Hi there, I can't post a picture, because my kitchen is not updated yet, but I just wanted to say that I do not think that white appliances will look like you took a shortcut, as long as they're not old and past their prime. We just bought all new appliances and I chose white. To me, it is a classic appliance color. I'm not knocking stainless, it's attractive. But I had it in my last house and I hated it. And now with a little one, I refuse to constantly clean those fingerprints. And I'm really tired of all the HGTV shows saying that you *need* stainless appliances (especially that crazy "my house is worth what?"). I think you can't go wrong with white. Go for it! ;-)

I also am very tired of people saying you need stainless appliances, but lately I have been noticing that the stainless appliances seem to just go along with tthe newer kitchens. I do like the classic white. I had black which was ok but I just do not like dark colors. White is just so easy I do prefer it.

I think it depends on the look and color scheme of your kitchen. If you're doing anything with a contemporary bend, I would stick to stainless.

If you're going with the classic white cab look, I think white appliances are fine.

I learned on this site that it's perfectly acceptable to mix the finish on your appliances. So even if you go with a pro or pro-style range in stainless, you can still choose white for other appliances.

Stainless used to indicate high style and pro kitchen quality, but there are so many look-alikes on the market these days that I think it is losing that cachet.

First and foremost, unless you're remodeling specifically for resale, choose what you like to look at and live with.

Our previous kitchen had light cabinets and we had white appliances as I thought they looked much better than SS, but with our new kitchen we will have a darker medium brown and I think the white would be jarring and I don't like black, so we went SS.

However, if you are looking for something that won't show dirt, etc w/children, white is not necessarily it. I can't tell you how many times I had to clean sticky/greasy, obvious fingerprints, etc. from those white appliances!

Hmmm....maybe there was a practical reason for those Harvest Gold, Avocado Green, and Brown appliances after all!

I agree with everyone above. Our cabinets will be white, and I don't want the frig to stand out visually, so i'm going with a white refrigerator. And a panel-ready DW will blend with the cabinets. We did just buy a SS stove, but I think they'll go fine with each other. I didn't want the focus in our kitchen to be the appliances.

One thing I've learned is that it's the whole picture that makes the room, not the individual parts. Some of the nicest kitchens I've seen have had simple appliances. I'm not a designer, but I think a good color scheme and layout are more important in creating a great kitchen.

Lulubelle, note the focus people are placing on a color that will work best with the whole picture, rather than what is selling best at this moment in time. Appliances are usually placed where they work best, not where a sudden block of white or steel or black would look most acceptable--or least bad. Most appliances are neither visual assets nor trophies, and most often choosing ones that don't leap out visually is best.

Also, paradoxically, the best way to achieve a good update may be avoid a currently popular look--with some items like the plague. Be careful to cast a really cool and analytical eye at what's in most of the displays when you're shopping as many elements are already old or past their time in genuinely trendy markets. Just choosing what has always tended to please you is truly usually the best route.

I am with "Glad". We have selected black appliances for our remodel. I just don't care for the stainless look for 2 reasons. Fingerprints - and - I don't want appliances to be the focal point of our kitchen. I think white appliances are fine as long as they're not old and outdated looking. Just my opinion......

lulubelle, I have white appliances, too, and have been browsing this forum because I am going to be doing some updating in my kitchen (obviously!)

I'm looking forward to new granite countertops and a backsplash. I have, and am happy with white appliances. I probably will replace them in the next few years but have never been crazy about the stainless. It is a fingerprint issue with me. I also hate stinless steel sinks. And since it is MY kitchen, it's MY decision. I also resent the home remodeling shows that insist you need stainless steel appliances to update!

I stuck with white appliances -- here are some photos:

We went with white simply because we like them better, mostly because the SS (and black that comes with it) makes the whole environment overall a darker color. Also, we were trying to give our kitchen a slightly "older" feel, stay away from modern. It's probably not to many people's taste, but we like it! Heck, appliances are probably the easiest thing to change in a kitchen, so if future owners want to, they can get SS. Although we don't have immediate plans for resale anyway.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

(we still have to paint - some dark beige color is what we'll be going for, so I haven't taken updated pictures)

Black and White appliances are classic and perennial. They have never been out-of-style, even when the harvest golds, avocado greens and browns were popular.

Stainless seems trendy, although portions of toasters and other small appliances in the kitchen have always had some stainless, so I doubt they will ever truly be out-of-style.

