I don't think there's anything wrong with white appliances because white is always going to be a choice in the stores, and it's easy to match if you need a replacement. But I do like the look of stainless steel. If my wall oven and almost new microwave had not been black, I might have gone with stainless (or the satina lookalike) for my new DW and cooktop. I did black to keep things cohesive and my new refrigerator has black sides with SS front.
For the look you want, I think your instinct is steering you right into stainless steel. Make sure you get a finish that is easy to care for without showing lots of prints. No matter what color you choose, if it look dirty or messy, it's not pretty.

Red

If you're going for the Crafstman look, I'd definitely go stainless. It will look nice with the wood floors and dark countertops.

I bought my first set of stainless appliances (have loved bisque in the past, not loved black, never tried white). The look of ss is awesome as it reflects light...but I do find that the finger print issue is a bit annoying. AND, we're not even living at the new house, and I've managed to scratch the handle (maybe my ring??) I never worried about scratching my other fridges...As for the range, it looks a bit mucky as the baby likes to crawl up to it, and look at her reflection. The dishwasher makes be nervous - scraping buttons etc from clothing on it. We'll see.

Personally, I think SS will bring the light and dark elements together perfectly. Stainless is a beautiful look. Whenever I see kitchens with white appliances (unless it's an all white kitchen), it generally looks too stark to me. And SS will help give you the craftman look. I think your combos will look great together.

I went with white appliances. I'm not the best housekeeper in the world, and with two kids and a dog, I was worried about the spots and fingerprints that would always be there on stainless appliances. We have a kind of a country casual vibe in our home (with emphasis on the casual, LOL), and I like the white.

And older pic:

Carrie

Not long ago stainless was only available in pro or pro-style appliances and the cost was substantially higher than other choices. Now that it's a more common choice I think you can get pretty good deals with stainless, or the stainless look. If that's what you've been envisioning, I say go for it.

That said, I believe that white is a timeless finish and I wouldn't mind having a white DW, MW or fridge. I would always want a stainless gas range.

If I was building/remodeling and on a budget I would splurge on the best made cabinets I could afford. My next priority would be my countertops. Those aren't things you'll likely be changing out in the next 5-10 yrs, at least. My range would be next because that would affect how enjoyable cooking meals would be.

These days refrigerators and MW's don't last as long as they used to. They would be the things I'd trade up on when they needed to be replaced and I wasn't looking at an entire remodeling bill.

I rarely use my DW, so I could have easily gone with a less expensive white model that would have blended in with my white base cabinets. If you use yours lots and things like its noise level are important, that's an item where you might want to spend more on a higher end stainless model.

Just some food for thought...One thing I learned from this forum is that you don't have to be matchy-matchy with all your appliances to have a well put together kitchen.

Before you decide, check the threads on the Cleaning forum about care of stainless. What I have read makes me glad I dont have it on a larger piece. I have just a few smaller appliances (coffeemaker, toaster, etc), and I can never get them clean and not streaky. I donÂt consider myself a picky housekeeper at ALL but itÂs enough to be annoying.

My kitchen is white cabs, med/dark wood floors and white countertops. We just got a new range, SS, industrial looking and I love the look of it. When we replace our white fridge it will most likely be SS. However, I will keep my DW in white because it is not an appliance I want to draw attention to and I like the uninterrupted flow within the cabinet run. Hope that helps. :)

I like the look of clean stainless...but can't maintain it worth a darn here. I'd never get stainless again (these came with the house) if I had a choice. If you are at all bothered by fingerprints etc stay away from stainless. Even when I clean it with the various stainless cleaners I've bought I can't get it to look good for long. Plus, the cleaners themselves leave the finish looking oily...then fingers touch...you get the idea.
Judy

I split the difference in this kitchen...got the range and hood in SS and the DW and fridge paneled to match the cabs. After keeping the SS spotless for several months with the last house on the market, I just didn't want to sign up for that again.

If maintenance is a concern, you might look at the fingerprint-free stainless steel finishes. I've had regular SS and now have the Frigidiare Pro series that comes in Easy Care SS. It is smudge and fingerprint free, a big improvement over the regular. Different brands have various names for it, but most are pretty similar. You still might notice greasy spots on the range a little bit more than on white, but that just helps me make sure it's clean! I really like the clean, versatile look of stainless. It might not have been found in a true period arts and crafts kitchen, but if it had been available to them, I think William Morris and others would probably have used it, given their propensity for other metallic finishes ;-)

I've had stainless and I hated it. Not only did it show every little thing, but one of my kids scrubbed it against the grain with a scratchy sponge, and I never got that mark out of it again, though I tried and tried. My ss was a cook top.

You couldn't talk me into ss appliances at gunpoint. I am hoping it won't be long till a multitude of women discover how awful ss is and demand back "almond" appliances.

