The End of Black?

[whirlcool]

I have been noticing lately that a lot of people are unloading their black appliances. I always looked at those as major dust catchers. It seems most people are replacing them with SS. I thought that SS was also on its last leg too?
What colors seem to be the most popular today besides SS? Is white truly always in style?

 

[mrb627]

Once You Go Black......

I too have been concerned about the impending demise of black appliances. In March, I suffered a dishwasher failure and due to the cost of parts decided to replace. Imagine my shock when I learned through a local big box store that black was now a special order. The acquisition of my machine was a long painful story which I wont go into here.

Not sure what the up and coming color of the week will be. Most people I know with stainless would gladly unload them due to fingerprints.

Maybe that electric green that we are beginning to witness on hybrid vehicles will turn up in our kitchens in the future.

MRB

 

[askomiele]

well over here special ss is now introduced no finger prints are visible and allu finish is now possible and there are prints less visible!!

 

[whirlcool]

Jenn-Aire Started Bronze....

but I haven't seen any further development of that color. We are starting to move forward with the design of our new kitchen, we are seriously thinking of that oatmeal colored granite for the counter tops. But we also think that white would not go very well with any granite. We do like the Bisque color for sinks and such but I think it is NLA.
And we certainly don't want SS.

 

[DADoES]

One of the houses on the builders tour in May had a Jenn-Air bronze wall oven and dishwasher.

 

[jeffg]

Black takes a close second place to stainless steel for the "what the hell were they thinking" award. Just ridiculous IMO, unless one doesn't have any kids, friends, dogs or other sources of constant fingerprints and dirt.

 

[whirlcool]

And don't forget ....

the noseprints dogs can leave behind! Out dishwasher front is a shiny black panel, and we have to clean it daily!

 

[frigilux]

The cooktops of my both my gas & electric stainless steel Frigidaire ranges are black and they show every speck of dust. They have to be dusted constantly or it looks like you're a slob.

I have no children or pets, so my ss appliances aren't too bad in the upkeep department.

Personally, I stick with the classics: white or ss

 

[j2400]

I've had my battles with cleaning appliances. Stoves that are next to impossible to clean, even with the simplest spill. The shiny black front that probably looked so elegant in the show room, but in the real world always looks like something you'd find in a slum, unless you hire a maid to do nothing but polish it 24/7.

I have wondered whether the people who design them actually have any practical, real-world experience with the appliances they design.

As for color choice, white is probably the only safe one. It's there, year in and year out. You can buy a new white dryer to go along with that 1930 something Maytag wringer.

 

[hydralique]

Time to bring back turquoise!

 

[whitekingd]

and P I N K !!!!!!!!!

 

[frigilux]

I was a little surprised they (turquoise, pink, yellow) didn't make a comeback in the early 80's, when so many pastel colors were in vogue in clothing and interior design.

 

[westyslantfront]

I remodeled my kitchen last September and got rid of all the black appliances and started fresh with white. Never have to worry that replacements will not match.

Ross

 

[cycla-fabric]

I wonder why appliance company's don't expand the color choices that they have for the front loading washers/dryers to there other lines of appliances. They have alpine green, ruby, etc, why are they holding back, its time to expand the color lineup to the other appliances they make.

 

[paulg]

In defense of black

I have that EXACT Jenn-Air double oven... in BLACK GLASS. In fact all my majors in my 3yr old kitchen are black (Kitchenaid, Jenn-Air and Wolf... OH MY!)
... Well, with two adults, no rug rats and a dog and cat, these fine appliances look like the day they were made and the kitchen still looks pretty slick. Actually they don't show fingerprints too badly (yes, we DO touch our appliances). The Wolf cooktop does show the dust. BAH! Who cares! That cooktop is FAAAAABULOUS and worth every penny.
In contrast, my downstairs stuff is all white.
My vote for "New Appliance Color for 2009" will be "Prism-tape"! Yeah, that's it. You'll be begging for black after I get done with next year's appliance colors tee hee.