Go with the look you want and the practicality you seek. I went with black, because I wanted a change from the white I've had for 15 years, and didn't want to go with stainless because I have a traditional kitchen. Also, I heard once SS gets dinged or dented it can't be fixed, and if it discolors or gets stained or yellows, it is forever.

Nothing wrong w/ white. I can't give you a picture since it's a friend's home, but they have a blend: white appliances & cabinets w/ stainless venthood. We have all stainless w/ black fridge ourselves.

Hoffman's pic provides a perfect example where I wouldn't want stainless - w/ the sun coming in there reflection would be far more intense w/ ss.

I must admit, with wood cabinets - as mine are - I sure wish brown was still a popular colour! It would have looked perfect in my kitchen, especially with the mottled-brown tile we used for the backsplash. Would have just blended in to the manner born, without either popping out or receding and overdarkening (as black would).

However, I already had a nearly new white fridge which we wanted to reuse, white appliances were cheaper and easier to find outside retail (ie people selling white to "upgrade" to stainless) and I lucked out on Craigslist so white it is. If brown/bisque/ something that goes with natural maple comes along in the next 10 years I'd probably move to it as I upgrade or have to replace things, but white is jsut fine in there for now, if not as "in".

I hate, hate, hate our "white" appliances. They are impossible to keep clean and, after years of use, just look dingy and godawful. I've tried every cleaner in the book and they just won't come clean. Hubby says we have to keep them, though, until they stop working.

I had stainless before. Mom has had stainless for years. As long as you use the right cleaning materials they're a breeze to clean.

I mixed white and stainless steel. I have a stainless steel hood, but a "must" for me was a white range. The range cleans like a dream; just wipe with Formula409, finished. There have been so many threads on this Forum describing how to clean SS ranges citing multiple steps, wiping "with the grain", first using a cleaner, then a polisher, then a microfiber cloth, fingerprints galore, etc. etc. I also have a white fridge, solely because I didn't want to deal with fingerprints. I won't be a slave to cleaning my appliances, and the white is so easy. Of course, my appliances do not have the "professional" look of SS, but I wasn't going for that anyway. My range has 12,500 btu burners, which is plenty powerful enough for me (I rarely have them on full except to boil water). Also, my budget was very tight, and buying white saved me several hundred dollars. Meanwhile, my SS hood provides a visual break from my white cabinetry and cream backsplash, and picks up on the SS touches in my kitchen, like my SS sink, my tea kettle, my coffee maker. I am really happy with the combination.

White is a classic look, so you should just go ahead and do what makes you happy. With my white cabinets I seriously was going to do more white appliances, but the different shades of white were driving me crazy. As a result, I only have the stove as white (and custom matched, sort of), and the frig and dishwather are SS so they would match no matter what.

And then there's those appliances that don't come in white...:(

Its a personal preference. I think white is fine with white cabinets, and any wood tone. Get what YOU like. I'm going for stainless (have white now)...wanna bet I'll wish I had my white back after cleaning say my first thousand or so of fingerprints?

White (and black) also have the advantage of being magnet-friendly. I grew up with a fridge covered in photos, kids'drawings, and it just feels really homey to me. My parents have a SS cooktop from Jenn-Air that is the biggest pain to clean. For our remodel we're going with white fridge and dw, but a ss range/hood. We'll probably splurge on the range but go with less-expensive dw and fridge.

I might be old fashioned but I like white - had them for 13 years and just replaced most of the old ones to new white ones. Raised 2 kids with them. No problem to keep clean. No fingerprints, which is what keeps me away from SS and black. I liked one person's comments awhile back - SS reminds her of an institution, and she lives in a house, not an institution. I have to agree. I have 30 year old golden oak cabinets in wonderful condition. Not the newest, most "in" kitchen, but I've been around long enough to see trends come and go. Classics really never go out of style. Now if I could just decide on what color/type of new countertops I want . . .

I am keeping our 'new' (less than 3 yrs old) appliances. We have chosen sugar maple cabinets, tropical brown granite and Noce backsplash tiles and are hoping it will look good.

Demolition starts (supposedly?) in 3 weeks. I can't wait to see everything come together.

Now if only we could decide on a sink!!!

I'm glad we kept our light appliances (we have bisque). They brighten up our kitchen without really standing out visually. We have cherry wood and granite.

I replaced the DW in our last kitchen with white. In this house, I went with panelled DWs, but I would have used white if we had not done the cabinet panels. I was reluctant to put a slab of stainless in the white cabinets, adn when we decided to put in the second DW, it had to be white.

We have had All White appliances and loved the look. Currently though we are in the process of upgrading the kitchen to granite with stainless appliances.