We have an arts and crafts style kitchen with all SS appliances, including stove and sink and I love it. I clean it (only occasionally) with a damp rag and a little mineral oil. Then buff
dry with a clean cloth. I have always loved Stainless steel. BTW, my sink is a Franke brushed SS. It cleans up beautifully with just soap and water. Again, occasionally
I polish my sink with Noxon, then rinse with soap and water, and it looks as good as the day we installed it 2 1/2 years ago.
Take the link below, scan down the page and there are some kitchen pics.
Joann

I really think it's just a matter of personal preference. I spent my time working in commercial kitchens and will NEVER EVER have stainless appliances in my home; for me it has a cold, contemporary, industrial aesthetic rather than any kind of warm, homey feeling, and the only "timelessness" it has in my book is that it's been in restaurant kitchens for decades and always will be. Its appearance in home kitchens (ordinary homes, not mansions, that is) is a recent development. Other people think SS is just the best thing in the whole wide world and would never consider having anything else, and they have every right to their opinion too. Unfortunately, I had a couple of small countertop appliances simultaneously croak on me recently, and shopping for replacements really STUNK because everything I could find was either black or stainless/chrome - blasted fads!

Personally, I'd use white appliances so that they would blur off into the white cabinetry, rather than have these whonkin' big hunks of silvery metal to interrupt the eye's movement around the room. In a situation like this I would want something much more interesting to be the eye-stoppers - those blown-glass cabinet knobs, beautiful lighting, perhaps something like an art tile backsplash. If you can get a dishwasher that will accept a panel matching the base-cabinet doors, so much the better for making that disappear into the cabinet run. A retractable/slide-out (not downdraft) vent hood is a near-invisible option to consider as an alternative to the usual large, right-at-eye-level range hoods, and many can be trimmed to match the cabinetry.

I ended up selling 5 yrs after doing a kit with SS appliances and did it again in this house. I found one thing less is best in cleaning SS. I tried of few of the SS cleaners and always had finger prints. I finally cleaned it all of with alcohol and just use alcohol and water or water and micro fiber cloth. When we do get smudges around the handle of the fridge I can spot clean. I couldn't spot clean when I used the cleaners.

johnmari.

I love white appliances. They seem to be classic pieces that work for decades. HOWEVER, in todays market there is a lot of plastic that turns yellow (not the same white appliances that used to look good for a long time). I had to change out my white appliances because they just started looking BAD. Real bad. I now have stainless and while I love the look, they are higher maintenance for keeping clean. But I have found products that work well (some do, some don't) and that's not a major issue. HOWEVER, be aware that not all parts of an appliance are really stainless. The top of my Bosch dishwasher, for instance, is a great stainless imitation plastic and it's starting to wear off due to steam/heat and cleaning. Go for the look you want, but buy very carefully. I would not buy white plastic anything, however.

I am not a fan of stainless, mostly for the reason johnmari mentioned - I find it cold and industrial, not warm and welcoming as I want a kitchen to be for me. Personally I don't see it fitting the Craftsman/Arts and Crafts aesthetic. I would rather the appliances blended in to the cabinetry.

One other thought - have you considered the Jenn-Air oiled bronze appliances? With the dark counters, wood floors and adding oiled bronze hardware on the cabinetry (and perhaps a tobacco antiquing), I think you could end up with a really striking kitchen.

I've had all of the major appliance colors from the last 45 years. My current house has stainless steel, which I hate. It's hard to clean and looks cold. White and bisque are my favorites. I've been giggling over the Jenn-Air bronze, which reminds me of the old "coppertone". Like SS and black, coppertone was a pill to keep clean.

I'd use white for the stove and get wood panels for the dishwasher, refrigerator and hood. If I had a small fortune available for the stove, I'd get the "antique" model from Elmira Stove Works. I have no idea how well it works, but it looks cool.

For resale purposes, white appliances are the least desired by prospective buyers. I have seen some beautiful kitchens with white appliances but for the most part, white is my least favorite. I've had black and stainless and I love both - not sure if I would love stainless if I had small children though.

Here is my SS fridge with my craftsman cream cabinets. It's the first time I've had a SS fridge and I look forward to the change.

