If we had a wood kitchen we would have chose Oiled Bronze.
I love the look. JennAir in person is Gorgeous.

Hi:
I'm old enough to remember Harvest Gold, Avocado green, and Coppertone appliances to not be attracted to those colors again, but if you love it, that's all that mattters. Here's a previous thread on the same topic:

Here is a link that might be useful: ORB Appliances

Oh yeah, back in the day...when I got married...I received 6 Harvest Gold Crock Pots. I am divorced now and have 4 white Crock Pots...LOL

The ORB seems like it is more Tuscan in style, but the stainless can also look very classic with the right cabinets and counter top. Here are some inspiration pictures.

{{!gwi}}

Can you have cabinetry fronts put on the appliances? I am not a fan of stainless, and the bronze appliances I have seen don't seem to have the 'lifelong' feel that you say this home will be for you.

Stainless...in 3 years oiled bronze will be the avocado green of yesteryear.
Linda C

This is the first I've really heard of anyone interested in the bronze appliances and I've been reading the forums for a couple of years now. My concern would be that everytime a company comes out with an idea that catches on all the competing companies will quickly do what they can to catch up and offer something similar. This never happened with the Bronze. Jenn Aire has had the bronze since at least 2007 and no other companies (that I know of) offer it. That tells me there is something about it that's not working.

Stainless is timeless and I've never seen a kitchen it didn't work beautifully in including Tuscan. I also think that when I see it used with bronze fixtures and hardware, it tends to offer some contrast and balance. Since this is your forever home, I'd go with stainless and forget about the bronze.

Having stainless appliances, I would use a cabinet panel on my appliances to look like the rest of the cabs. Stainless does look nice, but it has a lot of up keep I was not aware of. It shows a lot of finger prints water drip marks etc. that have me constantly wiping them!Not crazy about the darkness of the bronze. Appliances last a long time and I see the bronze dating your kitchen rather fast. If I could do it over, I would do the cabinet panels!

Sorry, I disagree, white is proving it's not timeless by it's drop in popularity. Just based only on what I've read over and over again, stainless is so versatile it's going to be around for a very very long time, while white won't go away completely it's certainly not the first choice by the majority. I know from my own personal experience, I'll never have anything but stainless again. :c)

I was never a HUGE fan of stainless...and having listened to my sisters complain about little fingers and stainless...I am even LESS of a fan. When I finally get to re-do my kitchen I'm planning on sticking with white.

I think stainless is going to say "aughts" like Avocado and HG say "'70's." I'm old enough to remember that HG and Avo were in "the cool/high end kitchens" and boring people had white. Plus...in ten years you will end up replacing many of the appliances regardless.

THAT said...go with your gut and do what you like. You WILL have more choices in appliances with stainless. It looks quite nice in my sister's country french/tuscan-ish kitchen...fingerprints aside!

Plus...in ten years you will end up replacing many of the appliances regardless.

Isn't that the truth! I read somewhere that kitchens are now being remodeled every 10 years. Personally, I'm waiting for the "don't matchy-matchy your appliances" decorating rule to catch on and catch up with what my kitchen looks like. :)

Professional kitchen designers seem to agree that stainless will remain popular. ORB is trendy.

Check out what Paul Anater wrote about Jenn Air's ORB after the big kitchen & design show.

From that blog post:
It seems to be a surface patina applied to stainless steel. That Jenn-Air sells small containers of of Oiled Bronze touch up paint for it tells me it is. It tells me too that it doesn't handle scratches very well.

It's being touted as an "instant classic" and of course, everyone with a dog in the race is repeating that phrase.

I wish there were MORE color choices in appliances besides laundry! Maybe I'm just in the minority. Love the JennAir ORB and the floating glass.

Appliances are going to last maybe 10 years, so if you want the ORB then get what you want. Something else will be popula when it's time to replace.

In person, the ORB is a pretty yucky look. It looks like someone (badly) painted a tinted clearcoat over stainless. It smacked of "shadetree DIY painting" to me, as in, "Hey, lets see if we can paint a refrigerator that there oil rubbed bronze!"

And I wouldn't take a JennAir appliance if you were to give it to me. They've had major issues with poor design and repairs, and since Whirpool acquired the brand 3 years ago, it's been the redheaded stepchild of the Maytag/Whirlpool consolidation. They just ddidn't know what to do with it. Now, they're trying to position Jennair as being above KitchenAid in quality and more "exclusive"---but they're gonna let Sears of all places carry it. Schizoid marketing. And, the thing is, the Jennair branded merchandise comes off the same assembly line as the Maytag or Amana, or even Magic Chef, and underneath that pricy logo, it really isn't any different than one of the Magic Chef's. But, the logo has a premium, and that premium is so not worth it.

I would try to get the dishwasher and the fridge in panels that match your cabinets, and then do the cooktop/oven/stove in stainless. For that old-world Tuscan look, I think the less you emphasize the appliances the better!

I don't HATE the ORB, I just worry that when ONE needs replacing (and the others are still working perfectly) you will have a hard time finding a matching replacement.

There are people who hate stainless appliances, and those who love them. For every poster who says they will be dated in a few years, there are those who point out they were around in the 60s and have been in professional kitchens forever. My kitchen isn't "Tuscan" but would work in that "genre." I have multi-color slate floors, busy/warm granite, all cabinet and door hardware and faucets and lighting fixture are ORB, an antiqued copper farmhouse sink on one side of the kitchen...and this all blends quite well with the stainless appliances and stainless main sink. I think the ORB appliances will date very fast and not be easy to replace if one conks out....but count me among the "stainless is a timeless neutral" camp. ;~)

For a Tuscan look ORB would be fabulous.

Every color or finish on appliances eventually become "dated" and fall out of popularity. Even White was not popular in the '80s being replaced with Almond for those who did not want color, and the new Black was considered high-end and trumpeted as the 'new' classic that everybody would be having in their kitchens because it "went with everything".

A Modern kitchen with ORB will look dated long before a Tuscan kitchen will start to look tired with ORB appliances. ORB and Tuscan just seem to go together but that is not saying you could not pull off a nice Tuscan kitchen using SS either as the above photos suggest.

Thank you everyone for your insight and inspiration! Gosh I'm so undecided about the overall look! I'm nervous about the ORB appliances, but just cannot see the stainless feeling warm mixing with the ORB fixtures and copper sink. And I haven't seen the ORB in person, besides a sample! So maybe I can put the larger appliances doule oven and dishwasher in the darker cabinet pieces and panel the fridge like the cabinets. I'm driving my husband crazy LOL!

I like the oil rubbed bronze. Trendy things go out of fashion because they are overused but I have yet to see a kitchen with this type of appliance color. As far as stainless not being warm, that is true, but I always try to have a mixture of both warm and cold in a space. It makes the space more intersting while providing balance. I have stainless appliances that are not actually stainless so I get no fingerprints and I love it and noone can tell the difference.
So, I say buy what resonates with you. I love the idea of an oil rubbed finish.

I rented homes twice in Tuscany and the appliances were stainless, oven and cooktop and dw, fridge was paneled. Wood, tile and metal tones made the kitchen warm overall; metals are present in your pots and pans, ustensils, etc.. for me it does not spell cold.. I think you are trying to match too much with the orb appliances.

Your kitchen sounds wonderful, keep us posted on the outcome !!

I have the second generation JA ORB suite (bronze handles, not stainless) and absolutely adore it. They are resilient and don't have the fingerprint issues of stainless, even with an active, clumsy bunch. This color may be the next Harvest, Avocado or Coppertone, but I love it!