Is white out of date?

[earthling177]

My impression is that the ideal kitchen is one whose color scheme will allow for *any* single appliance to be replaced and still look good. Because, really, I don't want to have to replace all of them at once because one of them dies/died.

And the worst part is that in the past 20 years the market seems to pick only *one* color and make it dominant -- it has cycled already between white, black and stainless steel. What I mean by that is that some brands will offer only *one* choice of color for the top-of-the-line -- currently it has been stainless, for example. But nothing stops them in a couple of years, for example, to switch to black stainless, or black, or white or anything else.

So, as soon as I am able to remodel my kitchen, it will be something that can support any color appliances. I have already been working towards that: my current dishwasher and fridge are white, the range is sold as "stainless" but the truth is that it's black and stainless, and the microwave is stainless too. And when I remodel the kitchen I will be mostly replacing the cabinets (hopefully changing to a better layout too) and keeping whatever is working.

 

[moparwash]

Serial Mom got it right!...though there is some White that doesnt go out of style!

 

[twintubdexter]

Jerry...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Great photos, but without the gloves and gown something's missing. We'll wait while you change.</span>

 

[arbilab]

Black is the new white and t-shirts are the new gowns.  Hey!  I'm FORMAL!

 

[estesguy]

yuk, yellowing plastic...

I once had a 6 cf GE fridge I kept at work that was white, and then picked up another that was black. Sold the white one while it still looked good, as I knew the handle that went across the top would eventually turn yellow. The black still looks great today.

A small clip from a Ref article on the problem:

Your initial question was "What makes ABS plastic turn yellow." I should point out that the first few words of the second link read "Manufacturers add bromine to ABS plastic to act as flame retardant. Over time, those chemicals react to the plastic's basic polymers and turn yellow." Ergo, there is probably more to the yellowing of ABS plastic in particular than just photodegradation.

I might add I've had no luck using hydrogen peroxide to reverse this damage

 

[dartman]

Our house came with cheap Kenmore SS stove and dishwasher, don't care but was nice to have brand new stuff for once. We brought our white big Amana top and bottom fridge and white Whirlpool/Kenmore miss natched white washer and dryer. I have since replaced the laundry pair with a 2013 Kenmore 28102 tl washer and the next year Huge white dryer. I want my stuff to work well and be serviceable, I don't care if it matches. The dryer has been great and dries quickly and saves power, the washer still works fine but already needs bearings but I have all the parts to rebuild it when I'm ready. The fridge has worked perfectly for probably 20 years, and the appliances with the house have been fine as well but may upgrade the dishwasher eventually to get better cleaning and much quieter running, stove seems ok so far and is much nicer than the bol whirlpool we had at our rental. Been mostly trying to upgrade things to save utilities costs and do more in one shot.

 

[iheartmaytag]

White IS Timeless

My mother was told years ago to buy white when you can as it will not outdate your kitchen.

 

If you go into a house and it has pink appliances, you immediately think 50s early 60s. 

Coppertone is usually a kitchen don't in late 60s

Avocado, and Harvest gold will tell you the kitchen was done in the 70s.

Bisque, or Almond 80s

Black 90s

Stainless Steel 2000s

Starting to see white with stainless accents.  Whirlpool's "White Frost"

 

When I replaced my dishwasher and stove a few years back, I was tempted to go stainless, but the sales person pointed out that the different manufacturers stainless won't match one another.  The Kitchenaid dishwasher was much darker than the GE stove.

 

Now I am seeing Black Stainless advertised. 

 

I'm thinking, couldn't they bring back the Red Poppy?

 

[deltablu]

It's a moving target

Right now, people that come in the door shopping for their own houses are buying the newer alternative colors such as black stainless and slate. Interestingly, the only homes we are installing stainless steel in right now, are the ones getting ready to be sold. Realtors are still telling people to fill their kitchens with stainless to make them look good on walk-throughs and it seems to work. There's still this idea out in the ether that a stainless steel appliance is somehow an indicator of better quality.

Black and white full kitchens are mostly relegated to the cheap spec homes right now. With very few exceptions, textured doors are gone, and the polished finish makes black doors even harder to keep clean than stainless.

Bisque/Biscuit is virtually dead. GE and Whirlpool still have a few pieces left but with no large fridges available, especially French doors, most people are immediately walking away.

 

[joseph]

Removing yellowing from white plastic

I want to share what I came across for bleaching plastic that works for me, it's a hair creme called Salon Care 40 that I got from Sally Beauty. I'm sure you don't have to use their brand, but that's what was recommended on the video. The lady at the store said a lot of hunting guys buy it to whiten their deer antlers or something along that line. It worked on my bathroom fan grilles, a doorbell cover, a nicotine stained white leather handle from a vintage tv, and just this afternoon I tested it on my yellowed vacuum cleaner cover. I just did one area to show how dramatic the difference is. Apply the creme, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the sun for several hours and it comes out looking great without removing the printed parts. Hope this helps!

 

[spinmon]

When we spec'd our new house 3/2016,it was mostly standard to keep costs lower. I gotta' tell you,our white appliances and lighter wood cabinets are easy to keep clean and brighten the kitchen. They look good to us.

