Paneled! I put in paneled appliances when I did our kitchen in 1986, they still looked good in 2013, so when I did a refresh, I stuck with paneled. Hard to beat wood:)

Now you've made me feel guilty about the currently grungy top on my black stove. Even when I give it a good wash, it only stays clean until the next time a) I cook anything or b) the cat walks through the kitchen. Every time I think about it (I try not to), I think it might be nice to have an induction cooktop with a smooth, easy to clean surface.

White. I like white appliances. (Or fun colors) So sad that the induction ranges only come in stainless--at least at the sub 6k price point.

I'm not a huge fan of pink, but if offered, I think I'd take this kitchen in a heartbeat! What happened to all the fun of pastels, anyway? Oh, I remember: They were overtaken by gold and avocado a couple of decades later. That was sad.

debrak2008, my fridge is textured; it's like a magnet! How do you keep yours clean?

I hate the yellowing plastic on my (retired) white fridge and DW. I'd much prefer chrome or other metal handles. Does anybody have a secret method of whitening that plastic up?

Here is a link that might be useful:

We've been slowly replacing our white appliances and are ending up with stainless. And, I have always disliked stainless. Why did I get stainless? For the most part, the higher end features I want are only available in stainless. I'd much prefer white but have chosen function over form. So, I've got a lovely Wolf gas range and a very nice top-of-the-line ASKO dishwasher. Actually I like them because their stainless is top quality and doesn't seem to have the issues that so many people complain about with the low-end stainless.The dishwasher front appears to be almost charcoal and blends in very nicely with my soapstone counters. But, I know when it comes time to replace the fridge, I'll go with white again. My big dilemma will be what to do with the wall oven and microwave because I don't want all-stainless in my kitchen. So, I hope I can find some well-designed models that are a mix of white and stainless.

I actually forget to clean the outside of the fridge. Usually I get reminded to clean it when someone notices that the handles are sticky. The cat is black so any flying fur blends in.

I'm sure the fridge needs a good wipe down right now but honestly you can't see anything unless you look really, really close.

Ok, don't throw me out, but I'm a stainless fan. I just love the look of metal. That said, have you seen Big Chill appliances? Looks like they have both retro and pro lines now and they come in gorgeous colors (including a lot of pastels) and white!

I wonder if the white handles turn yellow from using clorox products on them. I imagine the handles get wiped more often compared to the body. Clorox will yellow plastic and I believe synthetic fabrics.

I like white or bisque with a stainless accents, like the handle. It looks less cheap. I really wish they would warm up the whites. They are very stark and cold which is why I don't care for them and I love white.

I like white appliances also. Hard water and black or stainless is a nightmare. If I find a deal on industrial quality stainless, I would put up with the extra cleaning time, but not for the basic big box variety.

They sell appliance paint. Go ahead and paint your appliances any color you want if it makes you happy. I would sand and prime it first.

My friend loves vintage 50s kitsch. She has a charming small apartment. She found a modern, old fashioned fridge in light pink. She painted the front panel of the dishwasher to match. She has a range top stove and black glass front oven. Her cabinets are white. She tiled the backsplash in an alternating checkerboard of pink and white. Her kitchen is filled with poodle kitsch. It is not my style, but it suits her home. She loves it (and her poodles).

At least her kitchen doesn't scream 2014! Ten years from now, the kitchen gurus will be screaming about replacing the ubiquitous subway tiles and dark cabinets. They get paid on commission, you know. The more a decorator gets you to spend on decoration, the bigger the paycheck. Either find a reputable designer or do your own thing.

I ignore decorating gods and gurus and do my own thing.

Here's one for you, tomatofreak...;)

The home we recently bought had all stainless, but our last home had mostly black. I preferred the black for ease of cleaning. All of the stainless shows fingerprints and water marks more quickly and on some of the appliances, I have to use special cleaners to remove the water spots. Luckily, the fridge is wood paneled!

My message disappeared.

