A friend of mine has a stainless look refrigerator. It is silver, but obviously not stainless. I don't think I've seen other appliances with that finish.

As far as $6,000 goes, it depends on what you want. If you are getting an electric range, refrigerator and DW you can probably do it. But if you want separate cooktop and wall ovens, it might be hard.

I don't need "pro" appliances, for function or just the look. After looking around, I decided on no more than $3K for stove, $2K fridge and $1K dishwasher, so that's your budget. I got the fridge for less than I budgeted and am sure I can do the same when I spring for the others. There's a lot of nice stuff out there without breaking the bank.

Frigidaire has real stainless appliances that are coated with something that really controls the fingerprints. They look nice and are very affordable.

I otped for KitchenAid only because it was a higher quality. I guess I'll have to deal with the fingerprints, ugh.

It totally depends on what you want for your appliances. Do you want high-end or more moderate appliances? If you are looking at Wolf, Viking, etc. you are going to blow past that pretty darn quickly, I think. Are you getting a separate cooktop and oven or combined? Do you want an Advantium? Do you want a microwave drawer? Do you want drawer dishwashers? Do you want a warming drawer?

If you are going for the "fridge, range, microwave, DW" in good moderate appliances, you can fit in the 6k range. If you start to go into more elaborate appliances, you'll definitely go over the 6k.

I think that we are winding up somewhere in the 6-7k area (on sale) for ours in stainless, Kenmore Elite brand - large capacity DW, large french door fridge, 30" induction cooktop, single convection oven. Our MW is working fine for now and will be hidden behind doors, so we aren't replacing it right away, but we are probably going with a standard MW again...those aren't terribly expensive. We aren't getting a warming drawer - although I liked the idea, I just didn't think that the 1k was worth it for us. We went with a 30" hood as well - not sure if the hood is supposed to be in your 6k allowance, so you may want to consider that when getting things together with your pricing.

Slightly OT...Anyone know why silver-color non-stainless appliances came on the market? I think they're a great idea simply because they'll hold a magnet. But that can't be the reason we're finding them in stores. Is there more to it?

I have a stainless fridge and it holds magnets. Stainless is not all the same recipe.

From my understanding, they're supposed to be fingerprint resistant?? Thanks for all of the thoughts and suggestions thus far!

Forgive me if my memory is bad. I also looked at the stainless look appliances. My salesperson told me that all of the kitchen appliances were not available in that finish. I believe the refrigerator was available but maybe not the stove and dishwasher.

That's what I'm wondering...I can't seem to find much in that finish...

Your budget sounds very reasonable. I bought all electrolux for our kitchen except the induction cooktop (GE) for around $6,500

All bought online from lowes. If you are moving you can get the 10 percent off from the post office in the change of address moving packet and if you open the lowes CC account get an extra 5% off.

You can combine the discounts if you buy online. In store they don't allow it. We waited for our appliances to go on sale (very infrequently on Electrolux) Free delivery also!

As far as the stainless look. I would go to the store and look at in person. All brands stainless are different. If it looks terrible on the floor of the show room you can bet it is going to be hard to keep clean. Just my personal opinion - I do not care for the look and feel of stainless-look appliances.

I wanted GE "clean steel" fridge and dishwasher.
1) Looks like stainless, but, easy to clean.
2) Same brand, they would match.
3) less expensive due to the finish not being "real" stainless.
4) win, win, win situation.

Ooops...GE shortest dishwasher in "clean steel" was listed as 1/2" too tall. SO, I got the stainless steel dishwasher that was listed as 1" shorter.....At least it will fit the hole, and, 1/2" will never be noticed.
Paid more for it.
Got the matching stainless fridge and paid more for it also.

Now I have the more expensive stainless which I just can't keep clean. AND....the dishwasher had a 2" gap that I had to take care of.
Apparently, GE doesn't use the same measuring system the rest of the world uses.
LOL...grrrrr....

Oh my goodness...the world of appliances is more complicated than I thought! :) Any recommendations on brands and also washer/dryers? Are you "supposed" to get all the same brands? SUCH good advice on the Lowe's discounts! Thanks everyone!

Are you "supposed" to get all the same brands?

No, most certainly not. Some people like to get all the same brand so that finishes and handles match. I will be bold enough to say that on GW the consensus is to get "best of breed" for each appliance instead.

I have the Samsung stainless-look "Platinum" finish. I like it. My Wolf stove has fingerprints galore, but none on the fridge.

Note the two magnets attached:

I also got the Samsung platinum finish (looks just like gregincal's above) refrigerator. It's a great refrigerator - my two brothers have had it for a while with no problems. I have 4 kids, too, and fingerprints haven't been bad at all.

You should definitely choose the best appliance in each category, regardless of the brand. Stainless steel from different companies won't match each other exactly, and handles won't match exactly. My range seems to have 3 different colors of stainless on it - one for the door, one for the handle, and one for the knobs. Really, you might notice differences the day they are installed, but you won't notice it in the finished kitchen. That happens with lots of things when you are building a house - always give yourself some time to get used to new installations before you decide if you like them or not.

A $6000 appliance budget is fine. Here's how mine broke out:

$1550 Samsung RF266AEPN french door refrigerator (platinum finish) - I think it's been replaced by model RF261
$2720 GE Cafe Electric Range CS980ST (stainless)
$ 590 Zephyr Gust range hood with baffle filters (stainless)
$1065 Bosch SHX68R55UC dishwasher (stainless)

Total $5925 (without tax)

The range was the real "splurge" here, but it was the one I liked best and I use it every day. I would have rather bought an induction (which would have been about the same price) but I didn't find one I really liked (meaning they weren't cute enough).

Fingerprints aren't a real problem with the dishwasher, hood, and range (probably because the kids don't touch them).

I really love my new washer and dryer - Samsung WA5451 and DV5451. They come in platinum, but I got the white. You can get a LOT of clothes in them, they are relatively quick (new energy efficient washers are all slower than older ones), and they clean and dry well.

I ended up buying my built-in appliances through a local distributer my builder likes to work with (and their prices were good) and all the rest through Sears. Watch for Sears to have 20% off if you buy 4 or more appliances and you can get a better price than the big box discount stores. They will also match anyone else's price and give you 10% of the difference. And they often give you 5% and financing if you use their credit card.

Good luck with your house!

I don't think it's so much that they "won't" fingerprint.
I think it's more of an "easy to clean off of" thing.

I like the stainless look, but, sure is a booger to keep it looking nice.
When I was appliance shopping, I noticed that every brand is different appearance. Some have horizontal stainless grain, some vertical, some silver, some shiney, some an off color silver, matte finish, etc. Every brand was different, AND...every brand had several of their own variations.

The same applied for fake stainless.
One of the major brands, I can't remember which though, has something they call stainless "look", but, it's nothing more than a metalic silver paint. So, it'd be best to see the finishes in person if possible. (rather than just place an order based on pictures or description)

Same goes with measurements. Take a tape measure and notepad to the store. Take into consideration the adjustment up/down of the feets. Do not rely on the stated dimensions.

I owned a five star cleaning company in silicon valley. Wash stainless with soap and water, rinse well. Going with the 'grain', use alcohol. Then i'd use a furniture or car spray wax.. Spray onto a microfiber cloth, not surface! Going with the grain and buff. I'd also use the spray to finish bathroom counters, shower walls(walls only), toilets, et al