at first glance, but I wonder if it will end up being trendy. The harvest gold or avocado of the 2000s

Fiance likes the stainless though. I guess it''s more masculine.

 

[WTNLVR]

If you are planning on selling within 5 years, go with stainless. Otherwise, just go with what you want to live with. White would look fine. Stainless is a pain to maintain-LOL

 

[somethingshiny]

I''ve always like white for appearance sake, and also because they were easy to keep clean. But, my brother just added on a new kitchen and got all stainless steel appliances. They don''t smudge like the older ones. They have some "coating" that is supposed to keep them from getting greasy looking.

I do think you need to take into consideration how the appliances will look with any wood you have in the area. Stainless is so cold looking to begin with.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 12/30/2007 7:58:15 PM
Author:basil
I have to buy a new dishwasher since mine died. I am planning to redo my kitchen sometime in the next few years. ...
Should I go for white, or for the stainless? They are both the same price.

If you had written "the next few months", my vote would be to get started with great appliances now; however, "sometime in the next few years" kind of indicates that it''s not really scheduled yet and if you buy S/S, you''d have voluntarily chosen to have a clashing kitchen for... YEARS. Literally.

Dishwashers are among the cheapest of installed appliances. It seems pretty logical to get an inexpensive one that matches the rest of the kitchen that you''ll have for the next few years. When it comes time to spend $100K on your new kitchen, spending $500 on a new dishwasher or not will be kind of moot. In addition, if you ARE doing such a huge outlay, you''ll probably want a suite of matching appliances; though your 3-5 year old S/S dishwasher will have the same material, it''ll probably be juuuuust different enough that you''d not be satisfied.

think if this was my forever house, I''d probably go with white, but we''ll probably sell in 3-4 years.

Actually, having just seen the follow-up post, since the timelines you''ve stated for with a remodel or a house sale are awfully similar. If you get an isolated S/S dishwasher and decide to make life easy on yourself and just sell, have you thought that perhaps that clashing stainless steel dishwasher will actually be a resale liability?

 

[basil]

All good points, FDL!

I assure you that I won''t spend $100k on my kitchen remodel...cause that would be approaching what this condo is worth

So a $500 dishwasher is kind of a big deal for me. The plan is actually to remodel the kitchen (prob Ikea cabinets) when fiance moves in in 1.5 years...then we''ll sell when I finish up residency in 2 years after that. The kitchen as it is is already a pretty big liability in terms of appearance. Seriously...BRIGHT yellow formica.

And I''ve just discovered that my disposal has a big crack in it! Ugh!

 

[KimberlyH]

I lived in a condo w/ fake stainless steel and my house has real stainless steel. As much as people talk about fingerprints, etc. I really like our kitchen and the streamlined look of the appliances (but have seen kitchens with white or black appliances that I liked just as much, because it seemed to fit with the space). It''s just DH and I in our house; I wipe the appliances down once or twice a week and we''re good to go. It''s not as big of a drag as people made it out to be. Since you''re considering selling I would recommend deciding what best fits with your space and choosing based on that. In some homes s/s seems out of place, in others white appliances might. It all depends on the style of the house and that should take precident.

 

[butterfly 17]

I currently have black appliances and I had white ones in my other house and I have to say that I much prefer the white ones. It seems that dust doesn''t show up as much. Even when I don''t do any cooking, I still have to wipe off the dust that forms on the stove, etc. My counters are orangey black with green and grey specks and you see all the finger prints on it as well.

I did not notice it at all on my white appliances or my lighter colored formica counters.

I can''t answer about stainless steel, but if I could do my kitchen over, I would get white appliances.

 

[Haven]

Basil--I would buy whatever you love best.

I have s/s in my kitchen now and keeping it clean really isn''t a problem, so don''t worry about that. It sounds like s/s used to have a fingerprint issue, but I don''t think that''s true anymore.

HOWEVER, as someone who is currently looking to purchase a new home, I think the logic that s/s will be a great selling point is actually flawed. Personally, I prefer classic decor to trendy, so to me the s/s is nice, but not something I would choose myself. The whole bamboo floors and s/s appliances and cherry wood kitchen look is SO trendy right now that we see it in every single "beautifully updated home" we check out. BUT it just isn''t "me", so I''d rather buy a house without the updates for a bit less, than spend the extra money for an updated house that just isn''t my style. And I''d definitely rather buy a home with lovely white appliances. Of course, every buyer is different, but this is why I say get what YOU want.