Sent a link to my friend about the pink oven. She will love it!

The problem with options other than white, black, stainless is that different brands won't match each other. I like to be able to replace one appliance and still have a coordinated kitchen.

I have an older Jen Aire stove that I brought with me when I moved here. I am thinking about swapping it with the existing stove. First, I have to replace the glass front broken in the move and install a vent. I don't like cooking on the ceramic induction top and I miss my stove!

I agree with snookums. I just hate the particular white that they seem to use. It doesn't seem to go well with warmer colors. I also experienced some yellowing issues.

I love my SS, both the look and the maintenance, and am not experiencing the things some complain about (or maybe I just don't notice). I have less expensive brands, too. I did make sure that the SS was similar in looks for all the appliances -- I have 3 different brands.

Here's your pastel fridges:

and some countertop appliances to go with it:

Here is a link that might be useful: Smeg Retro Fridges

Also this Formica Skylark Coral aluminum edge countertop WANT

I still have my bisque appliances, which I'll replace as they die. Unfortunately, bisque is being phased out, so my choices are white, black and SS. My cabinets are a light maple, and I like the bisque color with them, although its considered dated. But I think the warmth of the wood just goes better than white or black would. I guess I'll have to go with SS when they die, but I am not looking forward to it. Not that I don't think SS looks great, and goes with any kitchen color, but if cleaning them is anything like my SS sink I am not going to love that. ( water spots, fingerprints, etc) I am one of those who gets what I like, not necesarily what is the trend, so I am sorry to see the bisque appliances go.

White appliances are my favorite, but definitely with something besides plastic handles!

If you like pink, here's another idea. Easy to change, if you decide you want to try another color :) {{gwi:1912572}}From Pink kitchen

Wow! Very pretty, I do love pink but I doubt my husband would have gone along with that. He didn't even want white cabinets, but pink? I don't think so. But I probably could have talked him into white cabinets with pink appliances if I really tried. Maybe the next kitchen!

I have a new white refrigerator (no freezing compartment) and a new white upright freezer - in my garage where I don't have to look at them. I have SS for all the kitchen appliances and had to replace black DW and MW that came with the house. Actually, I do have a black toaster oven, but it is small and works fine, but I would prefer to replace it with a SS Breville. However, since it is not broken, it's not getting replaced. The DW and MW were not broken either, but they were more visually prominent.

I loved the pastel appliances when I was a child in the 1950s, and I remember one stove had a dial that would light up different colors to signify something, but I can't remember what. I especially liked that. Decorating around pastels is difficult, and you may tire of them more quickly than you do of SS. I find red appliances very attractive but am afraid to buy them.

Sinks are a different story. I hate SS sinks and have a white porcelain sink with SS faucet.

lee676, that's very nearly the countertop in the "house that got away"! I loved it. Wonder if anybody makes that anymore? My laminate ct's are so worn and desperately need to be replaced, but unless I can get it in something like that, I'll choose something else. Btw, love the SMEG pastels.

lavender_lass, I love that kitchen! I'd never do pink, but I could see it in baby blue or sunny yellow.

ctycdm, what is that stove? Can't see a name anywhere and it looks current. I am still hoping for a kitchen I can get my vintage O'Keefe and Merritt into, but first I want to have it redone in a color. I've always thought I'd do it in red, but I think red would show up stuff as badly as black. Maybe one of the pastels?

I'm happy I'm not the only one who likes white, however old - or timeless? - it is. I recently replaced the old coil-burner electric bisque stove in the guest apartment. It matched the fridge. When I got the 'new' glasstop up there, I realized it's not white white or bisque, but something in between. I hadn't thought of white being different shades.

This is hard water heaven (or H3]], depending on your point of view). It is impossible to keep up with water spots, a big reason I detest stainless. Even my white Ikea bathroom sink is constantly spotted. :(

tomatofreak, that is a bluestar, available in 190 RAL colors, and I believe they will also custom match a color of your choice...
when I ordered mine, I toyed briefly with the idea of RAL 3011 "brown red" but chickened out, and went with black...;)

This post was edited by ctycdm on Tue, Oct 7, 14 at 20:50

Of all the colors I've had so far, stainless has been the best.

