Is Stainless Still King of the Kitchen?

[polkanut]

Stainless appliances make a home kitchen look too institutional IMO.  I love my stainless steel sink and cookware but that's it for me.  I know some of you don't care for almond/biscuit but I do.  Would love to see avocado make a comeback someday.

 

[xraytech]

In my kitchen the only Stainless Steel in my kitchen is a few pieces of cookware and my Elkay Lustretone sink.
In appliances I like white, as long as there is some chrome trim, I also like copper tone, turquoise, and yellow.

 

[mattl]

Funny - I don't love but don't mind stainless appliances but I would never tolerate a SS sink. Even the high quality - with prices to match - seem tinny and prone to scratches to me. The only sink I will have in my kitchen is cast iron. Keeps water hot for some time, is very solid and comes in a host of colors. They never chip so that is a nonissue, but over time if you are not careful the glazing will wear off. Small downside to a great product.

 

[combo52]

Cast iron sinks

Will actually cool the water down immediately due to their heavy mass and after they are heated will lose heat just as fast or faster than a SS sink. There is usually a thin layer of sound absorbing material on the outside of a SS sink that slightly slows heat loss, I have never seen any insulation on the outside of a CI sink as it is not needed for sound control which is the best part of a CI sink. Garbage disposers are always very quite in a CI sink, but my big grip with CI sinks [ other than those already mentioned ] is that anything glass or ceramic that gets dropped in or even just falls over breaks or chips.

 

[hunter]

thought I was the only one...

I thought I was the only one who didn't in particular like stainless steel in a kitchen.

I'm a big fan of white -- I have a white dishwasher, white stove (with white glass, a Kitchenaid electric smoothtop), and a white frig. My Miele oven DOES have a black glass front with stainless accents but I got it for too good of a price to complain (about 1/3 of retail as it didn't have "Mastercook" functions which I didn't want. A knob switching modes is all I wanted, and the rotisserie).

When I put in my mid century modern cabinets, they'll be white.

My mother can't understand it. She says "Why do you want white? It shows dirt!" I respond, "I WANT to see DIRT in the KITCHEN!"

Sinks? I like enameled cast iron but of course you can't drop pots.

My Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker is stainless but mostly I use Corningware and Le Creuset (Goodwill is a good source of them too). The Le Creuset looks great in its various colors on the stove top. And I like cast iron anyway.

For those who like stainless, go for it. I'm not a fan. Though I HAVE contemplated having a rolling kitchen island with a stainless top, for prepping for canning, mostly. (We do a LOT of jams and canned fruits)

 

[joelippard]

I like my stainless steel sink and it's easily cared for but on the other hand...  I have a Frigidaire Gallery refrigerator that's about 7 years old.  It's stainless with black sides and has never had an issue.  Everyone compliments me on it's beauty but I wish I would have never bought it.  Those damn stainless doors are always getting something on them, either the dog licks it at the bottom or somone touches it, oh how many times I wish I would have bought either solid black or white.

 

[mattl]

I don't know, I usually run hot water in my sink prior to filling it so I don't have an issue with it cooling the water.I can come back an hour or two later and still find the water warm -- but i use very hot water

 

[DirectDriveDave]

I am okay with stainless steel on some things, especially the sink, but I so do not follow the whole EVERYTHING in the kitchen has to be it.

One thing I noticed with white kitchen appliances over the years is that if it is white, it is ALL white, I'm okay with white appliances but not how they currently look. For example our original dishwasher (a GE Potscrubber) and the rerigerator (also a GE) was the white model, however it had some black on it. The control panel for the dishwasher was black and on the refrigerator the handles and the water/ice dispenser area were also black.

It seems those kinds of things aren't around today, though if they are, I'm obviously not looking hard enough.

 

[rp2813]

I don't mind stainless at all

But stainless would be off my list if I had kids. 

 

Our kitchen is fairly small and had nearly BOL appliances left over from my parents.  The '49 Westy stove wasn't viable for partner Dave to use (before he had his stroke and was still the cook in our house) and he not only hated electric, but would have wrecked the original surface coils in a hurry.  The '75 Coldspost SxS fridge was plain and small.  The '90 Maytag dishwasher was ugly and loud, although it did a fine job of cleaning. 

