A couple thoughts: I looked into Oiled Bronze appliances when we were planning our reno. Jenn-Air makes some and I think either KA or GE do too. I don't know if they hold magnets or not.

Another thought that might make you both happy: how about get the stainless appliances but also plan for a message center somewhere. It can be as simple as a corkboard or magnetic white board hung on an out of the way wall, maybe with hooks for keys. Or you can add organization components for letters, magazines, etc. (pic below from Pottery Barn office colletction.)

When I look at our old kitchen pictures I notice all the stuff we used to hang on the refrigerator. I'm so happy that we can't do that any more!

{{!gwi}}

I did a google search, and it looks like GE makes a CleanSteel finish that looks like stainless but is magnetic. Might want to check that out...

Another, smaller version of what Chicagoans suggested would be to mount a magnet board high on a cabinet, or on the inside of a cabinet door. If it's small it can't get too cluttered, and it'll be out of the way of the wagger.

Some stainless appliances accept magnets, while others don't. You can take a magnet shopping with you to check.

Also, you can use Command tape or that spongy poster adhestive stuff to put a magnet board on a non-magnetic fridge.

Do make sure that that really is your husband's issue with stainless, rather that he doesn't like the look.

Some people hate it. It might be time to compromise, and maybe get a stainless microwave, range and hood, with a panelled fridge and dishwasher, or something like that.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Keep them comiing. I'm really willing to compromise...just unsure of what else I might like. Would love to see pictures of kitchens with other than stainless appliances.

We decided to opt for stainless on the DW and fridge, but we did a powder-coat in Ocean Blue for the range and hood. BlueStar offers 190 colors, and the hood is Modernaire, who also offers powder-coating.

The first picture is a little dark, but with the flash, you can see the color against our own chocolab.

I was against stainless for quite awhile because I hate to do what everyone else does.. lol. I actually ended up liking it best with my other choices though and found some fantastic deals on my oven and fridge. My fridge has stainless front and black sides - which magnets can attach to. For now it is handy, but they will be hidden once the remodel is done.

The satin finishes do look nice too - we almost got one for the fridge, but ended up getting a better price on an almost identical fridge in stainless. Black does look really nice too . many stainless appliances have black on them too, so you could do a combo of both - black fridge so dh can have his magnets, and stainless/black combo stove, micro etc if you like the look.

As already mentioned above maybe you could offer a compromise on a paneled refrigerator and dishwasher and go stainless on the range and range hood and or microwave. I mean this as no disrespect to people with a black refrigerators (itÂs just different tastes) but to me black frigÂs take over the whole kitchen and I can not see past that to see the nice cabinetry or tile or anything else in the room.

I don't have any pics, but when my friend updated her kitchen, she kept her very nice dark cherry cabinets, but put on a black quartz countertop and black appliances. I think it looks good. I like the black/cherry combination and she also feels it is less stark than stainless. She has a cooktop and double wall ovens vs. a range. The vent hood is cabinet paneled. I can't remember what type of floor she put in. The old one was linoleum in good shape,but it had lots of mauve.

Her backsplash is tan travertine with a row of glass and stone mosaics for accent.

If you want to search for some pics, on Spice Up My Kitchen with Lauren Lake on HGTV, she often uses the black appliances with cherry cabinets. There should be some on the show website.

You may want to post your old cabinets and range for sale on CL or through Retrorenovation.com. There is a real interest in the vintage stuff.

Wow...that black/cherry kitchen sounds beautiful.

And I do like a brushed, more matte look to things. I can consider the stainless/black combo. Range will be gas though so smooth cooktop will not happen. And we have no choice but to use an OTR microwave/hood combo since there is no room for it anywhere else.

Thanks for the tip on listing them for sale on CL...but the range is broken (the broiler drawer falls off) but it's worth a shot I guess. The cabinets...blech. Although I did see an ad in a Lowe's magazine where they painted the cabinets in an autobody shop and they looked nice...but I don't even have enough to consider that.

I should say that my kitchen is a 10 x 10 square, with 3 doorways to deal with. Paneled fridge might be nice...would love to panel the dishwasher too. Not sure if either are in the budget though. And since we're going without a KD (using either HD or Lowe's designer) and my husband as installer...I have to think twice before we do anything.

Keep the ideas rolling though...and if there are photo's, I'd love to see them.

I can't help you with black appliances because ours are all stainless with similar colour combinations as yours. I just wanted to say that maybe once your reno is done your husband will love the new look so much he won't want to put stuff all over the fridge. I've never seen my husband clean up so much in the kitchen since we got our new one. He is also a big clutterer and has really cut back on that, too. I actually used to like putting pics on the fridge in my old kitchen but am glad I can't now with the new one.

Here are my black appliances in my unfinished kitchen.