White (my experience): White not only yellows (the handles, anyway - and no, I never bleached them), but it shows every fingerprint, every drip (except water), etc. My white appliances never seemed to look clean unless I had just wiped them all down. (White appliances are like a white car - I hate that our white van always looks dirty - unless I've just driven out of the car wash! Light rain just streaks it, road dust is obvious, salt/sand makes it look grungy, etc.)

Black (again, my experience): Shows everything as well - just like white! (Ditto a dark car!) Our old gray-speckled range was the best - nothing ever showed! I miss it! Our current cooktop is solid black and shows everything - I can't seem to ever get it completely clean *sigh*.

Our stainless steel appliances, with the exception of the KA DW that we recently got rid of (less than 6 years and it died - it's OK, I hated that DW - I'll never buy a KA DW again!) Our GE, Bosch, Vent-A-Hood, and Sharp SS appliances don't show fingerprints that much - and they're easy to clean. Yes, if you have an especially greasy hand or something, you will see it if you look for it, but for the most part, my SS appliances look pretty good all the time - even when it's been a couple of weeks since I last wiped them down (or, *sheepishly* longer!)

Paneled: I used to say why, it's an appliance? But after my experience with the KA DW (streaked just looking at it - and the streaks never came out) - I've come around. If I ever remodel another kitchen, I will panel the DW. I might even consider paneling the refrigerator, but I'm not sure about that one....

Pastel - no thank you! But, I'm not a "pastel" person. (Now that cobalt blue range I saw awhile ago - that I like!)

This post was edited by buehl on Tue, Oct 7, 14 at 20:54

ctycdm, 190 colors?! Omigosh, I don't even want to know how much this stove costs. However, I found I really liked the minty green. ;)

buehl, it's funny, but my choice of car colors are white and silver. You could say silver equates to stainless - and it does, doggone it! Dust, rain splatters, bird poop.... Do you choose stainless based on texture, finish, matte vs shiny? Which one works best?

As for paneled appliances, I just don't like 'em. What do you do when you decide to paint or change out cabinets? To me, they have a heavy look.

The only thing I hate more than white appliances are bisque. Who thought it was a good idea to make something that's brand new look like it has been aged in the sun for 20 years?!?!

Hate, hate, HATE them. I am slowly replacing all the bisque with stainless. I like black but it is too dark against my cabinets and I abhor white appliances. The stainless gives a nice modern touch and I like the reflective surface.

Even though it wouldn't go with my style at all, I would TOTALLY go with vintage/vintage look pastel appliances if I could afford it because I do like the vintage look.

We had a black microwave for years and that thing showed every single speck of dust and fingerprints. It drove me crazy. Meanwhile, we still have an old drop-in stove with a stainless top (and the old fashioned elements -yes, it's almost an antique!) which I absolutely love because it is so easy to keep clean, never nicks or stains. We just unloaded our old white frig (for a SS) and while I don't miss cleaning it, given the choice I would take white appliances over black any day.

That said, when we were looking I saw that Maytag has come out with a white frig that has stainless handles and it was VERY sharp looking.

> that's very nearly the countertop in the "house that got away"! I loved it. Wonder if anybody makes that anymore?

It's a 1950s pattern originally called Skylark, later Boomerang, and it's a stone classic. Both Brooks Stevens and Raymond Loewy had a hand in its design. It was briefly reissued in the '80s, discontinued again, and again reissued in the '90s though 2010, but astonishingly given its popularity, Formica stopped making all but the grey version. Smart investors snapped up the aqua, baby-blue, and pink versions and remaining laminate sheets can sell for upwards of $500 now.

The closest thing out there still being made is probably these from Wilsonart:

The aqua is fairly close to the Formica original from a distance, but the pink really needs the contrasting colors the original had to look right.