 

Other than DIY tile countertops, reconfiguring one cabinet and removing another (done in 1970), the kitchen layout is original to 1927.  Since a complete remodel was out of the question, we decided to go with the professional look of a "working" kitchen and got everything in stainless.  KA Architect SxS fridge, Electrolux Icon dual fuel range, and, refusing to buy a modern DW, I found the ISE version of a KUDS22 dishwasher and put stainless panels on it.  The kitchen no longer has a granny look to it and is more reflective (so to speak) of a men's household.

 

My parents always bought white appliances.  I would consider white if today's appliances didn't look so ugly in white.  Fridges look like they've been stamped out of a mold, with even the handles matching the finish on the doors.  No matter how TOL you go, white fridges and stoves look like cheap stuff you'd find in a rental.  Until they restore a classy look to white appliances, as in providing some chrome or brushed handles and trim again, I won't buy anything in white. 

 

I also can't stand the smudge-free texture on refrigerators, particularly the white ones.  I'd go with black if I had to choose a color, but never white unless they start to provide a smooth enameled finish again.

 

[danemodsandy]

Stainless Probably Here for Awhile:

I don't like stainless any more than some of you do - in fact, I wrote an article for JetSetModern about its misuse on appliances a few years back. As many people have found, it's murder to keep looking the way it does in the ads, and as some of you have pointed out, all that glitters these days is not really stainless. BUT -

In my opinion, it's going to be with us for quite a while yet, for a very simple reason: It costs more, and it LOOKS like it costs more. When a house is being shown, the presence of stainless appliances makes it clear that the appliances are not cheapies. Most people are extremely poor judges of what they see when they're house-hunting - though most would tell you they're canny shoppers, they're not - and they need cues to convince them that the house is worth what they're thinking about spending.

One white or bisque appliance looks very much like the next, and both have a "cheap" connotation with many buyers - so many low-end appliances are made in these colors, and many people cannot visually distinguish between a builder's-grade bisque dishwasher and a TOL KitchenAid bisque dishwasher (unless, of course, they see them in a store with price tags on them). Stainless breaks it out for the less well-informed, and that's why I think it's here to stay for awhile yet.

This new "White Ice" is not going to catch on, trust me. White is white in most buyers' minds, an entry-level color. Despite what the article says, white iPhone and a white fridge mean two very different things to most people.

P.S.: I'm in total agreement about white-on-white or bisque-on-bisgue trim; it's bland, it's boring and it quickly discolors to a different shade than the rest of the appliance. At the prices of nice appliances nowadays, you'd think that manufacturers could afford to cast a little bit of pot metal and chrome-plate it, but noooooooooooo....

 

[yogitunes]

Everything in my kitchen is Stainless!

OK....my two cents on cleaning stainless steel....and it really does only cost pennies to keep bright....forget all those special cleaners and polishes.....

use a simple cleaner like 409 or Fantastic and wipe down well......

THEN....as simple as it is...BABY OIL...on a cloth, rub it into the stainless all over......

and with another cloth......buff it to a great shine, with no effort, and only takes a few minutes!

learned this while in the hospital, and asked one of the maintenance personnel what professional stuff they used, like in the elevators....and he pulled out a bottle of baby oil with a pump sprayer on top......it's as simple as that!

 

[lordkenmore]

It wouldn't be totally surprising if the "white ice" idea was inspired by Apple. "White ice" sort of describes the white of some of their products.

Certainly, I've seen plenty of design decisions that are--at best--seem suspiciously like Apple. In some cases, one sees outright rip off ideas. It's been that way at least since the first iMac. (Although Microsoft Windows was "borrowing" ideas years before that....) But simply copying the color doesn't work. Apple design is more than a color choice, and applying just that color to some piece of cheap junk does nothing more than make something that looks like a tacky, cheap ripoff. Something that I think many people would notice. I don't have the greatest eye for design, but I sure notice it. Thus, Apple colored appliances aren't likely to be a huge success simply because of the color. Unless Apple starts making appliances. (It may happen...I'd never have expected them to make as much as they do now!)

 

[lordkenmore]

Danemodsandy--it's nice seeing you post comments here again!

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

What is done w/ the White (isn't that the same as a "metallic" finish????) can be done w/ just ANY color--then we'll get back in the race over colors & what's fashionably "in" and what's going "out"!

I am pretty much used to my stainless steel appliance (though am thoroughly peeved that I CAN'T get anything to stick to my refrigerator doors w/ a magnet--and there goes a favorite childhood memory, there! --Now I have to stick my daughter's pictures on there w/ TAPE!!!! --YUK!!!!)...