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WOW!! That's about all I can say, other than THANK YOU EVERYONE for your opinions on this!! If this were "who wants to be a millionaire and I polled the audience, clearly the stainless wins. Indeed, that is what I was leaning to anyhow, but may as well clear up a few things and respond to some of the thoughts here. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to answer my query.
First, I have ss now and yes, the fingerprints are a pain but not so bad I can't deal with it. Found a great cleaner that works easily for me, they are Weiman wipes and do a quick and easy job on my fridge.(I know different things work on different ss.) But I will definitely get the "stainless look" or "platinum" (whatever they call it) version for whichever appliances are available in that. My kids (8 and 10) are smudgers for sure but we are working on that...
I do love how it looks and it actually seems fairly classic and not a fad -- my parents' middle class suburban split level built in 1962 had stainless cooktop, and a 1 1/2 foot landing counter to match, and they added stainless double wall ovens in perhaps the mid 80s (maybe they were modern for their time?? ) Held up through a couple of remodels even, until they moved in 2007. Seriously! The counter did get scratches but it was "character" and didn't look bad in my opinion, for something 45 years old. Hope I don't either (lol)
Next, I am going to think about doing the dw with a panel just to keep it a clean line at the bottom so thanks for that thought, Nellie; however my sink will be drawing some attention (I will post below, it's stainless with brushed nickel -- I think! inlay) so maybe it would be good to keep the dw white (NOT plastic, paneled like cabinetry), I don't know. I am putting a photo of the sink so you can see it. It was a bargain at three times my sink budget (lol) but couldn't resist as it WAS on sale and certainly adds to the arts & crafts motif!
BTW, if I did decide to go with white, resale is not an issue as I am never moving again! And if some horrendous thing were to happen to force another move, losing value because of white appliances would be the least of my concerns! lol Also I am not really a fan of paneled appliances and it is expensive to do that, so white as it comes would be my option -- I think a paneled dw is nice, though on a bottom run of cabinetry.
I think the ss fridge (will be anchor at end of u-shaped run) with ss cooktop/single wall oven below in corner, and then panel the dw will work for me. The hood I am trying not to worry about but will have to decide soon if it's to be ss or cabinetry -- I think my creative builder will come up with something for the hood cabinetry......
Carrie, cliffand joann, brutuses: thanks for your photos -- extra helpful to see actual kitchens and nice to see white can work in carrie's and ss in brutuses and everyone's happy. Cliff and joann, you have some unbelievable stained glass windows -- what a collection! Very fun to look at that, so thanks!
Finally, the ss/no ss line is clearly drawn, it's a love it or hate it situation. I appreciate the passion with which everyone responds! Thanks again to all!

Have you considered colors other than white? We faced a similar choice and ended up with a sandy taupe enamel range (Heartland). The rest of our appliances are bisc (and lower priced). For us, this gave our range a bit of prominence, while letting all the other appliances blend in. (The Legacy model works very well with arts and crafts kitchens.)

FWIW, our Heartland range replaced a 1960s SS range that we had used for nearly 20 years. Our Heartland is a little easier to keep clean than the old SS, but frankly all stoves get dirty maddeningly fast!

Deltabreeze, that is beautiful and I bet way out of my price range, too! I would love to put say, a blue range in there.....not going to happen. I am happy with electrolux 5-burner and the electric oven below. I did look at the Sears Pro colored ranges, they were too expensive so I can only imagine what the Heartland wold be. Pretty to look at though!

susan, that sink is BEAUTIFUL, nobody will even notice the color of the fridge. I would go with stainless.

I don't like the look of white with stainless at all, have seen many kitchens with a cream colored cabinet and stainless that is easier on the eye and creates a warmth that white and stainless do not generate.

i have just replace most of my white appliances with stainless steel, honestly, the stainless steel (with black trim on some) is extremely difficult to keep clean compared to the white..the white handles though were a bugger, only mr clean erasers would work and then it was hard..
with all the grease spots and finger prints on the black and stainless though it is beautiful if kept clean..the brushed aluminum and brushed nickel aren't as difficult to clean as the stainless though

I think white is better with a farmhouse and or country look and stainless with a craftsman and or modern style.

Of course, other colors work well too but for many people it comes down to black, white or stainless appliances.

That sink is fabulous.

I love my all white kit. cabs & appliances, only thing stainless is double sink which I was talked into, it's ok, but dislike stainless appliances, don't want my kit. looking like a restaurant kit.....

Yes, that sink is sooo beautful! It will really set off the SS appliances.
Susie, you'll be happy with the stainless.
Before we built this kitchen we had a new kitchen (we put it in) with white cabs and white appliances... after 20 years we made this kitchen. The other kitchen all white, I liked a lot, This one I love! Judging by the sink you chose, you're going to have one gorgeous kitchen... Joann

