I don't have stainless but my cousin did and she was not happy with it. She ended up replacing in after a few years--- it was hard to keep clean and drove her crazy (think SS appliances and all those smudges) Perhaps there is better SS for counters that is easier to maintain than what she had?

I've had it in two kitchens now and like it very much.

I have it in my current kitchen, and in my last kitchen. In both cases I had two counter materials, stone and stainless. I love it. It is easy to clean, great for wet areas like the clean up area, looks awesome (IMHO). It does develop a patina with use, that bothered by DH for a few weeks in our first house, we both love it now. Quite a few people here have stainless counters, most seem to love it.

Current kitchen clean up run with SS with marine edge.

We love our stainless counters and haven't heard complaints from any other forum member who has stainless counters.

Ours is flanking the rangetop. I have wood on my island and laminate elsewhere.

Of course, SS scratches and you have to accept that, as Sochi said. They're fine scratches that you can't feel, and eventually soften the look, IMO. We just laughed when we got the first one. I think it's very easy to clean. I'm not one to like to fuss with anything.

We have basic 18 gauge stainless that the local sheet metal shop had on hand...Nothing special. It's recommended you get at least 16 to decrease the chance of dings (we have 1), and it looks like Sochi's might be brushed, which is another option to help hide the inevitable scratches.

It's nice and cool, and great to set things off the stove or out of the oven without worry.

Ah Rhome, ya beat me! :)

We love ours. They get scratched, yes, but I'm very surprised to read they're hard to clean (?). Ours are easy to clean. If you want them to shine like crazy, however, you'll have to take a dry towel if it's wet after cleaning and dry them down (just kinda buffing them down in large circular motions) but most of the time I don't bother or I do a very quick version (just getting most of the wetness off). Ours are 14 gauge which are pretty much the toughest cause I have 3 rough and tough boys (and a couple of not-so-smart buddies!) and I asked for the edge of mine to be just a hair shorter than the average kitchen counter hight cause I wasn't aiming for such a modern look (in the "olden days" kitchen counters were thinner looking). Ours came to just under $2,000 for just that 12-foot length of countertop you see in the pic. But we had a fabricator measure, deliver and install. Hopefully this link will work (and if you can't tell, our kitchen's not done yet):

In some daylight:

Mine are 7 now, scratched and well used. Bulletproof and so easy. I do everything from rolling pie dough to using the peninsula as a sewing table. They absorb nothing, wipe down and never look bad.

How did you find the place to fabricate your stainless counters? The counter guy never came back with the pieces of Corian for our island. I can't find the slip of paper I had his name on either. We figured he'd be back because he did the rest of our kitchen and has not been paid a dime yet, but it has been over 2 months without word. If it goes on another month, we are considering going with stainless around our stove on the island. We'd need it in 2 pieces to cover 2 - 36" cabs. I wonder if those would be stock sizes.... We need 3 sides finished, but if it were easier, would take all 4 sides finished and call it a day.
Only time will tell if the counter guy shows back up.....

theresse, that's gorgeous!! Wow. We have stainless counters in the paint mixing area of work (hardware store), and they're great. They can get blotchy at times, depending on what people use to clean them, but you'd have control over that in your kitchen. We've had customers rave about the Carbona Stainless Steel Cleaner, but I haven't tried it.

Thanks you all for your feedback and terrific pics! I'm so happy to hear that they are easy to clean and durable. Our architect raves about them. I was just a bit concerned about smudges (like our current stainless fridge - in our new house those beautiful sub zeros will be covered with wood - so no smudges there!).
socchi - what kind of sink do you have? Is that a Blanco?

Hi denisehess - the sink is integrated into the counter, so our SS fabricator made it at the same time he did the counters. I love integrated sinks, but it does make the whole SS counter option a little more expensive.

I ripped stainless counters out of a 1950's St. Charles Kitchen 30 years ago. They certainly had 'patina'. Stainless 'reads' GREY when it's no longer shiny. It's practical and sanitary; that's why it's in restaurants. I hated the way it looked -- and smelled (like metal, surprise, surprise!).

I have granite in our curent home kitchen and Corian in our Maui condo. I'm very 'over' stainless and butcher bloc, but then...I'm *old*.

I've had stainless counters twice. Our last house had a section by the range. Scratches and all, it was the best looking, easiest to clean, hardest working thing in the kitchen. The other experience was not as pleasant--an integrated sink/drainboard/counter in a town with very hard water. The water always left spots and whitish residue on the stainless. It never looked clean without strenuous, prolonged buffing.

I'd have done stainless counters again, knowing that the water at my current house is quite soft, if there weren't so much stainless in the kitchen already, in the appliances.

mnerg - that last thing you said is a challenge for me: because of my stainless countertop, I want very little stainless anywhere else - or it will be not only overwhelmingly cold feeling in there but also it won't look so "period" anymore - and that's the impression I'm trying to give - even if it's a funky version of period. So I'm keeping my stove and hood white (hoping to replace the stove with either a white vintage stove or else a colored modern stove that has a vintage feel to it). That's also why I have a butcher block island - to warm things up. And the old fir floors warm up the stainless as well. But I think if I had the stove be stainless too, it would be one too many things stainless! ;) The fridge is stainless and sits against the wall opposite the countertop but when you first walk in, it's not too matchy-matchy cause it's on the opposite wall and you see all that warmth before you notice the fridge (at either doorway).