The big issue with white appliances is plastic. If the white part is all metal, it's fine. White plastic yellows, and different compositions of white plastic yellow at different rates. The stainless pull is a step in the right direction. It's probably a throwback style because of all the complaints about yellowed handles. :) I have a white textured metal freezer with a chromed handle. It's boxy, but honest and not ugly. It was in my kitchen for years before the remodel and is now in the garage. It must be 20 years old, and it still looks nice. No plastic.

Yes, I know I would want to stay away from anything with a white plastic handle due to the discoloration issue. Here is the Samsung refrigerator I am looking at - hard to tell fi there are any plastic parts in white. Not likley I would be able to find one on display anywere either!

White Samsung `

I love the look. I think it's fresh.

I was very tempted to do white vs. SS, but went with the latter because I wound up deciding on white cabinets (perimeter).

Yes, I'm really liking that refrigerator. and not too $$$ either.

The lady who cleans for me between renters begged me not to do SS, LOL. I guess it will look OK with just the hood in stainless. In my moms old kitchen, her hood was SS but nothing else was.

In the picture, it doesn't look white. Merely white-ish. Not the same as the true white of an enamelled range. I may be wrong, but if not, stainless would look better. Get the cleaning lady some stainless steel cleaner and choose a smudge proof kind. If the white does go, make sure it isn't just as smudgy as some stainless. The old textured kind wasn't. You needed actual jammy hands to make fingerprints show. This looks flat.

How far are you from a city? I wouldn't think it would be so hard to find if it's actually out.

Looking at more specs and comments, apparently the handles are not stainless but white. Bummer. I really need to see one in person before I decide. If its not white-white it doesn't matter so much because I think our range is a creamy white anyway. If anyone has seen one in person I would love your impressions,

I like white too, and went with a Samsung fridge several years ago, in part because I could get it in white. Maybe you could do a panel dishwasher? Doesn't IKEA have one? I say that because getting "white" to match across brands may be a challenge.

My samsung has been fine, btw. It's not the kind with handles, and there are some plastic parts exposed. For the price, it's been great though. Recently did stove/ hood/ backsplash in stainless (Bertazzoni.) I got an excellent deal on it, but if I could have had anything, it would have been the same stove in white. SS just doesn't do it for me and it is a pain to clean. I think the aesthetic you describe sounds charming and suitable for a vacation rental too. Good luck!

I am glad to hear that white appliances are making a comeback. I really like them. A couple of years ago when I was looking for appliances all I could find was stainless. I really dislike stainless appliances, although stainless handles would be fine.

This discussion hits me at the right time. I am looking for a 22 cu side by side in white with ice and water dispenser. That being said, Which brands are the best? Samsung? I am very slow in making a decision because I had my Amana for 30 years and I understand they don't last that long anymore. I just don't want trouble. I would appreciate your comments,

Maggie, I have a white 22cf with ice and water, but its french doors with bottom freezer. Jenn Air. I love it.

maggie, we just went through the "buying-a-white-refrigerator" process about a month back. We ended up with a "traditional" bottom freezer because French doors would have been an annoyance in our kitchen as it's laid out.

We went with a Whirlpool because we got the best deal on it; we could easily have gone KitchenAid or Maytag or Amana, too -- they're all Whirlpool now and quite similar inside except for some features and lighting. We looked at Frigidaire, too, and saw we could get more features for the same $$ as Whirlpool, but didn't like the 'fridge itself as much. We didn't look at GE at all because I just don't buy GE anything.

What I read and heard about Samsung and LG is that you need to verify the availability of parts and service in your area. We're in St. Paul, Minnesota, so no problems for us, but I'm not sure I'd buy a Samsung or LG if I lived in a rural area like Warroad or Frederic, Wisconsin. I also read many more love/hate reviews about Samsung fridges in particular. You'd best get your hands on one and bring some typical containers you need to store.

Realize that most refrigerators these days have just a one-year warranty. Some compressor/sealed system warranties go as long as 10 years, but you will pay for that warranty in the price of the refrigerator. When we realized that we would very unlikely get the 13 years from the new fridge that we got out of our old fridge, we decided to not overspend. We bought the cheapest box that would do the job for us and extended the compressor warranty to 5 years for about $25. Fairly cheap insurance.

