When my friends who have stainless come over, they say they wished they had gotten the black that I have....but when I go to my friends who have stainless, I tell them I wished I had gotten stainless. From my experience, they're about the same in upkeep...but a lot of it has to do with the lighting in your kitchen. Before our remodel, I hated my black appliances because the sun revealed every speck of dirt and grease and dust on them. But now they're in different locations, and I haven't even noticed the dirt on them for 5 years... Same appliances, different lighting and no direct sunlight on them. If you have direct lighting on it, I'd stick to stainless...if not, then black is okay... Just make sure you have microfiber towels because they're great for streakless shine.... By the way, I opted for black cast iron sink...and I should have gone the stainless route... live and learn.

Countertop materials are a surprisingly difficult decision. There are a lot of compromises between form and function: Granite: heat resistant, scratch resistant, stain resistant if you pick a darker and harder variety, otherwise risk of stains. Small risk of chips when using zero-radius edges; can be repaired. Overall, a great and very functional material, but can look dated. Marble: heat resistant, mostly scratch resistant, stains easily. Small risk of chips when using zero-radius edges; can be repaired. Great material for a backsplash, but for countertops you need to be careful about stains. Soapstone: heat resistant, scratches easily, stains easily. If you don't mind the looks of a "living" material, soapstone is gorgeous and highly functional. It'll develop a natural patina that some people enjoy a lot. Quartz: sensitive to heat, scorches and cracks if exposed to high heat, mostly scratch resistant (and can be repaired), very low risk of chips. Many colors. Modern look. If you are careful about not resting hot pots on the counters, and if you order a heat-shielding backguard for your stove, then many people are happy with quartz. On the other hand, if you order a high-BTU stove with an island trim, then you absolutely cannot use quartz. It's virtually guaranteed to get damaged at some point. Stainless Steel: heat resistant, stain resistant. This is another "living" material. It'll develop a natural pattern of scratches, if used as a countertop. If you don't mind that, it's a very nice and easy to use material. Also, it'll show fingerprints unless you polish it after each use (and who does that!). As a backsplash, scratching and fingerprints can be avoided, and in fact stainless steel is a popular heat resistant backsplash material; make sure to use heat resistant material behind the stainless steel though (cement board and metal studs are recommended). The factory-new finish can always be restored with a Scotchbrite pad, but few people would do so regularly; so, get used to the scratches. Copper: in many ways, copper is very similar to stainless steel, but in addition to a natural pattern of scratches, you'll also get natural variations in color. Sintered Porcelain: heat resistant, scratch resistant, stain resistant. Available in many modern finishes. Looks amazing. If it wasn't for a tendency to chip or even crack, this would be the ideal material. Can be used for backsplash, where the risks of mechanical damage are lower. Be aware that the finish is only on the surface, so unlike natural stone any cut edges will have a monochrome color. Also, avoid any tight corners. All corners should have at least a ¼" radius, and edges should be rounded over to reduce the risk of chipping. If you can live with these limitations, you'll have a beautiful material at hand. Porcelain Tile: heat resistant, scratch resistant, but can stain more easily. This is particularly true for grout lines. Tiles are popular for backsplash but don't make the best countertop material. Laminate: Affordable, stain resistant, many popular patterns, looks cheaper than other materials, sensitive to heat, more scratch resistant than most people think, but over the years will show wear and tear. I have never heard of laminate for backsplash; the lack of heat resistance would probably be the biggest issue here. But for countertops it isn't a bad choice, if money is a limiting factor. Modern high-quality laminate can look very nice without breaking the bank. Expect that you'll want to replace it though at some point. But even then, you should still get at least 10 years of use out of it. So, you really need to figure out what is important to you. For us, heat and stain resistance was the most important factor. We use our kitchen heavily and the countertops are sometimes used as actual work surfaces (e.g. when making pasta, bread or cookies). I love natural stone, so granite or soap stone would have worked well. But it wouldn't have matched nicely with the rest of the materials in this space. So, instead, we used stainless steel. Despite the tendency to develop a pattern of scratches and showing fingerprints unless freshly cleaned, I am very happy with our decision. This is a working kitchen after all. For the backsplash, we picked sintered porcelain. This gives us one solid uninterrupted surface. It looks very clean, is heat resistant, and trivial to keep clean. And as a backsplash, there isn't really an issue with chipping. Really a beautiful material and very happy with this decision. Not cheap though. I now know what so many people opt for subway tile instead.

I think you can definitely mix them. However, I wouldn't mix them on the same wall. For example, if your fridge and your range are on one wall in black stainless, you could add a regular stainless DW and microwave in the island. If you're going this route, carry the mixed metal idea through to your faucets, hardware, and lighting, too. Lots of great photos on this site with mixed metal finishes in kitchens. All that said, I wouldn't do this if you're planning to sell the house in a few years. If it's a look you love and you will be in your home for many years to come, go for it.

I should have said although we have a mid-high quality 'stainless' stove and fridge - the finish stains. It easily gets stains (not dints or scratches) that do not come out. Concentrated cleaning only leads to permanent degradation of the finish. "Stainless" sinks and countertops seem to be the exception because they scratch up overtime to develop a butler's patina. I hate any stainless finish on appliances. It is a gross trend that has got out of hand.