Ordering a full set of Whirlpool right now (great discount due to a son that works there!). They sell both the black and the white appliances with the stainless accents now. They don't do much for me (i like the white better than the black). I am going with their stainless collection.

The fridge in the article kind of looks like a smiley face with one eye, but I think the finish is gorgeous. Nice to see something new.

I doubt these finishes will supplant stainless, but maybe this means that people will be able to choose appliance color based on what looks best in their kitchen rather than what is "expected" or "upscale" enough.

>>... from the HGTV-era onward, the most popular kitchens have combined granite countertops along with stainless steel appliances. Go to any home improvement store and you'll be sure to see rows upon rows of fridges and dishwashers with stainless steel and stainless-style exteriors"Damn them!" screamed the Revival Preacher. "Damn them to hell! The unholy havoc these demon-spawn appliance creatures will cause after the work HGTV has done to standardize the Homes of Amer-ika!!" He muttered, pacing, ranting, "Send me $50 and we'll wipe them from the face. Of. THe. URTH!!!! They will not undermine the Ahmer-ikan kitchens!"

That said, I like 'em. But I usually seem to buck the trend. [LOL]

P.S. Sorry. Couldn't resist the HGTV thing.

Whirlpool + Premium = Oxymoron.

Thank goodness, something actually nice looking.
Diane

They're white ( nice) with a non-plastic handle (nice) but they still have that awful black side panels.

I should start my own appliance company to produce:
1. all-white appliances that
2. have a smooth, non-leathered surface, and that
2. use chrome or brushed chrome handles (instead of white plastic that turns yellow), and
3. have side panels in the same material as the front panel

Why do these not exist (at a Home Depot price-point)?

I like them. I have a white fridge(now in my garage), but the one thing I HATED about it was how awfully dirty and gross the handles got. This solves that issue and looks nice. Wouldn't go in my kitchen, but it looks beautiful in the one shown.

Wonder how that fridge would look with ORB handles instead of stainless?

For everybody with stainless appliances, I'd like to apologize.
I'm sorry I went and bought stainless appliances and caused them to go out of style.

Meh ... I guess if I wanted to buy appliances all from one manufacturer this might be attractive. But I'd rather pick them by what works best for me and my budget.

But that's why I have a Bertazzoni range (in stainless, cheaper than white) and no other Bertazzoni appliances.

LG was making a white, glassy looking fridge years ago but it still had icky handles. I almost wonder why there isn't a market for after-market handles? Seems like a logical thing to offer, and would customize a kitchen really nicely.

Since these have stainless handles, I think you could mix them with stainless appliances.

I think they are pretty. I bet they're easier to keep clean that the sort of textured white fridge I used to have. But I'm not an appliance color snob; I even like those turquoise or pink retro aplliances.

CEFReeman and Dando - LOL!

I like them, though I won't buy them for the kitchen I have in mind.

EngineerChic, I've been thinking the exact same thing. I would LOVE to purchase my choice of handles to go with whatever appliance functionally works for me. Or even if a manufacturer offered a choice of handles (if the finish differences are an issue). I bought the fridge that worked for me, but to this day, I dislike the handles and wish I could put something like what my dishwasher has on it.

JennAir came out with a glossy white fridge with stainless accents (and white side panels) about 5 years ago.

Here is a link that might be useful:

They discontinued those handles on the JA. Now they have white cruddy bow handles and you can't change them out for the rod handles even though JA still offers them. Or that's the word from customer service. I even tried hanging up and calling back in an attempt to get the answer I wanted. But alas, Megan answered again :-) Drat!

"1. all-white appliances that
2. have a smooth, non-leathered surface, and that "

And will be a real PITA to keep clean, especially if you have kids.

No, brickeye! :-) That would be so much **easier** to keep clean than trying to remove dirt out of the little pores in that textured surface!

maybe harvest gold was born out of necessity since all the handles on the white fridges will turn that color eventually....

Back in "the day" didn't the white appliances have stainless handles?? I'm talking the 50's or 60's...

I like stainless, it is a non-color to me. It is "clear" in my eye. Well, hey, my fridge door IS clear, lol. Never have had any issue with cleaning ss, but I will admit, I was in a house with 2 little ones (who can't even really reach the fridge so I don't think we can blame them) and it was the grossest thing I have ever seen or, yes, touched ewww. Well, at least I think it was stainless.

(why are you reading this and not preparing for Julia's 100th birthday dinner that you are supposed to be sharing tonight?)

How about handles/knobs of bakelite (or other durable material) in a choice of colors and styles?

I want to see more colored appliances like red, blue, green or even ORB. Washers and dryers are doing this. Bring some fun into the kitchen!

I just bought SS appliances. I'm sure they'll go out of style right about the time oak comes back in style (which I just painted by oak cabinets)

I think my mom's circa 1960 fridge had a chrome handle, and my aunt and uncle's circa 1950 fridge had stainless. Maybe chrome. It was silver and shiny and I only saw it once a year.

How is white ice different from white? (ignoring the handle material for the moment). I couldn't tell from the picture.

I like it. I clad my panel-ready fridge in copper, but I used stainless handles. I think stainless handles go with nearly anything.

I was wondering the same thing about the handles. I mean, if you 'broke' a handle wouldn't you be able to order one to replace it? Then why couldn't a person order a set of stainless handles and replace the white ones? Yes, you should be able to swap upon order but in lieu of that....

Well, they ain't cheap, for one thing. I wound up finding them on eBay for relatively small money, but from the factory I think they were ~$100/handle!

I like them but think they look "busy". I like the way stainless looks but hate the fingerprints & the fact that it's everywhere. On a side note- my mom has a 45-year old black & white formica custom kitchen that originally had stainless appliances (cooktop, wall oven, dw & 'frige). Surprisingly the kitchen still looks amazing although the original appliance are long gone.

Hasn't Ikea had "white Ice" for a few years?

And if memory serves Whirlpool makes the Ikea Appliances.

Samsung makes a "white pearl" finish that is similar to the Ikea/Whirlpool white finish. The doors are glossy and slick, and so are the handles. The sides are still pebbl-y (sigh).

I just had my new Samsung fridge delivered today, in white pearl, and I admit I hugged it. I hadn't realized the difference in visual open-ness that would result from going from a black full depth fridge to a white counter depth. It's really striking and inspired a small moment of kitchen silliness.

I like the look....but I am still longing for some manufactuer to bring back the "off-white" (bisque) color again....and fast! I am planning my kitchen and the appliance color is driving me crazy!