Stainless steel or black?

[peggyfromwastate]

We are updating our kitchen, and I can't decide. I think stainless would look nicer, but I'm scared of the horror stories I'm reading about upkeep, stains, fingerprints, etc. The other option is black.

We are going to have a white-base granite countertop and cherry wood cabinets and a cream-colored backsplash that matches the base color of the granite.

[Vanquisher]

Go stainless. There are options that don't show fingerprints. Go to a showroom and touch everything.

[JDAZ11]

I agree.

And this is like the best stainless steel cleaner ever: http://www.amazon.com/3M-Stainless-S.../dp/B000XBFG6O


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[Pollyanna]

Stainless for sure. It's really not a nightmare at all. Our frig looks spotless all the time and I rarely wipe it.

Eta: This is our frig: Frigidaire - Gallery 26.0 Cu. Ft. Frost-Free Side-by-Side Refrigerator with Thru-the-Door Ice and Water - Stainless-Steel

[Deebs]

I don't think stainless shows as much as it used to, even without the fingerprint proofing. With four kids, I probably wipe mine with a microfiber cloth once a week, and it always looks great.

[SoonerTexan]

Yeah just bring your youngest and have her touch everything. Some of our appliances are awful and some aren't bad at all


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[MarissaNicole]

I think most of the new stainless is MUCH better about fingerprints. With black it shows every bit of dust. So I'd go stainless.

Wife of a PGY-5

[ides]

Stainless. I know frigidaire are sealed stainless that is smudge proof. Other brands may have it now too.

[peggyfromwastate]

So no one has had issues with stainless? That's good to know... Online it seems like a lot of people hate their SS appliances.

[Sheherezade]

We have an older SS fridge and it does get smeary. It's not the end of the world, but it's a pain. I find I regret the French door design more, though. If you do that, don't get ice on the door - the space inside the fridge is really limited. Also, there's not much room for tall things. You can reconfigure, but when you do it gives you even less space. The bottom drawer freezer is great though!


Angie

[spotty_dog]

It seems to me that the folks on THS forums can tell you which grade of stainless is the one that resists fingerprints/cleans easily.

Are you doing the kitchen to enjoy it or for resale value? If the latter, ask a realtor. If the former, do what you like.

http://www.gardenweb.com/gardenweb/q...tainless-steel

[SoonerTexan]

So no one has had issues with stainless? That's good to know... Online it seems like a lot of people hate their SS appliances.

I do, but only certain appliances. The whirlpool (low end) stainless microwave, oven, and dishwasher (before it crapped out) are/were awful. The smudge constantly and are very difficult to clean.The frigidaire fridge is awesome. The Bosch dishwasher (though I hate it) is somewhere in between...smudges, but easy to clean.

[JDAZ11]

Our frigidaire appliances in our rental are all great. The whirlpool fridge does smudge, but it's no big deal. Our last rental had an LG fridge. No issues with that smudging.

We also have a black microwave in this place and it smudges like crazy, shows so much dust, and is generally a pain to clean.


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[peggyfromwastate]

We will probably live here for 10+ years. So we would be doing it for ourselves. Dh likes SS, I think SS may look nicer but it's not a huge deal to me, and our contractor thinks SS is a pain to clean and she doesn't recommend SS fridges. Right now we have a white fridge that I hate, a SS/black range oven that I hate, and a white dishwasher that I don't care about. We aren't going to have white in the kitchen, and we are having a wall oven so no range. So basically we need all new appliances.

Decisions decisions.

[Pollyanna]

I don't see why folks think SS is a pain to clean. I've had SS appliances for the last 20 years and sure, you get smudges, but it's not a big deal. I prefer WD40 to clean our SS. Super easy and makes everything look new. Just spray a small amount on a clean cloth and wipe, easy peasy!

I think the only issue with black is that your kitchen will look dated even though it's new. I also wouldn't do black with a white kitchen. There is though some new stuff that recently came out that is kind of cool, kind of a sparkly white. Not your standard appliance finish.

ETA: It's called the White Ice Collection from Whirlpool. Very cool IMO. I would at least take a look.

http://www.whirlpool.com/kitchen-collections/kitchen-ice-collection.content.html