(I love warm, dark wood floors, white wainscotting, and light yet warm colors on the walls, which pretty much equals the opposite of what every new updated home looks like right now! If I could find a great 100-year-old cottage I''d scoop it up in an instant!)

Good luck with your choice!

 

[door knob solitaire]

I have SS I love SS and I hope I don''t offend or scare anyone who also shares my passion/investment.

But I follow industry trends...and the market has spoken on SS. It is out. Or at least on its way out! I know I know not with me either. I love the look. There are Realtors who 2 years ago would print stainless first...are shying away from advertising it. The less expensive lines are thin and warp over time and then you have the fingerprint issues. On the more expensive kitchens, the trends are to conceal the appliances. Made to meld into the cabinetry with facades of the cabinetry. (the Realtors are doing the same with granite...people are learning if you don''t maintain with sealing you have a stained block of rock...) So the latest counter top trend is solid, but not natural. Who knew?

The latest Refrigerator trends are leading to the drawer models. Multiple drawers and no vertical box. DW have the control on the top of the door and hide when closed...so the front can be completely covered in the cabinetry. They also are leaning toward the drawer design. Again multiple drawers. So as for color they say if you have to go white.

We all may not have 200K kitchens...but the truth is they lead the way on industry standards. After all that is where the SS came from...the gourmet kitchens.

If I can find you a trade show video I just watched, it would confirm the ss love loss (and love loss of granite one too!). If I were matching a preexisting ss kitchen with one appliance, I would go ss, but if you are starting to redo all...and you aren''t modern, I would consider the white. Oh, and not the fingerprint less white. The one with the pattern is really hard to keep clean in white. My mom has it...and she lives alone, she says she curses her fingerprints every day! Imagine the fingerprint less or what ever it is called is more headache.

PS...are you positive it died as in DEAD...can it be resuscitated? Many times it is just a $40 part...I just fixed mine with a $37 part. All by my little self. Get down with my bad self right? Wow all that and all you asked for was color....WHITE

 

[Hera]

Date: 12/30/2007 7:58:15 PM
Author:basil
I have to buy a new dishwasher since mine died. I am planning to redo my kitchen sometime in the next few years. Current appliances are white, but I plan to replace the range, so I could go either way. I think I'll keep the refrigerator, and that's white too.

My kitchen currently has white cabinets and horrible bright yellow formica countertops. The walls are white and will probably stay that way. I'd eventually like maple or light wood cabinets and a darker colored countertop to coordinate with the brown tiled floor.

Should I go for white, or for the stainless? They are both the same price.

I just finished my bachelor's degree in Interior design and I believe that stainless steel is very classic as it mimics the aesthetics of a professional kitchen. While eventually many things may look dated after a while, I still don't believe SS is the avocado green of tomorrow. I absolutely think it would offer your kitchen a texture change and would coordinate with both white cabinets and maple cabinets. Also, I agree with you that it looks higher end and I believe it would be a plus when you sell. If you are concerned that your kitchen not having enough warmth or when you get ready to sell, I would suggest using a warm color on the countertop or warm it up with a paint color (your maple cabinets would add enough warmth also). Either way, I personally love the clean look of white cabinets and ss appliances. Here's some pics with white cabinets (I don't know if you are more modern or traditional) I love this look:

 

[firebirdgold]

Tough question!

When we bought our new house this fall I had to ask myself the same one. We ended up replacing the fridge and the range with stainless. It really did update the whole look of our kitchen without having to change anything else. However that was because the stainless had black trim (fridge has black sides, one of which is visible, and the range has black on it and a black smooth top), and the remaining original appliances, the dishwasher and the built-in microwave, were black. So the whole kitchen has a very cohesive look.
Side note: our kitchen is the original 70's kitchen with fir cabinets and blue-green formica. So with the black and stainless appliances it's very high contrast yet harmonious.

Hmmm. I say that you should go for a white but very modern looking dishwasher, this way your kitchen appliances will match now and in the future once you get a white range.
Having stainless dishwasher and range mixed with a white fridge will make it obvious that the fridge is old and that you were trying to make the kitchen look more expensive than it is which has the opposite effect on buyers.

With kitchens I'm a firm believer in spending the money where it'll have the greatest effect so you can do more for less. For your kitchen it certainly sounds like you should concentrate on the countertops and get classic but not fancy white appliances.
When you redo the cabinets you might want to look into refacing them as opposed to replacing them. Something as small as new doors/fronts (or even new white paint) and new pulls combined with a nice countertop could have the effect you want.
Oh, and another kitchen remodel thought. (not that you asked for more than a color pick!