Our main reason is that most of the plastic in our older white appliances has yellowed...refrigerator dispenser area, microwave, and dishwasher making them look really old and ugly, even though they are still operational. Oven and microwave are even high end GE Monogram. Interestingly the light switch covers which are as cheap as plastic comes are still white and bright, so it amazes me why these expensive appliances can't get their plastic formula act together??

I must admit though that the new stainless makes the kitchen darker, and as everyone else notes are a nightmare to keep finger prints wiped off. Also, of note is that our new stainless dishwasher and refrigerator fronts are not magnetic (sides of refrigerator are though??). So if you have any favorite magnetic devices you are use to using, you will get surprised.

I agree you should go with whatever goes best with the overall look you are trying to achieve with your remodel, but you can keep your white appliances until you decide to update. Most appliances are standard dimensions, so they should not be a problem. Refrigerator sizes, however, are all over the place, so you might want to leave your opening large enough to accommodate a larger unit, then close up the gaps with trim.

I disagree with all the comments about fingerprints on stainless. There are many brands that do not have that issue, and when I was choosing appliances, I went around the showrooms and purposely tried to smudge the finishes to see how they looked. The Electrolux Icon fridge and Bosh dishwasher I chose resist fingerprints incredibly, and it just takes a simple wipe with a water dampened microfiber cloth to get them looking perfect.

My two rental houses had Kenmore and Amana SS fridges which were a true pain, and are examples of why SS gets a bad name. Wiping constantly with the SS cleaning creams and wipes helped, but was a PITA. I'm not necessarily knocking all Kenmores and Amanas, because the new ones may not have that problem.

I agree with eeagle about the plastic trim on white appliances yellowing. The top of the door on my wall oven has a plastic trim, and it is scorched from the self-clean cycle. What idiot thought that would work?

I wish I could find white appliances with stainless trim. I think that would look really nice. As it stands, I will change to stainless eventually. The white I have is a little too stark in my kitchen.

My current kitchen has creamy white cabinets and white appliances and the two whites don't match and look odd to me. So now that I'm putting in granite I'm changing to stainless steel appliances too.

I have white perimeter cabinets and when we started the remodel got rid of white appliances for SS. However we didn't JUST do it for color-we went from a freestanding range to a slide in...looks much nice...and from a regular fridge to a cabinet depth! I am so happy we made the change-I like the SS but I mostly like the new look we got from the more built in look.

I say go with what you love. We kept our white appliances (Bosch dishwasher & GE Profile range were only 18 months old).

My refrigerator has white plastic handles and they have yellowed. Also the oven touch pad has yellowed and the plastic trip around the door. I am using SS in the remodel. The dishwasher and micro seem okay.

Does anyone have photos of a kitchen that MIXES white and stainless? I'm smitten with what I think is a smaller version of Hoffman's smooth white fridge above, but have already committed to a stainless range (Jenn-Air) and DW. I'll have all-white cabinets (IKEA Adel), and the fridge is on the opposite wall from the range, so my hope is that it will just blend in. Part of my problem is that I hate the black trim on lower-end (i.e. within my budget) stainless fridges. I want ONLY stainless and white. Any thoughts?

Here is a link that might be useful: LG fridge

Don't have any pics. since I'm just starting this process, but I love the look of mixing white and stainless as long as you stay away from the black trimmed stainless (which I also dislike).

I'm planning to do a mix of white and stainless for my appliances...with a similar fridge. I got the side-by-side version 'cause it was more in my (very low) budget, but it's also a smooth white LG with stainless-looking handles. My original plan was to have all of my appliances be white appliances with stainless trim, but it's looking like I might end up with and all-stainless wall oven and DW.

We currently have a stainless and red range, stainless and glass ovens, stainless range hood and sinks, white d/w and white fridge.

And the only reason that I am thinking about replacing the fridge is that I really like the way that the new F&P french door looks.

Here is a pic of our mostly finished kitchen with eclectic appliances

OT...Hollishenry, what are the dimensions of your island?

Rachell G, What is the name of your granite?

Nice kitchens!

Thanks for the feedback, Rahime and Hollishenry. It's nice to have a little validation. And Hollishenry, with a gorgeous range like that, who would look at any other appliance in your kitchen, anyway?! Lovely space.

9.5 feet long by 42" wide. I actually want it to wrap around the wall where it attaches, but SO was adamant about no seams so it ends sort of abrubtly. I am going to have to find some sort of buffet card or shelves to put in between the island/penninsula edge and the shelves to keep it from being so awkward.