AGA also makes their cookers in all sorts of colors

I have hard water too, so the water spots are a big reason I don't really want SS. White would be ok, but I preferred the cream shade of the bisque with my wood, its a warmer look that just seems to go better with my cabinets than the bright crispness of white. I could go with black, as my counters are dark, but to me it is just a bit too dark. Actually the color I think might work would be the slate, but I've read slate isn't selling too well, and that means it could be phased out as well. I agree with you Texas, I would love a vintage kitchen and would get the pastel appliances in colors if it fit the style of my home and budget (unfortunately it doesn't)

I will always love my bisque appliances, they are not as yellow as the original almond! Just replaced them all over the last 8 years with different manufacturers & they look fine. In the future, if they are not smart enough to bring them back, I will have to go with white. Hate SS & black shows everything. My son just had to choose between white & black for the house he bought & he chose black! Time will tell how that goes. His appliances have SS look handles & look very nice, but the white would have also. The new handles are nice, but I still prefer the curves of my crappy plastic. His oven handles just seem to "stick out" to me. Guess everyone likes what they like!

@ snookums2 - Maybe, but I never used clorox. I cleaned them with soap / water and a toothbrush.

Ultraviolet light on the other hand, is known to yellow plastic.

hpny2, slate? I guess I haven't been shopping in the appliance stores. I'll have to give that color a looksee; it sounds pretty and maybe wouldn't show everything like black. Still, I think my next kitchen will have white with chrome/stainless handles. Or pastel if $$$ allow!

lee676, those "cookers" are gorgeous. Btw, are these and the others, like Bluestar, only sold online? The shipping must be horrendous.

I have **got** to get new countertops. How I'd love to find one of those retro designs/colors.

I have a black Jeep, and like Buehl, it only looks good right after a wash (which it rarely gets - it's 18 years old and lives outside).

The most recent vehicles DH and I bought are both Gravel Road Tan - boring as heck, but they don't show dirt!

I saw the slate color in HD. Darker than SS and with a matte finish, which looks like it would not show too many fingerprints. I did notice a while back, some appliance company, can't remember which one, offering a bronze color. This was a dark, metallic bronze/brown color which I loved but has been discontinued due to poor sales. I seem to be drawn to the natural, earth tone browns, creams and warmer colors I guess. The problem with colors other than white, black or SS is that if they get discontinued, and you need to replace one, you have to replace all of them if you want them to match. SS is the safe choice, not likely those will be discontinued any time soon.

Here is the laminate we went with. Unfortunately, all the cool boomerangs are no longer available, except grey. I didn't like the WilsonArt ones at all.

Here is a link that might be useful: fun formica laminate pattern

JennAir was the one that made the oiled bronze finish.

Subzerio also tried one called Carbon or Graphite that was a gunmetal color that didn't really go anywhere.

I'm hoping I'll love my stainless appliances in the new kitchen. I grew up with white appliances and every little stain and smudge showed.

BTW, the best appliances I ever owned for stain camouflage were the harvest-gold gas range and side-by-side fridge in my last co-op apartment. Those babies could be sticky and greasy and un-wiped-down after a week of heavy cooking, but I'd never see a thing. Feel it, sure, but not see it.....

Oh, my; who can forget the gold and avocado phase! The first house I bought here (with ex-hubby) had avocado stove and fridge. No DW there. Even the exterior house color was a deep avocado-ish green. It actually looks good in this photo. However, it does remind me that all these current trends are going to look as dated as this kitchen in a few decades. Ka-ching! Ring another bell for white!

Here is a link that might be useful: '70's Avocado Kitchen

Now THIS is a great color! :-D

Because just one shade of pink isn't enough....

OK all, STOP with the loving the pastels. Speak softly, the appliance people are listening. So you KNOW what they will come out with next to make everything we have dated.