Nothing "commercial-restaurant" about it, or it clashing w/ my wood cabinets about it at all! I thought of sticking contact paper w/ either avocado or harvest gold & maybe some woodgrained contact paper for the handles, but ditched the idea & think my silver is at least OK! (Now if only you could do something about all those SILVER CARS out there! Yawn!)

Then again, how long before "Wood Ice Boxes" and the "Black Iron Coal or Wood Burning" look come back for fridges & ranges, respectively????

-- Dave

 

[hunter]

They are already there.

You can buy 'retro look' appliances already.

The price tag is...shocking.

 

[firedome]

Brushed bronze finish was mentioned above...

and Jenn-Air did introduce an "oiled Bronze" finish a few years ago, only on very limited high end models... just beautiful, but very expensive. Not sure if they still make it though. Would love to have appliances with that finsh.

 

[ptcruiser51]

It's white for me

going forward. Kitchen Aid did try the bronze thing awhile ago, now that Sears has the exclusive marketing of the brand, that's the place to look. Our showroom at THD has a lot of stainless, just because not "every" stainless looks alike but everyone knows what B&W look like. White is still our best seller. I have found that the least alkaline the product is best when dealing with white-on-white. Diluted dish soap or plain baking soda on a wet rag or sponge does a great job. Getting into ammonia, CL bleach or other spray-on cleaners can set you up for discoloring.

Cleaning SS in the showroom we usually use a Zep product for stainless steel. Yes, it does make the floor slippery; put down newspaper until you're done. The slight oiliness will help repel fingerprints for awhile. BUT, it does attract pet hair (sorry). Wipe-wipe-wipe with paper towels.

I have stainless cooktop and wall oven. Never again. Constant upkeep. I just do with Windex or similar and let the streaks show where they may. I know it's clean. If company's coming, that's when I use the SS polish. So shoot me.

When a customer is leaning towards an all-black kitchen suite, I ask them to just think/consider a SS fridge. Especially if it's a SxS or French-door. Unless it's a B&W kitchen, or very airy/spacious, a giant black fridge tends to be overwhelming. At least a stainless model will brighten things up some. Yes, kids and fingerprints go together; they won't be kids forever.

 

[bajaespuma]

I kinda liked Titanium...where'd it go?

What happened to the Titanium finish that was offered on appliances a couple of years back? I thought it was a great answer to all of the problems inherent with stainless steel: it was magnetic where SS wasn't; it was easier to keep clean; it was a warmer, more "heimisch" finish than Stainless. I think stainless became popular when the lord and lady of the McMansion wanted their fancy friends to get the idea that they were such good cooks that their kitchens had a lot of stainless appliances which people with lots of disposable cash think means it's a professional kitchen.

 

I'll never forget the time I went to do a catering job on one of the Thimble Islands that was owned by a commercial real estate agent and his Mrs.; they spent half a million on a kitchen that was all stainless and granite but neglected to put in a ventilation system (because honey-lamb thought that the big bulky hood was so unattractive). With two identical stainless restaurant stoves in place, whenever somebody came to their house to do any real cooking (other than the occasional soft-boiled egg or pasta with veggies) every smoke detector in the house went off from the smoke generated in the fancy kitchen. Served them right.

 

[spookiness]

I have a mix of black with stainless accents

black: Amana fridge, GE range, Kenmore DW, Braun coffeemaker, microwave
stainless: range hood, tea kettle, magnetic knife holder and other hardware & decor elements.

The cabinets are white, and I'd actually consider a white dishwasher if there was a cost advantage, but these days there doesn't seem to be as much if any difference in cost. When I got the black UltraWash, I had to pay extra for black. A white DW wouldn't be bad in my kitchen because it would actually emphasize the horizontality of the base cabinets, with the fridge and range as bookends.

 

[washerman]

Another "oil" for stainless steel.

When I did sanitation for a meat processesing area, I used mineral oil on the stainless steel smokehouse. Get it grease-free with whatever cleaner and then rub just a bit onto the stainless steel. The steel will gleam. It is also great because the oil blocks anything from drying to the metal. Formula 409 removes it easily and just reapply. (It also has a Federal Meat Inspector's seal of approval)

Maybe wouldn't work at home, but the customers at the service counter noticed right away.