) I've been told by realtors that with 'tract' homes and condos, custom and personal touches are big sellers. In particular, having unique tile countertops is a great seller. In a past kitchen remodel I had great effect with carefully mixing a small amount of decorative tiles with less expensive standard tiles.


Anyway, in case you didn't want to read this horribly long post.... I pick white!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I like stainless...

 

[monarch64]

I love the look of stainless when DH and I walk into any potential new home (as we are looking)...but just from trying to keep small stainless appliances (like toaster, trash receptacle, microwave) clean in our current home, we have been smitten then turned off by homes with kitchens full of stainless major appliances thus far, if that makes sense. We currently have all white appliances in our kitchen and they are hard enough to keep clean, and we find that stainless apps require a certain amount of care themselves, argh...basically I would rather have white or black apps in the kitchen rather than the trendier stainless ones. As a buyer, it''s frankly a turn-on at the start to see a beautiful new kitchen full of stainless apps but then we kind of go "oh, do we really want to worry about wiping down handprints constantly" rather than a kitchen that''s a little dated but full of white or black apps that is somewhat easier to keep "clean" on a daily basis.

I hope that makes sense...I''m typing this really late at night since I don''t have to work tomorrow...but hoping to give you a sense of what a sort of typical couple who is currently house-hunting is looking for.

 

[steph72276]

I love the look of stainless. Like others have said, it is what a lot of potential buyers look for, so would be extremely helpful for resale value.

 

[Miranda]

I like both, but, I chose white in our home because the cabinets are white and I wanted the white raised panel doors on the fridge. It''s just a thing I''ve always had and this was my chance. I have dark wood floors, giallo santo granite (sandy beige), and a tan subway tile backsplash with pewter metal deco tiles. I really liked the clean solid white look and didn''t want SS breaking it up.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 1/1/2008 12:15:46 PM
Author: Miranda
I like both, but, I chose white in our home because the cabinets are white and I wanted the white raised panel doors on the fridge. It's just a thing I've always had and this was my chance. I have dark wood floors, giallo santo granite (sandy beige), and a tan subway tile backsplash with pewter metal deco tiles. I really liked the clean solid white look and didn't want SS breaking it up.

Miranda, I love love love your kitchen, do you mind if I post a pic so the OP can see how fab white appliances look w/white cabinets??
I have Stainless and somedays I love the look and other days I wonder if it will scream the year 07 in 15 years? I do like the look of both and it will be interesting to know what look was timeless 15 years from now.

 

[Miranda]

Date: 1/1/2008 12:29:30 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 1/1/2008 12:15:46 PM
Author: Miranda
I like both, but, I chose white in our home because the cabinets are white and I wanted the white raised panel doors on the fridge. It''s just a thing I''ve always had and this was my chance. I have dark wood floors, giallo santo granite (sandy beige), and a tan subway tile backsplash with pewter metal deco tiles. I really liked the clean solid white look and didn''t want SS breaking it up.

Miranda, I love love love your kitchen, do you mind if I post a pic so the OP can see how fab white appliances look w/white cabinets??
I have Stainless and somedays I love the look and other days I wonder if it will scream the year 07 in 15 years? I do like the look of both and it will be interesting to know what look was timeless 15 years from now.

No, I don''t mind at all.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 1/1/2008 12:34:15 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 1/1/2008 12:29:30 PM
Author: Skippy123


Miranda, I love love love your kitchen, do you mind if I post a pic so the OP can see how fab white appliances look w/white cabinets??
I have Stainless and somedays I love the look and other days I wonder if it will scream the year 07 in 15 years? I do like the look of both and it will be interesting to know what look was timeless 15 years from now.

No, I don't mind at all.

Here is Miranda's beautiful kitchen, I love her bar stools; I wish they still sold them. Darn, I wanted some! ETA: thanks for the info, I will stop at Cost Plus sometime soon.

Basil now you have a pic of both SS and White, hopefully that will help. hehee

Another

 

[Miranda]

Thanks for posting those Skip! It is a bit warmer now. That pic was taken not long after moving in so we have more accessories and plants now and the computer is gone.

I saw the barstools at my local Cost Plus and thought of you. You might check with a store near you. The do still have them from time to time.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Miranda - your kitchen is beautiful!

 

[Miranda]

Date: 1/1/2008 1:24:32 PM
Author: MC
Miranda - your kitchen is beautiful!

Thanks MC!

It is very functional.

 

[steph72276]

Miranda, I voted stainless, but I really love the look of your kitchen. Very beautiful and so warm and inviting even though it is all white! I like the contrast of the dark wood floors with it, everything just works!