 

[appnut]

Well, with my new fridge I got last April & the new dishwasher last May (2007), I now have all matching appliances--black--and I couldn't be happier. All very intense and masucline as far as I'm concerned. I hope it stays around for quiite a lot longer too!!

 

[mistereric]

always behind the curve...

I just installed black appliances in my (newly) shockingly white kitchen. I love the contrast, and have no kids or dogs, but plenty of dust- but dust comes off.

Next step will be black or black/blueish solid surface counter tops, and some black/white/grey tiles (like 1"x) on the backsplash. I also have black and white checkerboard tiles for the floor.

Before:

 

[mistereric]

and then the So Far shot. Not pictured are the brushed chrome cabinet knobs. Waiting to do the floor and the counter until after some plumbing work.

Its not the best re-do, but its inexpensive, and its gets me started with a clean slate. Next thing to do is get the utility room door moved, so I can extend the cabinet and install my dishwasher.

 

[sudsmaster]

And I still like stainless steel - in moderation. I happen to think that a bead blasted stainless steel is perhaps the best for a gas cooktop. You can scrub it and scour it and it won't wear through the finish - can't say the same for most other finishes, including porcelain enamel. It's a functional look. I don't worry too much about keeping my stainless appliances looking spotless. I'm happy enough that they are clean.

I wouldn't want stainless for a counter top. Too easy to dent/scratch. And once I worked in a new lab in a VA Hospital. All stainless steel benchtops. Only one problem. Whenever I ran a piece of electric benchtop lab equipment, I'd get a nasty 110 volt shock through the benchtop. Turned out the electricians had done something rather stupid (they probably "grounded" the neutral wire to the benchtop). What was kind of odd is that the electrician didn't belive me at first. Claimed it was static electricity. Aversion therapy, I still don't like stainless countertops!

 

[toggleswitch2]

Congrats on your new home!

~Next thing to do is get the utility room door moved, so I can extend the cabinet and install my dishwasher.

It might be less costly/quicker/easier to get new base cabinets. The sink cabinet is excessviely large.
Of course, if you want to play carpenter, one can modify what is already there. Are you good with wood?

 

[cvillewasherbo]

appliance color costs

Long long time ago, the white appliances in the Sears catalog were $10.00 cheaper than the coppertone, avacado, and harvest gold.

Recently, in the last 15 years, the black ones were cheaper than the white. I thougth that was great, as at that time, I wanted to buy black or SS.

So very far away from buying new appliances now, (I live with my parents) who have a black GE Wall oven/microwave, a Jenn-Air two burner glass top with grill, or you can put in an almond coil burner insert for extra burners, and a white Maytag fridge with ice maker. The fridge is actually pretty nice, and at the time, 12 years ago, they spent quite a bit on it, didn't want a side/bi side, so spent the extra on the top freezer fridge.

They still have the old GE 640 Potscrubber that came with the new house (19 years ago), it's had a motor/pump replacement at 7 years, and then a new spring for the door last year. I'd love for them to replace the whole thing, but it would take an act of GOD, like lightening to hit a snapping turtle for them to do that.

Th DW does a great job, however, but my father rinses stuff, but not always. He's an Engineer and take great pride about the bob loads he manages to fit in all of the time, to the amazement of my Mom, who always says, "They won't be clean, and I'll have to deal with the aftermath!" The dishes are always clean and my Dad always wins. And he says, HA, you're wrong again! When will you stop this nonsense? They're both 81. I'm 51 and live with them.

Have you noticed that I might be lonely???