I don't get the fascination with DARK wood,smudgey SS,COLD stone countertops and cold/'shatter my Corell' ceramic floors. We have a vinyl kitchen floor that's soft. Nice to walk/kneel on and seldom breaks a dropped item. It CAN dent,but so far OK.

Of course our 2012 SQ's be white.

Sorry for old man rambling,just happy with bright,comfy home.

 

[vacerator]

Elder people

seem to care less about high end finishes. My in laws have their rather large, 2,200 sq. ft. condo listed currently for sale. They built in in 1998 with standard amenities. Vinyl kitchen floor, no island, Formica counters. They do have hardwood floors in the entry foyer, main hall. All else is carpet. Bath's are ceramic, appliances white.
Dad added a ceramic tile kitchen back splash.
They are having difficulty selling it. They've reduced the price, and still buyers want new, updated, granite, tile flooring, or woods.
Even though most of what is in there is still made today, it's standard builders grade.

 

[petek]

I prefer white as well. Still living with the bisque colored stove hood, it'll be replaced some day. The worst for me would be black.. My sister had all black appliances in her kitchen and it looked horrid....particular the fridge, this big black box uglified the whole open concept livingroom kitchen area..Finally praise the lord she redid her kitchen and went with SS,, which although not my favorite either,,it's better than black , or bisque or any of those other trendy colors.. Her kitchen looks great now with that big ugly thing gone.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I love white

But the yellowing (I know exactly what you mean). But I don't think it's dirt that causes it. I think it's the sun. My 2004 side x side fridge died in March. The trim around the water dispenser had yellowed.. It got the most light from the sun shining through the kitchen door. The dishwasher, oven, microwave, (all white) haven't yellowed at all, because the suns rays don't hit them like they do the fridge. This new sxs fridge doesn't look like it will yellow based on the texture, but I could be wrong.

 

[countryguy]

My kitchen appliances are all black and I love them. I've had them for almost 15 years and they still look brand new. Very easy to keep clean and don't show all the smudge marks that stainless shows.

Gary

 

[xraytech]

My kitchen is a mix of colors.
My electric range is pastel yellow, since I need a 40” model I have to take what I find
I bought a new GE Artistry fridge in 2014, it is white. The sides are textured, the doors are smooth and handles are brushed stainless.
My Miele dishwasher is stainless steel, I bought a floor model and felt this would blend in more than the black one they had.

If I were to get new appliances I’d go for Slate from General Electric.
When it was first offered I talked a co worker into them instead of stainless, after 5 years of them they plan purchasing Slate again for their new home. Mom is also slowly changing her kitchen to Slate.

 

[iowabear]

Agree with petek on the black refrigerator.  My sister did this as well, at that time she had a smallish ranch house like mine and the refrigerator was open on one side.

 

It just dominated the space.  Maybe if it had been enclosed on both sides with cabinets, or if it had been a bigger space overall, but as it was it was just too much!

 

[ea56]

We tried all Black appliances in the kitchen 18 years ago with a Black Amana 18 cf bottom freezer refrigerator, Black flat top, slide in Maytag stove and a SS Maytag DW, so not really all Black. But that fridge and stove made the kitchen seem dark and closed in. And the Amana fridge was the worst I’ve ever owned or used, bar none. Either the milk spoiled in a few days or all the produce froze. And it was impossible to level so the doors would swing closed properly. The Maytag stove was toast in about two years, the electronic board fried from using the self cleaning oven. The Maytag DW lasted for about 11 years, but the racks were crap,and began to rust through after about 18 mo.

We have all BOL White appliances,not because we couldn’t afford TOL, but because they perfectly meet our needs, I prefer simplicity and have never had positive outcomes by spending top dollar. And the kitchen is light, bright and cheery with the all White appliances, it seems like its bigger because of the reflected light.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 7/12/2018-22:42]

 

[iowabear]

BOL White appliances

That reminds me of when we had to replace our cooktop.  My ex, who did 90% of the cooking, wanted a basic coil cooktop because that's what he grew up with.  We decided on a white BOL Frigidaire coil model.

 

The salesman at Sears argued with us for a good five minutes about how terrible it was.  "Nobody buys coils anymore, they are poor performing, hard to clean, bad for resale" and on and on!

 

Finally I told him to write it up and order it or I'd just order on the Internet myself, LOL.

 

16 years later and Frigidaire is still selling them (picture below), so somebody must still be buying them.  It has worked perfectly and it easy to clean.  Not much to go wrong!

 

 

 

[askolover]

When I bought my house 20 years ago we redid the kitchen and went with all white....it all yellowed.  I gave the microwave to my MIL and bought a new black one.  My SxS fridge handles yellowed...MIL bought it and I bought a new black one like it.  Trash compactor was white...control panel turned yellow...found a practically new black Kitchenaid one on CL for $50 and gave the white one to Goodwill.  My new self-clean gas range is black.  My Maytag dishwasher was already black and my "new in box" KUDI23 is black.  All my cabinets are white. It's a good contrast mix in there.  I know it's the UV light that turns things yellow because my fridge and microwave don't get sunlight but the fluorescent kitchen light shines right on them.  My mother's white SxS fridge has yellow handles now too from the same kind of light.  She wishes she had bought a black fridge like mine now.  As long as I can get black, I will.  I don't really care for stainless.

 

[ozzie908]

@askolover

How come your comment is blacked out ?