We will have to have the new pastel appliances and then we will have to update cabinets, countertops, flooring, islands, small appliances, cloth napkins, fry pans, bowls that hold bananas, bowls that don't hold bananas, cookie sheets, grammas crystal in the pantry and our soup spoons. You get the idea:)

I still like SS. I have seen the new modern looking white appliances and they look good but I still prefer SS for now. I kept thinking they would come out with ORB appliances after ORB took off but I haven't seen that yet lol.

I was at a new build the other day and apparently "slate" is the new thing out - not black, not stainless, just slate...

I very much dislike stainless steel. As an accent, it can work well, but I always feel like I'm entering some industrial factory when I run into kitchens whose major appliances are covered in stainless steel.

In addition, having had a Cuisinart drip coffee maker for several years now, which is mostly stainless steel (hey, an accent!) it is impossible to get the smudges, fingerprints and whatever else off it. I keep waiting for the thing to die a natural death so I can buy a new one.

I prefer black, white, or certain colors (but for colors other than black or white, as others have noted, matching up the appliances is near impossible).

My current major appliances are white, and my fridge, which is about five years old, has that yellowing plastic handle for no good reason I can determine. It's been yellowing noticeably for at least two or maybe three years. No sunlight really gets into the room, and I've never cleaned the handle with bleach. I use Simple Green or Method on it.

In my upcoming build, I am going with black major appliances. I've had a brand new black microwave for nearly a year now -- it seems to be easy to keep clean, and I plan for it to move with me. The previous one was white, and at age 25 years of service, it had itself gone notably yellow. It did have something of a plastic frame. (I got rid of it partly for that reason, but mostly because I figured after 25 years of service, who knew what it was leaking...)

The main problem with paneling major appliances in my view is the added expense that I'd rather put elsewhere into my build.

(edit due to adding clarity on old microwave...)

This post was edited by Artemis_MA on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 18:12

Avocado green in itself is not a bad color, but in combination with Harvest Gold, it is nauseating. Either of those colors with black would look very different.

It is difficult to go wrong with a monochromatic color scheme, but when you venture away from that, it can be trouble, or at the very least, dated. Some monochromatic color schemes can be garish, however, such as purple or yellow, and brown is just boring.

Being dated is not always bad, and many design trends either recur or become classics, such as Art Deco and MCM. The 70s should never be revived, however - it was ugly then and it's just as ugly now. I started making my own clothes in the 70s because I hated the fashion of that era. Or else I wore vintage clothes from the 50s and early 60s. That's how my career as a fashion designer started.

Washers and dryers come in colors besides SS, black and white, why not kitchen appliances? And paneled appliances are nice, but you can't really panel a stove. I believe it was Jenn Air that put out some bronze appliances a few years back, I would love to have them if I could get them. But, low demand forced them to discontinue that color.

Has anyone tried 3Ms di-noc appliance wrap?

tomatofreak - still chuckling over your 'helicopter with wiper blades' comment. Great visual, I'm picturing you with micro cloths in each hand, hovering and swooping in for the wipe(s). (Cue helicopter sound effects - swoosh, swoosh).

Colors.... I like a simple palette with a pop and especially love it when the pop is a fabulous tile (floor or backsplash). I don't think I'd ever make that pop, an appliance.

I have not tried 3Ms appliance wrap, practigal, but have to say I am intrigued. Thanks for your post. I just watched a few tutorial videos, and my wheels are turning. Uh-oh. ;)

I have white appliances and generally like them. I decided to upgrade on better features on a white appliance than spending extra money on a stainless finish for a more basic model. I saved probably $300 per appliance doing that. That said, I might be tempted to order handles from a parts supplier in a stainless finish in a few years when the discoloration starts to get to me. For $45-$65 per handle, I will have the ease of care of white appliances without the negative of the discolored handles. My house is a construction zone right now so I'm not going to bother just yet. Has anybody tried this before?

Bronze appliances? Close. I had them in the 60s. They where called copper tone. They didn't stay around long:)