Hello everyone again. Just spent the morning visiting some stainless and white appliances. The white is out, I hate the plastic handles on the fridges, and the white gas cooktop and the wall oven especially, it just looks way too modern. It would be good for Florida, light and bright.....great look for the right home but I am in Vermont and think the stainless will be better for what I am tying to do. And I am definitely getting a "platinum" finish for the fridge so that is a huge improvement over the regular ss in terms of keeping clean, and also has more of a matte finish which I love. Now I have to figure out if we want a water-in-the-door option.....never had that so wouldn't miss it, but maybe it would be a nice thing to have. But that is for another forum I think!
Also thanks so much for those of you who commented on the sink, it was definitely one of those "oh my gosh" moments when I saw it. I was in a high end place to look for any potential deals because my kd sent me there. It is a magical place but nothing even close to being in my limited (by comparison anyway) budget. So I asked about stainless farm sinks and they were all outrageously priced, but the guy says, "oh, there is one we've got in back, it's just been sitting here and we could give it to you pretty much at cost." So I said sure may as well look, even though I wasn't expecting anything. And out he came carrying that. Just knew I "had to have it." So it's paid for and wrapped up over there waiting for me to pick it up as soon as my kitchen is ready (May probably). I love things that are different and unique.
I will post again if I have more needs, everyone here is so nice to share your thoughts and it's really fun to see what everyone has to say! And when my cabinet knobs get here (had them made in southern VT which is a couple hours from me by a glassblower, he is shipping them up to me today) I will put them on if I can get a decent photo.
Brutuses, I believe you helped me out once before -- do you have a craft room off your kitchen? I think it was you, anyway, on the building a home forum, and I remember seeing some craftsman style in the background of those photos....love YOUR kitchen too!

Wow, love that sink. It was just waiting for you!

I'm glad you decided on the stainless. I just don't think white would look right with that sink! Plus, I think it's hard to get white cabinets to look good with white appliances. Slight variances in whites can make the appliance have a yellow cast. Especially those white plastic handles.

As far as cleaning stainless, I've found that some of the cleaners they tell you to use to clean stainless make them harder to keep clean than just windex. Some of the "stainless" cleaners leave a greasy residue that attracts dust. I have a Kitchen Aid fridge with stainless panels and they are no problem at all to keep clean. My stove and DW are also stainless and I just wipe them off when I wipe off the counters. Can't wait to see your glass knobs. Please post some pictures as you get things installed. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful.

Thanks Caroleoh -- I know what you mean about the whites not matching. And also the ss cleaner stuff making things work. I found a whole LONG thread on here about ss cleaners and it confirms all that. Seems that once you find something that works you're set, but finding that one thing can be rough....weird how all ss finishes respond differently to different cleaning products, but like I said above, the Weiman's wipes do the trick for my fridge.

We have a white kitchen, when we first built 9 years ago, I didn't want stainless steel, I just didn't like it. But with living with the white for a few years, I thought I'm going to switch over to stainless steel, I've always had my eye on the new Miele Ovens, my husband also sells them, and our Jenn-Air was starting to let us know that it was time to go to, we also got the upgraded Panasonic Microwave, I just love the look of the two of them together, I'm used to the microwave, because we had the same before, but the Miele Oven, takes some time to learn. We still have the white fridge, and its running just great.Heres some before and after pictures of the microwave and oven, and also of our white kitchen.

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Thanks so much for your photos, Lacombe, GREAT to see both the white and ss -- and they both work fine. My personal favorite is the stainless! So thanks for confirming I am making the right choice for me!
And I do think with my sink that stainless will be a better choice than the white.

Hi Susanpn.......I have white cabinets & darker counter tops. The SS is great looking I think & the rage. White is easier to keep clean but love the look of the SS. Good luck with your kitchen - it will be beautiful I am sure!
Here is mine:

Hi susanpn, I forgot to put this picture in.

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Thanks Bonnie and lacombe again, you've sealed the deal as these are the closest to what my overall kitchen will be with regard to white cabs and dark counters. The stainless is the look I prefer, don't really care that it's the "rage" as I've read that white appliances are on the verge of a comeback....gotta pick what you are drawn to, I think, you have to live with it for a long time regardless of what the "in, hip, hot" thing is. I really like how this looks, that is the bottom line. Appreciate the photos always!

I used to think it was a challenge to keep my stnls appliances clean, until I found these little wonders last week (see link). Couldn't be easier, they work like a charm. They leave a nice protective film, and if you buff w/clean cloth after using them, your appliances will look like new. I am a believer, especially @ $3.25 for a pack at Lowes. (I have NO affiliation with Pledge, just a happy consumer.)

Just use microfiber to clean the stainless. You don't need all those fancy products. I learned after spending a fortune, there is nothing like water and microfiber. Throw all the chemicals out the door. Every appliance dealer recommends Pledge at Lowe's for the SS. I think there must be no shortage of people using it, but you can get the same look with microfiber and water. Any oil used for cleaning will give it a shiny look after it is cleaned. Whatever you are using to polish furniture with will work but I personally just like water and microfiber. Just don't use any corrosive like vinegar and no alcohol less you etch the surface.

lacombe- I love your microwave and oven. What brand is it and if you do not mind I would love the dimensions. We have a wall oven/microwave combo that hopefully we will be replacing. Our space is not very large though.