Black, white, bisque/almond, red, grey, etc.. Any basic painted color can be cleaned with your normal household cleaner as well as products made especially for appliance cleaning.
Stainless Steel continues to be the most popular choice for people buying new appliances. Even so it seems that most are concerned with finger prints and smudges but the problem may not be as bad as you may think.
There are many products available to maintain your stainless appliances including handy wipes for a speedy cleaning, spray products, and creams. While all of the products can do a good job and some are easier than others. In my experience I have found that if you use a good cream cleaner/polish and put a heavy coat on the appliance you will find that the finish will resist fingerprints and smudges for weeks at a time. The quick sprays and wipes may require a re cleaning more often.
Another popular color choice category is the stainless look. Several manufactures have offerings here that include Kenmore’s Ultra Satin, Whirlpool’s Satina, Frigidaire’s Real Stainless,Kenmore’s Smudge Proof Stainless, and Samsung’s Platinum. However none but Frigidaire have all four major kitchen appliances in the stainless look. The stainless look appliances can be cleaned using your normal kitchen appliance cleaner.
Whirlpool and GE have recently introduced new colors for the kitchen appliance lines. GE’e entry is called Slate. This color is a smudge proof muted slate color for the appliance body while the handles and trim are Stainless Steel and Chrome. Whirlpool has introduced White Ice and Black Ice each featuring a glossy black or white finish with handles, logo, and trim being Stainless and Chrome. All of these colors can be cleaned with your normal appliance cleaner and a touch up of handles and trim with your Stainless Steel cleaner.
Once popular colors like Avocado Green, Harvest Gold, and Brown are long gone.
More recently Stainless Look colors including “Clean Stainless” are also gone. While some colors such as Bisque still have enough popularity to allow manufactures to continue production.
The stainless look appliance color is a popular choice for consumers going for what many consider to be the upscale look of stainless without the cleaning maintenance to deal with smudges and fingerprints. Several manufactures provide these finishes such as Ultra Satin by Kenmore, Satin by Whirlpool, and Samsung’s Platinum. However if you want to match ALL of your four major Kitchen appliances with this type of finish then the Frigidare Gallery series “Real Stainless” may be your only choice.
Black and white appliances have always been in style and appear to be holding their own as a solid choice that consumers feel confident about being able to find the next time they need to replace an appliance. The finish of texture verses smooth may be another story however. Currently the smooth finish seems to be the popular choice. One consideration in favor of the smooth finish is the ease of keeping it clean while the textured finish does not show fingerprints. Most people also agree that white will show less smudges and prints than black.
There have been reports that the era of Stainless Steel’s popularity is all but over. A surprising statement considering at least one major manufacturer reports that almost 80% of the company’s production in kitchen appliances is Stainless Steel. It stands to reason that many others numbers would be similar.
Stainless Steel while commanding a higher price than others and requiring a more diligent cleaning routine is currently the most popular choice for consumers. Most Realtors will advise sellers who are replacing appliances to attract buyers to do so with Stainless Steel. People looking for an upscale look generally think of Stainless Steel as the first choice unless the color scheme of the existing kitchen is designed around another color.
There is more! New color choices are here!
Whirlpool has introduced two new choices White Ice and Black Ice. These are great options for many people looking for something different. The primary colors are white or black but the handles and trim are Stainless Steel delivering a unique look and the possibility of a better fit in many color schemes.
Another new color is GE’s new Slate which is a medium matte grey finish with Stainless Steel handles and trim.
That is my opinion. What is yours?
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