There was an interesting article on MSN’s Real Estate page this week about the housing trends for 2008. Among other things, it claims that stainless-steel appliances are on their way out.
At the beginning of 2007, I read a similar article claiming that stainless steel was dunzo, and I didn’t believe it then. I still have my doubts. Last year the claim was that stainless would be replaced by white appliances. White? Are you kidding me?
Now, I admit that would work well for me since I have a 10-year old Kenmore in “classic white” that I haven’t gotten around to replacing yet, which would mean that my kitchen is so far behind the trends that it’s . . . ahead again? But I’m skeptical that homeowners will be rushing out to their nearest Big Box retailer any time soon to replace their industrial-looking stainless appliances with the white that was the color we all wanted to have in the ’90s.
This time around, the trend spotters are saying that people have deemed kitchen appliances “too ugly to be seen,” so they will be covering up their stainless refrigerators, dishwashers, etc., with cabinet doors built to fit. Right. Maybe there are people building custom homes or doing major renovations in which they can disguise their kitchens with stealth cabinetry to make them look more like libraries or something, but what about the rest of us?
The way I see it, stainless-steel appliances are sort of like the flat-screen televisions people are displaying on their walls. No one wants to hide their giant Sub-Zero refrigerator after they spent a fortune on it any more than they’d tuck their new 50″ plasma behind one of those clunky “entertainment armoires” of days gone by. If you’ve got it, you want to flaunt it. Right? I mean, when I finally have the money to replace my circa 1997 refrigerator, I’m certainly not going to hide it in the closet.
But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?
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Perhaps we should watch jewelry trends to see if silver’s waxing and waning popularity correlates with major home appliances.
The big question: how long before it’s retro? Though I’ve made fun of it in the past, there’s a certain comfort I get when I see my mother’s avocado Kenmore (with matching sink!). If stainless DOES go out it’ll come around again–in forty years.
Great point! Now that gold is “in” for jewelry, will yellow-gold appliances be far behind? I can imagine Donald Trump, for one, putting them in Trump Tower.
Last night I watched “Amazing Waterfront Homes” on HGTV, which included one in Malibu where they renovated the kitchen but purposely left the avocado-green sink in place “as a reminder of what it used to be.” So you’re not alone. Maybe avocado will make a surprise comeback as stainless moves on?
I have to say I’ve never been a big fan of the stainless-steel movement myself, never caring to have my home resemble a commercial restaurant kitchen. And it would save me a lot of $$ if white appliances really did become “cool” again. I bet my fridge has a good five more years in it!
Clunky amoires of days gone by!!?? To whom are you referring, Missy Blackwell? Those giant upright wooden coffins are coming back any day now. Like your white dishwasher, if you keep it long enough it will be back in again.
Ha. Yeah, my TVs are all still in clunky armoires, too. But one of these days I’ll have a flat-screen TV to show off along with a new refrigerator, and I won’t want to hide it, I’m sure.
I sure hope they aren’t on their way out because I’m about to spend a fortune on new appliances for the house we are building….now I’m skeered! lol
~melody~
I’m with Melody on that one. My two year old house has thousands of dollars worth of stainless appliances in it, and I certainly hope they aren’t on their way out. Despite my investment, I do believe that stainless is now viewed as classic and will be around through other appliance trends. At least I hope.
Though some TV shows and Magazines would have us believe that Stainless steel will soon be Passe’, I wouldn’t count on it any time soon. :-O
From what I have experienced at the appliance stores, people still LOVE stainless steel appliances, and they’d sell even more of ‘em to people if the price were lowered to that of white appliances.
In many Real Estate markets, stainless steel is considered a necessary top-of-the-line UPGRADE , compared to just installing NEW appliances.
Stainless steel is a timeless classic in my humble opinion. It’s neutral, sainitary, easy to keep clean, goes with a variety of decor, and looks very professional/upscale.
My folks used stainless steel in their new kitchen addition back in 1962, with natural, light-golden slab-door cabinets with no pulls. While other people’s kitchens got that “dated” look over the years, visitors always loved our modern kitchen!!! Looking back at it today in photos and film, it still looks just as fresh and contemporary as it did back then.
Personally, I think style changes and fashion trends in colors, cars, clothing, appliances and automobiles are often didctated by manufacturers WHO DON”T WANT us to be happy with what we currently own–WHY?–so they can sell us more “NEW” stuff!!!
In fact, if stainless steel ever DOES go out of style, I’m selling my Delorean!!!! ;-P
Real Esatcia-
Thanks for sharing your opinion and insights! I totally agree–don’t think you’ll have to sell that Delorean any time soon (you’re cracking me up).
I’m baffled by all the articles I’ve been seeing for the past year or so saying that stainless is “out.” I recently got a message from a kitchen designer who saw my article and backed up what you said–everyone wants stainless, with the exception of some of the really high-end remodelers who want to hide their appliances behind cabinetry. She is seeing no end in sight to the stainless craze.
And, yes, it’s probably all just a marketing ploy to get us to ditch what we’ve got and buy new stuff. I think they’re going to have a tough time selling us on white again, but my old white Kenmore and I keep hopin’ it might be cool again someday.
