Stainless vs. White Appliances (stove, kitchen, cabinets, stainless steel)

[Ohiogirl81]

White all the way. Stainless, to me, looks cold and clinical. The only place I want that stuff is on my cookware.

Plants never go out of style

And neither do white appliances!

[sunsprit]

The residential stainless fad came about because commercial kitchens use a lot of stainless ... and folks thought that the residential stainless appliances were an upgrade to professional quality units.

The main reason for stainless in a commercial kitchen is the cleanability. On the one hand, it's durable for the repeated cleaning to meet health codes, on the other hand, it's necessary that it be cleaned every day or it looks pretty bad.

Additionally, folks find out very quickly that most stainless appliances have a very soft surface which scratches or mars easily. They take a lot of work to keep looking good; although the mild acid cleaners do a great job of minimizing the task. It's just that you must do it frequently to keep the good looks.

If you follow consumer reports testing on appliances (like stoves), you'll see that there's little, if any, functional cooking advantage to a lot of pricey stainless stoves over more basic appliances. Based upon their guidelines, we bought a Hotpoint stove for both our homes at $500 each as they were rated to cook better than units costing several thousand dollars.

The white enamel surfaces are easy to clean and appear to be very durable after 6 years of hard daily useage.

[maggiekate]

i would pick white, less money and easier upkeep. Stainless looks nice, however as that green color everyone did need in the 70's and corian counters white is universal, and goes with everything. i think stainless will soon fade away.

[sandiesue]

Originally Posted by Lisa_from_Debary

I know in high end kitchens you can have the front of things like your dishwasher and fridge covered with a panel that matches the cabinets but I don't think thats an option for all, like certainly not the oven or the microwave.

I have always like the look of stainless but had not been aware of a cleaning issue...I'm glad to read peoples experiences. Has anyone had a problem with scratches on stainless?

We bought stainless steal (the kind that doesn't show fingrtprints)refridgerartor, stove with the glass cooktop and stove hood in 04. Mine are very easy to keep clean, they came with a cleaner that you just wipe on and off and you are done and it doesn't have to be done very often either. I have no scratches on ours. I love ours.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

If you follow consumer reports testing on appliances (like stoves), you'll see that there's little, if any, functional cooking advantage to a lot of pricey stainless stoves over more basic appliances. Based upon their guidelines, we bought a Hotpoint stove for both our homes at $500 each as they were rated to cook better than units costing several thousand dollars.

I think the "professional" stoves can get a lot hotter, and sometimes it's nice to have 6 burners, but I agree that the advantages are minimal.
However, my cooktop is easy-to-maintain black enamel--the only stainless steel part is the very front.

The white enamel surfaces are easy to clean and appear to be very durable after 6 years of hard daily useage.

Yes, I loved my Dacor cooktop--it was white enamel with black burners and I enjoyed it for 9 years before we moved.
I am not sure stainless will fade away; it goes with everything, it's been around for awhile now and I am still seeing it a lot in all the magazines and showrooms etc. Could it become the new white? To me it's doubtful.
But you never know.
Having said all this, if it had been my choice I likely would have gone with white for my appliances.

[seahawksweetie]

I prefer neither. I would have all black applicances, textured so they don't show fingerprints.

White gets too dirty and old looking after awhile and stainless looks cold and gets fingerprints too easily.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

I think the days of stainless being the thing are just about over. The fad is fading. Stainless is a pain to keep up too. Fingerprints every time you even think about touching it!

That is so, so right........I took my fingers to a "stainless" ( in a store) and I made a ton of finger marks. It had bothered me that a home we were in had about a hundred finger prints and hand prints from their kids........
Just because........it is advertized that they leave NO prints, and they sure do.
I have always had white........with white I have not had that issue.
I spray it anyhow to clean the surface. But, you don't see all those finger prints.......ever........and so I love white or bisque ( off white, even better)
PS ............the home with all the fingerprints was a non print finish....that roughed up finish..........tons of prints.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by seahawksweetie

I prefer neither. I would have all black applicances, textured so they don't show fingerprints.

White gets too dirty and old looking after awhile and stainless looks cold and gets fingerprints too easily.

I agree with you. I don't like white either. I like the look of stainless but I wouldn't want it in my home. We have bisque appliances and they are much warmer looking the white. I think the only time white appliances look good in a kitchen is when the cabinets are white.

[Cattknap]

I dislike white appliances - I think they are dated and boring looking (no offense to you with white appliances)...I like black or stainless or paneled appliances.

[southernlady5464]

The house we just bought has all white cabinets (not my personal choice but hey, I'll live) and we had to buy a new fridge so we went with black. Still have the white stove and microwave and we will replace those with black eventually. We could have gone stainless but when we got down to the wire, went black instead. Glad we did. Liz