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Mixing white appliances w/ stainless steel?

16 years ago

We're considering moving and the house we are looking at has a white kitchen. White cabinets and appliances w/ black granite countertops. The sink is SS, faucet is brushed chrome and cabinet pulls are brushed chrome. I would be purchasing a new refrigerator and wanted to ask if buying a stainless steel refrigerator would look okay w/ the exisiting white appliances? The appliances are original and I could forsee replacing them in the next couple of years which at that time I would want to go w/ SS. Thank you for any suggestions you can offer.

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Comments (3)

cpang74
16 years ago
We bought the house we are in now almost three years ago-and it had white cabinets, white appliances and cream laminate counters. VERY WHITE....we too had to buy a fridge and I couldn't decide if it was okay to buy SS and went with white so it would "match" the others. Now we have replaced the counters and ALL the appliances with SS. I wish I would have just purchased the SS fridge I wanted from the start-I think it is certainly okay to mix them-and if you buy the white knowing you plan to eventually replace the other ones you may regret it-I did immediately. Now my almost 3 year old fridge is in the garage-which is fine...and I do love having it there-but would have saved me $2500 to just get the SS to begin with.
bluekitobsessed
16 years ago
Get the SS if you want it -- it will match some elements in your kitchen (sink, decorative metal). Both white and SS read neutral so I don't think clashing is an issue. If anything I'd worry about too much white in a kitchen.

If you like the look of a panel on the fridge, you could go that route too, in which case the color of the fridge won't matter.
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The other option is to just get over it. :) A kitchen is a workroom. Most people prefer to choose best in class from many different manufacturers to ensure their work room works efficiently. No manufacture makes best in class in each category, so if you choose the best functioning DW, you will probably end up with a different brand range and a different brand fridge anyway. As long as everything IS stainless, it's fine. And, there are plenty of people who even mix stainless and non stainless successfully. Anyone who comes in your home and turns their nose up at coordinating stainless appliances that do not necessarily match needs to be thrown out of your home.
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huh? If you paint your room yellow, then things in the room will look more yellow stainless or otherwise. There's nothing special about stainless finish. It is slightly more reflective but I'd argue the effect will likely be more visible with white finish than stainless. He's not lying but it's like saying if you wear glasses with red lenses the stainless will look more read. That's a big DUH! Certainly if you paint your kitchen red and have red appliances then you won't have this problem but don't think about walking in there with a white shirt or it'll look pink. BTW, if he used the word refraction, then he's full of s**t. Refraction is what happens to light as it passes through a transmissive medium like glass or plastic. What you get off of stanless is reflected light and reflected light doesn't experience chromatic aberration as he's trying to imply.
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This might be a good time to look into getting a panelled DW to match your cupboards. someone a few weeks ago found a MW that was SS with white. Can the trash compactor be panelled also? I have white appliances, but everything on the counter is SS. Toaster oven, coffee makers, faucets, etc. Is your MW going to be built in, over the stove, on the counter...?
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I'm currently in the process of deciding on kitchen appliances. Cake decorating is my serious hobby, but aside from that, I'm an everyday scratch cook for a family of 5. I'm trying to decide between the Bluestar Rangetop with one electric oven (Bluestar, Wolf M Series, or even Kitchenaid) plus the Wolf Steam Convection, a different range top plus the aforementioned ovens or a Bluestar Range (w/ the gas convection) and a Wolf Steam Combi. In considering how I cook, I don't know that the broiler would be a huge difference maker for me. Are you still loving your Bluestar Electric and do you find it bakes quite evenly without rotating? Again, I sometimes bake cookies, but for the most part I use my oven for roasting and baking cakes. I would love to be more proficient with bread for the family, but I'm pretty paleo so it's not a high priority for me. I would love to hear your feedback regarding Bluestar. On another note, we're also looking at a 36" all refrigerator Sub Zero, Perlick undercounter freezer and Kitchenaid dishwasher. Any commentary positive or negative on your other kitchen appliances would be welcome. Thanks!
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mlraff53
16 years ago
I went throught the same thing. I had to replace my stove/mw/dw and since my fairly new fridge was white I bought all white appliances. The fridge was only a few years old! So guess what, the next year my fridge died. I HAD to buy white because everything else was white.
I don't mind, but I would have preffered the ss.
Buy the ss, you'll kick yourself in a few years if you don't.
Also, make sure you get that exra home warranty. They paid for a couple of my appliances because they were so old and faulty.

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