Stainless is a neutral. How old are the rest of the appliances? You want to consider your update for the long term.

My refrigerator is eight years old, the dishwasher is six months old. I am willing to replace those if we go with stainless. I am trying to make a good long term decision since my husband and I are past sixty and kept our current oven for 20 years. We aren't doing this for resale since we live on a farm in our "forever" house and will live here until we no longer can. I spend a lot of time here and want it to be attractive as well as functional. I never switched to polished nickel on knobs and fixtures, so also wonder if I ever transistioned from black/oil-rubbed bronze to a warmer metal, will stainless appliances still work? Thank you so much for your opinion and advice! P.S. When you have lived through the eras of Harvest Gold, Avacado and pink Formica kitchen counters, kitchen colors are scary!

Have you done an online search for "impala black granite with stainless appliances?" I think stainless will look great with your granite, cabinets and hardware. For me, black appliances with that particular granite would be a bit too much black.

I think stainless can go with anything, its an appliance, I think white is very dated and as said above black with black granite would look great, too much black...and I love black hardware on lighter cabinets, its very classic...

The granite is dark, reads as black overall, although it has a mottled charcoal shade mixed in with it. The black appliances look okay but I know stainless will look good also. Stainless has been popular for so long but I don't see any other appliance "color" gaining any traction against it. I know I can't afford to change appliances on fashion whim, so I am trying to guess what won't look dated! I need a crystal ball.

Jan Moyer, is it your opinion Stainless is a good choice for the long term?

risastacy, I'm not a pro, but my guess is stainless will outlive black when it comes to looking dated. One big plus is it's just more neutral.

Who knows...maybe that harvest gold and avocado green will come back! I know someone who still has avocado green appliances. Not sure I could sleep at night!

Early in my marriage, we lived briefly in a house with Avacado appliances, Avacado shag carpet, and "wood" paneling from some nonexistent species of trees. The first house we owned had pink Formica counters! So I have paid my dues living with someone else's unfortunate color choices. Even if I go with a black oven (Kitchen Aid) it will have stainless trim and a stainless handle which would probably make me feel I might as well go with stainless!

You have definitely paid your dues! I remember falling in love with that 'almond' color for appliances. Much better than avocado or harvest gold, but we didn't have them long before the color started looking drab and dirty to me. Honestly, I don't think you'd be sorry going with stainless.

Our new house is lovely, but the cabinets are golden oak. My husband simply does not want to paint them...grrrr. Fortunately the appliances are all stainless, and I'll keep working on him regarding the cabinets.

jck, I sure hear you on that! They simply don't make appliances like they used to. I've been looking for a new washer since our 4 yr old Whirlpool died. The salespeople told me the life spans are more like 5-10 years, but getting 7 would be lucky. Great, huh? Also, the reviews online are beyond confusing. I've researched like crazy only to make me hesitant of brands like LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, Maytag and GE. Gone are the days when a Maytag washer lasts for 30+ years.

Sorry, risastacy, didn't mean to veer off your question!

Cloebud and jck910 your appliance woes are probably more the norm than not, unfortunately! My current dryer is 25 years old. It looks awful, but I'm not going to replace it until it goes to that great appliance home in the sky since it has been so dependable. And chloebud, there is hope for converting your husband to painted cabinets. My husband has made the emotional journey from "stained wood is sacred" to realizing painted woodwork and cabinets are a better backdrop for our decorating. I think it helps him that we have wood floors so he gets his quota of wood grain. Anyway, good luck!

I am going to go with stainless and hope it stays current for several years. I am also going to buy extended warranties on everything since the quality and reliability seems to be an issue with almost every brand. Thank-you everyone for your input, I appreciate it! Houzzers are great.

risastacy, so glad you decided on the stainless! For years I thought white appliances were the only way to go...not anymore. Also, I spent more time cleaning them than I do the stainless.

Thanks for the vote of hope for our 'sacred' cabinets. I'm not giving up!

I learned the hard way extended warranties can sometimes be helpful. Depending on the company, you might have to get aggressive. I heard certain credit card companies will extend the warranty for an additional year on your purchase, so you might check. Ours does...might as well get 6 years instead of 5.

Stainless steel appliances work with any color cabinets. I would stay with the black for your new double wall oven unless you will be replacing the rest of your appliances in the near future. It seems to me that the black double oven coordinates perfect.