Vinings GA Real Estate

Appliances

Choosing New Home Upgrades

Atlanta, Ga

Stainless steel appliances vs. black appliances vs. white appliances.

The question is one that seems to beg debate each time a person purchases a new home. In the end, it all comes down to preference but currently; stainless steel appliances are an attractive selling feature. Some home buyers worry that it is a trend that will go by the way side and while this could happen the question you have to ask yourself is what trend would that be?

Black and white kitchen appliances have been around for awhile so it is unlikely that they will become more desirable than stainless steel appliances. There is however one trend that could become popular in the near future and that is faux cabinet wood appliances where your appliances feature a door that actually hides your fridge or dishwasher. In some cases, it is simply attached to the front of the appliances so your appliances blend in with your cabinets.

Sometimes this look good and other times, it makes the kitchen look to uniform and dull. More importantly, your will have to replace your appliance down the road and if you wish to retain that uniform look, you may find it hard to find replacement wood paneling pieces. Furthermore, you can’t take your appliances with you if you move; they have now become a fixture of the kitchen.

Stainless steel adds a high end, gourmet look to a kitchen and what they are prone to finger prints, I find that this is not really a problem. You can’t clean the outside with water of course since the water streaks and smudges so you will have to buy a special cleaner that is streak free. But honestly, I clean mine maybe once a month. It helps if your door handles are plastic instead of matching stainless steel so they never show fingerprints from opening the door.

If you are going with stainless steel, make sure to upgrade all of your kitchen appliances; you will regret it later if you only upgrade the fridge but not the stove. Strangely enough, stainless steel appliances in white kitchen do not look that great. They just don’t flow well and I would opt for black appliances if your cabinets are all white.

Black kitchen appliances also look great with light colored maple or blond cabinets. The contrast is striking and equal to stainless steel, sometimes even nicer. Not to mention it saves you a few bucks while maintaining an elegant look for your kitchen.

As you go darker in cabinet color, you will want to stick with the stainless steel appliances to offset the dark colors. Black kitchen appliances start to blend in too much when your cabinets are a mid tone to dark coloration and they help up lighten the room.

White appliances are just plain ugly and look cheap, even in contemporary homes; the plastic look seems to just stand out. White also fades with time especially in a well lit room and in just a few years, your appliances may start to feature a nice “don’t eat the yellow snow” look that will annoy each time you lay eyes on them.

White kitchen appliances and white cabinets are just plain dull and since your kitchen is the heart of your home, you don’t want a lifeless kitchen.