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The other day I was watching a movie shot in 1973. Home kitchen for an upscale Georgetown Washington DC had several scenes. Appliances? Pro-grade stainless steel...
Believe me, it ain't ever out of style in certain segments!
Fact is the reason that it is the #1 choice of commercial kitchens is becuase NOTHING holds up so well to the FUNCTIONAL reality of a well used kitchen. In fact for a craftsmen home, when function and artistic touches go hand and in hand you'd be foolish not to stick to the tried and true value of professional grade appliances. Of course if you can afford beautifully fully encased fridge / dishwasher those are always a top choice, and you never have to worry about some light-sucking black hulking appliance looking like it was delivered from the wrong era.
I can understand how a kitchen designer gets bored with a whole string of SS appliances and frankly some of the various lower end brands use SS purely for looks and not function so there is nothing wrong with going to a "ice white" or "winter frost" or "tundra teal" or any other TRENDY color to break the monotony, just please don't kid yourself that real pro-grade SS appliances will ever NOT be a key part of many buyers wants / needs / value equation...
While the peak of popularity of black appliances was in the 1990s, they still remain a frequent backup option to stainless steel. Generally, black appliances still tend to help with home values better than white. Our builder, Fulton Homes, doesn't even offer white appliances as an option.
I agree, as a Designer I still love black appliances with black onyx counter tops and dark cherry cabinets. And when someone comes in with zero knowledge not knowing what they want, I suggest just this to them. I'm not so sure I agree about black appliances helping home values these days. A kitchen made of 24K gold nuggets don't help home values these days.
I'd like to see something really UNUSUAL come along in the appliance world. I don't much care for the white ice. It reminds me of Apple computer products, the iPod of refridgerators. It might be OK if they released them in a full line of different colors though. I'd like to see more bright red appliances than just washers and dryers, not that I'd buy them since they wouldn't work with what I want to do with my kitchen.
I have to stick with off white or stainless...I don't care for the whole super-clean lines "modern" thing. Copper or bronze would be better for me, but I can't seem to find that...
Build a house with a proper seperate kitchen and don't concern yourself with how the appliances look from the front room. I have a novel idea; worry about how well the appliances work. 100 years ago people worried about their food spoiling, now they worry about the image their icebox portrays.
I see what you're thinking Tom but doesn't everyone want their house to look nice? Where I start to twist my nose is those refrigerators that have a built-in plasma TV into the door. Now that is a blatant waste of money as well as one of those "what for" scenarios.
The reason you don't see too many colors offered in kitchen appliances is because it potentially boxes people in to a color scheme for the long haul. Your paint colors and accent colors can be MUCH more flexible when you go with some sort of semi-neutral finish for your appliances (white, black, and steel all can be paired with LOTS of different colors and styles). And appliances are expensive and don't get replaced very often (typically only when they break which can easily be 10+ years hopefully) while paint and accessories are relatively cheap.
If someone gets tired of red paint and wants a kitchen with while walls, it takes $30 and an afternoon to repaint a kitchen. If someone gets tired of their red appliance and wants white, it might cost several thousand dollars to replace them all.
I'm not saying I disagree that colored appliances look cool because I think they can look cool. But I don't know if they will ever take off again like they did decades ago because you get stuck or boxed into a color scheme for a long time. Because of this I think many manufacturers would be hesitant to mass manufacture them.
I have SS, I cannot stand my appliances. A real PIA to keep streak free.
Use Stainless Magic. It's available at Home Junkpo and Lowes and good woodworking stores. It's about $5 a can. All the Magic series are awesome products. I been recommending Cabinet Magic for more then 20 years.
You can also use ammonia mixed with water about 50/50.
The other day I was watching a movie shot in 1973. Home kitchen for an upscale Georgetown Washington DC had several scenes. Appliances? Pro-grade stainless steel...
Believe me, it ain't ever out of style in certain segments!
Fact is the reason that it is the #1 choice of commercial kitchens is becuase NOTHING holds up so well to the FUNCTIONAL reality of a well used kitchen. In fact for a craftsmen home, when function and artistic touches go hand and in hand you'd be foolish not to stick to the tried and true value of professional grade appliances. Of course if you can afford beautifully fully encased fridge / dishwasher those are always a top choice, and you never have to worry about some light-sucking black hulking appliance looking like it was delivered from the wrong era.
I can understand how a kitchen designer gets bored with a whole string of SS appliances and frankly some of the various lower end brands use SS purely for looks and not function so there is nothing wrong with going to a "ice white" or "winter frost" or "tundra teal" or any other TRENDY color to break the monotony, just please don't kid yourself that real pro-grade SS appliances will ever NOT be a key part of many buyers wants / needs / value equation...
Thanks - this is sort of what I was thinking but it seems the older I get the less I know my own mind Used to have a job where everything was done by commitee - maybe that's the problem Anyway, I didn't want to get to the appliance store and be talked into something by the sales person We will buy the best we can with our budget. Also, I'm wondering if trends hit the rural Oregon area much later than most other parts of the U.S. - so maybe the SS will last longer out here
No offense, but there is nothing wrong with something being functional AND stylish. I don't think anyone on here is ONLY caring about how it looks. It has to function well period. Of course everyone is concerned with how it works; but that's just a given.
I totally disagree. I think a lot of people care only for how it looks. Not everyone, of course, but I think a lot of professional stainless ranges are used to cook ramen noodles. I think a great many people will sacrifice function for looks and status. You don't need a professional stainless range to cook tuna casserole or grilled cheese.
I have no problem with stainless going by the wayside (although I like the look of stainless) but I detest white appliances. I love neutral earth tones in the kitchen and big white appliances would stick out like a sore thumb - I would never buy them....in fact our current kitchen had 2 year old white appliances when we moved in - we gave them away and bought stainless. However I am not fond of the fingerprint/handprint issues with stainless.
(This picture is off the Jenn-Air and also demonstrates tying in a white-with-stainless accents appliance with stainless steel appliances)
Whenever our fridge dies (hopefully not anytime soon though!) I will certainly consider something like this, because it would go well with our modern style.
That only works because the cabinets are white.
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Used to have a job where everything was done by commitee - maybe that's the problem 
Anyway, I didn't want to get to the appliance store and be talked into something by the sales person 
We will buy the best we can with our budget. Also, I'm wondering if trends hit the rural Oregon area much later than most other parts of the U.S. - so maybe the SS will last longer out here 
