Glad my comments helped although I wish the SS/white option was available now since I need appliances now. It's always puzzled me that it hasn't been more readily (Viking and American Range ranges come in white/SS but that's about it I think). It's not something new - look to the vintage ranges with their white/chrome mix. Classic finishes and yet it would be right at home in today's kitchens. I'm not sure what you mean by matte silver. Aren't some companies already doing this? I think they call it titanium or platinum or something along that line. Or do you mean a brighter, lighter finish than that? I'd like that. Some of the gray tones I've seen are awfully dull and on the dark side, at least to my eye. Then again, I'm not a fan of black appliances. Interesting to read that some people who have SS wish they had white. I don't think SS is a trend but I do think the huge predominance of SS in the market is a trend. I sure hope to see a swing towards more balanced options for us consumers.

I have a white range, and wouldn't have anything else, because after I cook, no matter how sloppy (e.g. splattering spaghetti sauce), I just wipe and go. A little Formula409 and finished! There have been so many threads on this Forum about how to clean stainless steel ranges; it must be such a challenge if there have been so many questions about it. I remember discussions about how you need a special cleaner, you have to "wipe with the grain", be careful not to scratch the SS, and then there's a finishing step(s) too. Too much for me. Also, I won't be a slave to fingerprints. My other reasons for buying white was the dollar savings (I was on a VERY tight budget), and I felt that white was a more "homey" look than SS, which was a look I was going for. However, the SS finish is more a "professional" look if that is what you want, and I agree that realtors like SS appliances which they can list on the property description. I think a happy medium is to mix the finishes of SS and white. Since a range gets the most dirty the most often, get that in white. The fridge can be stainless since that is a very large visible surface and will please the realtors. My sister got a white DW after having a SS one cause any drips down the front of the DW showed a lot with the SS, but doesn't show at all with white.

We owned a 48” Thermidor for 14 years and regretted it for 12 of those years. We put at least $2,000 into replacement parts over that time. And yes the oven fans were very loud and near the end they would stop working and then my oven would stop working. I spent over two years researching ranges and reading hundreds of reviews. Finally we decided on the 48” RNB. We considered the Platinum but I had the same concerns as M concerning the heat coming from the back of the oven only and the constant fan blowing. Convection isn’t always the best for baked goods, bread, cakes, cookies etc. After reading some reviews on the pros and cons, I decided to go with the RNB. I have no regrets. The ovens are so quiet that I had to check to see if I turned them on. I was so used to hearing a loud fan that at first I thought something was wrong. Took a little getting used to the quiet. I love these ovens! My Christmas cookies all came out perfect; nicely browned outside and moist on the inside. Cheesecake, brownies, bread, and pizza have all baked beautifully. Meats and casseroles bake evenly and on time. My old Thermador has not baked evenly in a very long time and often stopped in the middle of baking. The RNB small oven does a wonderful job. Both ovens heat up quickly. My old small oven was useless. It took nearly an hour to heat up and twice as long to bake. I baked two 9 x 13 dishes at once in my small RNB on Christmas day and they were both finished at the same time. I could never do that in my Thermador. The ovens clean up easily, if you just take a few minutes to wipe up after a spill. I did want the higher burners of the Platinum but the oven made the difference. Also I did not need to move the griddle around. I would have like a grill to but we grill outside whenever we want so that isn’t an issue. The rolled steel griddle is like a restaurant and so much nicer than I expected. You can turn it on and leave it while you prep with no concerns. I went to a restaurant store and purchased a cleaning pad like they use in restaurants. Cleanup is easy. Something else I love is the removable steel trays underneath the burners and griddle. I just stick them in the dishwasher every couple of weeks and the look like new! I would never go back to a Thermador. I hope this helps.

Not a pro here, but I have heard that this is not a uniform finish among manufacturers, so if you want your appliances to match, you will need to buy them all from the same manufacturer. Also, there are some maintenance issues. Apparently the black finish is placed over a stainless steel base and if your surface is scratched, the silver color shows. From an aesthetic point of view, I think your kitchen cabinets are beautiful and black appliances would distract from them. So, I affirm my “vote” for silver stainless steel! But then....I am just one opinion! Good luck!