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Oak kitchen appliance color

M V
10 years ago

My husband and I are under contract on a new to us house. The kitchen is stuck In the 80's and has those wonderful oak cabinets. The spindles along the top are especially nice ;). We'll cut those off, but will be out money for any major kitchen renovations as we'll be spending money on some replacement windows and siding. The home is a foreclosure and the bank put in a new, very basic, dishwasher and range. They didn't purchase a refrigerator. I'm torn on what to do with the appliances. My husband says the easiest and most cost effective solution is to buy a black refrigerator and be done with it. We'd have all matching appliances. I really don't want a cheapo (it isn't even self-cleaning) electric stove though (I enjoy cooking) and would prefer selling it new on craigslist. I also always assumed I would choose stainless appliance, if given the chance. I guess I see us as having 3 options.

1) Go my husband's route and just buy a black fridge

2) Sell the stove and buy a stainless gas range, and stainless fridge. Both of which are likely to have some black on them and could tie-in the black dishwasher. At some point I could look into buying a stainless panel for the dishwasher.

3) Keep the dishwasher and stove, and buy a stainless fridge. Hope the appliances they bought are cheap enough that they will die soon!

My eye for design/ability to envision "what could be" is really far worse than I would like. Any opinions on what would actually look better with the oak cabinets? Would stainless further date the space? I've never liked black fridges --- they always seem to just look like huge black boxes to me, but if that would look best, I'm open to it. As for future plans, I think at some point we will paint the trim in the rest of the space. The backsplash will be going at some point. Even further out, when the finish is beyond help and I no longer have toddlers to work around, I think we might consider painting the cabinets. I don't want to count on that though.

Sorry the picture is rough - it's from the listing and I don't have a better one.

If this was your space, and major renovation was out of the question, what appliances do you think best fit now, and leave room for future options?

This post was edited by megs1082 on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 18:03

Comments (9)

  • LCaroline12
    10 years ago

    Hi, I'm new but just thought I'd give my two cents... Personally I don't mind the black, but if it really bothers you, now's your chance to sell them on CL and buy the appliances you really want. Maybe it would be better to sell them while they're new and get more money out of them. Otherwise, this is a great space, and I can see lots of potential here for a beautiful kitchen in the future!

  • debrak2008
    10 years ago

    This thread may be helpful.

    Its about working with oak cabinets.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DAT keeping the golden oak

  • Peke
    10 years ago

    Are there matching spindles on the light fixture?

    I have stainless steel fridge, dishwasher, oven, warming drawer, and microwave drawer. Most of them have black on them. The fridge and freezer looks like black on the top and bottom when really it is the air gaps in the grates.

    I think you can get a SS fridge. Then replace other appliances when you can.

    Lucky you! Your island has lots of room to enlarge if you want.

  • M V
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here's another pic I found.

    Yes, those are matching spindles on the fixture. Someone really had a thing for the spindles. Thanks for the link and thoughts. The more I look at the pictures, the more confused I become as to what would look best. I think one hand, the black might actually look best because it creates some contrast. The countertops, cabinets and floor etc, seem to just blend together, currently. I think what's getting me is I never thought I would "choose" black.

    So, aside from my usual preference for ss, what do you all think would actually look the best? Should I just start another thread without all the info and ask which finish goes best?

  • texasgal47
    10 years ago

    I vote for option #2. There is no natural light in that kitchen area. SS would help to lighten it up whereas black sucks up the light. It should be easy to find used SS appliances on CL for very little additional money, and you can easily sell yours on CL.

  • bellsmom
    10 years ago

    Potentially wonderful kitchen. Congratulations. I agree with Peke: Someday you may want to enlarge the island.

    Another vote for option 2. No question about that if it were mine.

    If I couldn't quite swing a range immediately, I'd still go SS for fridge and plan to replace range later with a SS gas one. I could live with a black range and a SS fridge for a few months or even a year or so if I knew I would get what I wanted eventually.

    I agree you probably will get the biggest $$ for the range if you sell it as new before you you move in, so that is the best choice if you have the $$$ to do it immediately.

    You will soon make the kitchen look wonderful with a few accessories (and a vanishing top rail).

  • pricklypearcactus
    10 years ago

    First of all, congratulations on your new house. The kitchen space looks really fantastic. It has a lovely island and it looks to be open to a living space with a beautiful fireplace. If it were me, I would choose stainless steel range and fridge and either try to sell the dishwasher as well, or wait out it's death before replacing. My oak kitchen (darker, not golden) had bisque appliances and I slowly replaced them with stainless steel. I really like the crisp, cool, contemporary look of stainless with oak. But I also think black or white can be successful. Your kitchen has a lot of warm neutral tones, so I think the stainless would look great, and it sounds like you prefer that as well. Don't be afraid to take your time making your new house fit into your style. It's ok to have one (or more) mismatched appliances while you're saving up or waiting for its demise.

  • annkh_nd
    10 years ago

    I agree with prickly - we bought a SS dishwasher a few years ago, and kept the old white fridge and range until we remodeled the kitchen last summer. It wasn't the end of the world - especially knowing it was temporary.

    I like the look of SS with oak - as long as you can find one that doesn't show every little fingerprint. My DW does - and I hate it. I wish we had gotten black, for the fingerprint/streak issue, but DH doesn't ask for a whole lot so I let him have his way on this one.

  • ineffablespace
    10 years ago

    You could get this stuff for the DW

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fauxsteel