-Julia
Didn’t everyone think black, and then white, were going to be classics?
I think people should choose the appliances that work best with the cabinetry, counters, etc. that they are choosing. Personally, I like black appliances w/ stainless steel counters. Unfortunately I have late-80s creamish appliances w/ purple counters!
Have you seen the new bronze appliances?
My husband is in the appliance business, his customers just love the stainless steel, every body wants stainless steel, it’s going to be around for awhile longer. But for me I have white appliances, maybe some day we’ll get stainless steel, but for now I’m happy with the white.Here’s a link on the JENN-AIR new oiled bronze appliances. http://www.jennair.com/catalog/oiled_bronze_suite.jsp
I forgot to put in my favorite appliance, that’s the fridge drawers, you can put these any where, you can have fridge drawer on the top, and a freezer drawer on the bottom. here’s the link. http://www.subzero.com/IntegratedRefrigeration/700BCDrawers
The new trend I think is stainless ‘esque’. Stainless steel is too much work to keep clean and frankly, I’m seeing more and more of these steel-like versions out there that give the same ‘appearance’ but are much more budget friendly and a breeze to maintain; simple Windex will do you fine. Look for GE ‘clean steel’ or LG ‘titanium’ or Frigidaire ‘silver mist’. All will do the trick, look great, and save some green. Stainless steel is on the way out…
I think it would be really cool to see a Carbon Fibre finish with Suicide doors and big 24″ kitchenware, especially because I’m a guy. But who knows whats gonna happen maybe they’ll start making appliances out of something ridiculous like glass. However the future is the future and theres no need for looking back.
Why can’t a consumer buy stainless steel appliances with a white frame (instead of black)??
Thank you
I think the stainless steel appliance craze is the stupidest craze ever!! I agree that the color of the appliance is a personal preference and should match the cabinets and countertop. I personally like black appliances – they are elegant and sophisticated looking. Stainless steel appliances are ugly and make a kitchen look like a commercial restaurant. It is idiotic to pay more money for an appliance just because it is stainless steel, if the identical appliance comes in white or black and is less expensive!
I just had a custom house built from a plan the builder had used before. In that first house, he used a medium reddish cabinet (like a very light cherry?) and wood floors, and stainless appliances. I did not like the stainless look with the warm cabinets. I used black appliances instead, with a granite counter that has a medium reddish sandstone base with white and black flecks. The black fleck pick up the black appliances, and the warm background picks up the cabinet and floors. Stunning. I think the choice of appliance finish depends to a great deal on your cabinets and counters. My kitchen is much warmer looking than the one in the first version of this house that he built. Also, friends with SS have told me it dents easily. I would be inclined to use SS in a white kitchen for a crisp look.
Happy New Year in 2010
Stainless steel is classic mostly due to its design neutrality and I expect it to be here for a long time, but some of the new trends are to make it appear less bulky, look at Viking’s new line. Our company specializes in SAFELY hiding all the appliances, including the hot ones like ovens and cook tops inside what we can Kitchen Workstation Furniture. But we have never hidden a Wolf or Viking stainless steel product, because as stated above, people do tend to flaunt those purchases. In many cases, we are providing other pieces to flank these focal point appliances when a homeowner wants to ‘furnish’ their kitchen rather than have the standard built-in look of continuous cabinets and counter tops.
I was very curious about this subject as I watch alot of HGTV and House Hunter’s specifically. It seem’s funny that many of these people will overlook the most awful things in the house but if it’s got stainless, all is forgiven and will not even consider purchasing the home if it doesn’t have it. So funny cause they could save so much money on the price of the house and just buy the appliance’s themselves and come out way ahead but on show after show homebuyers do this. Same thing with granite countertops and wood floors vs. laminate. Most of these hunters have to ask if it is indeed granite or real wood then get suddenly snooty about it when they find out and just will not have anything but the “real thing”, when just minutes before they didn’t even know the difference. Personally I think we’ll stick with the white, at least while it’s still up and going. It just doesn’t make sense to chuck your perfectly good appliances just because it’s not the trend. I suppose if you have excess money you can certianly do what you wish but seem’s awfully wasteful. I just wanted to find out if I was the only person who noticed this trend. Good day!
Ok, guys, stainless is here to stay, and what I am hoping for is MORE STAINLESS…such as stainless countertops and all stainless cabinetry, EVERYWHERE, stainless walls and just and all stainless and marble kitchen, that way, everything looks sterile and is ready to go!
I don’t know that I agree that stainless is ‘classic”. It is cold and industrial looking and does nothing to make a kitchen seem warm and inviting. The stainless granite fad was fueled by the advertisers who bring us HGTV. Stainless appliances are not better than other appliances simply because they have a silver skin. I, for one, cannot wait to replace my ugly stainless appliances. Most people don’t want them because they actually like them, but rather because they are seduced by marketing types into believing that that do. Or that they have to have them to appear prosperous.
As soon as advertisers bring back the warm and inviting kitchens of the past, I believe people will look at their ugly cold hard granite rock and silver kitchens and wonder what they were thinking.
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