Courtney in Waynesboro VA

 

[ptcruiser51]

Here at Home Depot

We carry only GE, Maytag and Lucky Goldstar (LG) appliances. Black is still available in almost everything, LG for some reason only provides smooth-finish black and white. Bisque is becoming harder to find - usually only a couple models from each mfr. Mostly for the replacement market. Jenn-Air's bronze is still not available to us. White is about even with stainless in popularity. GE has a painted finish called "Clean Steel" which mimics stainless without the fingerprint problem. Maytag's is called "Ultra Finish". LG has "Titanium". GE has "exclusive to THD" "Graphite Metallic" which is exactly the same as 1950's Frigidaire Charcoal. It hasn't been too popular, I think it's going to go away. Unless customers are getting black to go in a kitchen with white or light-colored thermofoil cabinets, I usually try to steer them towards at least a SxS in stainless. Big boxes in black are just too "much" sometimes, especially in small or dark kitchens. They usually come back and tell me they are happy with my recommendation. I personally have a stainless gas cooktop - NEVER AGAIN! Constant cleaning attention.

For those with fingerprint/splatter problems on stainless, THD carries Zep Stainless Cleaner. We use it in the showroom. Very easy and thorough, just remember to put down newspaper or similar on the floor. It has a little mineral oil in it which may pose a skid problem on linoleum/ceramic.

http://

 

[gansky1]

I have a stainless refrigerator, black dishwasher and PANK range. I painted the panels on the KDS-18 in hammertone black and really like it. Ben sent me stainless panels for the dishwasher which I will clean up and install very soon. I haven't had all black appliances, I wish there was a little bit of chrome on them to give them a little sparkle, but I like the all-black look better than all white. All finishes are dusty, show fingerprints and generally difficult to keep new looking - especially when they are used regularly.

 

[sudsmaster]

Once you go black...

...your appliances may never go out of whack...

LOL

 

[sudsmaster]

I understand that bronze is the latest kitchen/interior fad,

When I bought this place it was all done in quasi medieval kitchy kind of somber dark tones, with tarnished brass (bronze I guess), greyish white paint (awful), heavy flocked wall paper (yeech), and ornate filigree cast tarnished brass cabinet and drawer pulls (that tended to catch one's fingers if you weren't careful). All that remains in the kitchen of that motif are the cabinet hinges, which being a dark bronze sort of blend in with the stained wood and aren't that objectionable. And the range hood over the cooktop peninsula, in real Harvest Gold with bronze accents. All the knobs I changed initially to bright brass (which I still sort of like) but after people made fun of it for being too garish and after I changed the fridge and wall oven over to stainless, which clashed with bright brass, I replaced them all with brushed nickel. But I guess I'm a little amused that a 70's style metal finish - bronze - is making a comeback. What's next? Avocado refrigerators?

Anyway, I still like the stainless/chrome/brushed nickel/black/stained wood look.

 

[neptunebob]

Why not these colors for kitchen appliances?

Kind of like the hot green and blue some are!

http://www.hardrockpark.com/britishinvasion/nightsinwhitesatin.cfm

 

[rp2813]

We're looking at counter-depth refrigerators. It seems all that's available is stainless, stainless look, or white. I guess anything else is special order. No black fridges, except on the sides of most stainless units, but some now have a grey stainless tone for the sides, I've noticed, such as the Kenmore Pro series.

I think Charlie's post above is correct. A big black box can be too imposing in some kitchens. But I also agree with Bob, that black is very masculine. In the right kitchen, I'd have all black. We had more black than stainless in a fairly small kitchen and it looked fine. But I think stainless will be more appropriate for the kitchen at the new place. White would be OK too, but I really hate the vacuformed look of modern white fridges.

Did I just date myself or what?

 

[mrb627]

White to Black and Never go Back

I changed all my white applinces to black. The reason? The white gas stove was impossible to keep clean. I HATED it! Enough to make a $3500.00 investment to get rid of it.

Now if I could just get rid of the white cabinets. YUK

 

[appnut]

Yeah, my big black bottom-mount Kenore Elite 20+ cu. ft. is/was imposing and over powering in my small kitchen. But I was so excited, for the first time in my life, all my kitchen appliances matched in my own home!! I've gotten used to the imposing sttance