I would have answered sooner but received no notice that my questions were answered. Debbie Branka and Steve_o. I am glad that you answered my questions. I did not know that Whirlpool is making all the refrigerators or the warranty period. I am concerned that refrigerators have a short life. I had this Amana for 30 years with a dispense and not one problem. I will need insurance like Steve_o said. I want a white refrigerator and am glad they are coming back.

I have back and rotator cuff problems that require too much surgery with massive arthritis. I definitely am not going to get better. Leverage is a factor in my choice of a side by side with a dispenser. It has worked well for me. Bending over to pick frozen goods or open 2 doors just to get in a refrigerator would hurt a lot. I will ask questions on what cu ft mean when I have seen refers that are the width at 36in I need and have more than enough depth to accommodate a longer refrigerator than I have now at 29 inches. My current one is 22 cu. feet but could I handle more since I see very few refrigerators with 36 wide and 29 deep as I have now.

maggie, a couple of clarifications to what I wrote:

- Whirlpool makes many brands of refrigerators (sold in the U.S.) but they don't make them all. :-) Frigidaire and Electrolux are made by a Electrolux; GE, Hotpoint, Monogram, and some other lines are made by GE (whose appliances have been sold to Haier). Samsung, LG, Bosch, Liebherr, and others are manufactured by still different companies. So while Whirlpool has a huge stable of well-known brands, they haven't reached monopoly status yet.

- The 8-10 year lifespan average I've heard/read about is an average. It is possible that the refrigerator you buy will last 10, 12, 15 years. But you probably have read sad stories here from people whose refrigerators lasted only 2 or 6 years before a terminally expensive failure occurred. Like many averages, that 8 to 10 is a not a hugely useful number. Median would be a much better number -- and harder to calculate.

- Extended warranties: They're bets that are placed, plain and simple. The company offering a long warranty is betting that they'll bring in more money in premiums than they'll spend on repairs. Customers bet that the extra they pay for a longer warranty will cover an expensive repair later on. As with most betting, the odds are with the house (not your house).

In our case, spending another $25 on a $1,000 refrigerator to ward off a $300-400 compressor replacement repair wasn't much of a bet. But I don't know if we would have paid $75. Or $125. We saw a Maytag 'fridge that we liked that was about $300 more than the one we bought. It had a longer warranty and several add-ons we just didn't care that much about. If we wanted the add-ons, it would have been worth the money. But, for us, it was essentially $300 for the longer warranty. Didn't make sense for us.

Price the warranty; read it to understand exclusions; and judge whether you might just be better off banking that money for a future refrigerator replacement someday.

As for cubic feet, be aware that today's refrigerators have bigger cabinets than they used to. When I moved into this house, it had a 26 cu. ft Frigidaire that just barely fit into its hole in the kitchen. I didn't have an issue moving to a 22 because (at the time) it was just me in the house. When we went shopping this time, though, we found 22s are bigger than they used to be. We were lucky to find one that fits in the hole with a quarter of an inch to spare below a cabinet on top. Otherwise we would have had to drop down to a 20 cu. ft. model. Refrigerators come in a bunch of sizes, but know your measurements.

Steve_o what can I say for all your help. I do have all my measurements ready to take to Home Depot. Incredible that around 10 years is it. I had things planned out to the point of this will be the last refrigerator before I probably will be dead. 5 years for a computer at most and 4 or 5 for a clothes washer. I was impressed with your reasoning on warranties.

Do you know if there is a place I can give a model number and find the scoop on real reviews and companies that are the ones to stay away from. I'm afraid Comsumer Report has not been right along with their subscribers. Best Buy has the weakest reviews and I suspect filters them. Been burnt buy them badly. 16 day warranties and laughing all the way to the bank, Amazon has lots of reviews but there are pros and cons to using them. People give 5 stars and say it is nice without giving pros and cons yet that 5 stars count. I bought 2 Samsung televisions from them because of the stars and read very few reviews about the bad sound and no jack for speakers and capacitors that get hot and TV dies at 2 years. I am wiser so late in life. Thank you for putting a great piece together just for me. I will save it and you should too.