You can go with white, the issue though is that you're putting in white cabinets. For some people the mismatching whites (because you'll never get them to match perfectly) bothers them. White also tends to read "old". Since you're also doing dark blue lowers the white appliances may cut the flow of that creating a choppy looking design.

Stainless steel tend to blend in best IMO. They're also great for resale value. But ultimately it's your kitchen. If you want white go for it, just know that it may impact resale and the whites likely won't match. If you can live with that go for the white!

White appliances are "dated"?

If you don't like SS, don't feel like you have to get it. I didn't.

I have white appliances. I chose them. SS came out originally for people wanting a restaurant style kitchen. I don't. I want a homey kitchen.

I had this issue in my kitchen reno, had a vintage GE white range and couldn't find anything else that looked good. I went with a panel-ready fridge and DW, so they disappear. It was a number of years ago, but if I recall, that was a more budget-friendly solution than the nicer white appliances I looked at. Definitely stick with white if you like it.

white appliances can seem dated, for the same reason that harvest gold seems dated. they were used a long time ago, and anything used a long time ago must be dated. right?

i have a mixture of white and stainless. i wanted a white fridge with no ice maker through the door, and i had to get a stainless dw cuz the bosch that has the cycles i wanted was stainless only. the cooktop i wanted is stainless only. my wall oven is white, i felt having stainless in that spot would have been too broken up looking. so, i'd say its ok to do both.

If you aren’t into the SS look, how about a built in refrigerator type of style? You can also buy really nice looking white refrigerators these days too. Sometimes the classic white is the way to go

I prefer white. I have a friend with a newer white kitchen and white appliances. It looks great. White appliances have been around since the beginning of appliances. I don't call that dated, rather timeless - in the right kitchen. I do not think they look great in a dark wood kitchen due to the big contrast between light and dark.

When I visit Parade Homes, stainless looks great, but when I go to open houses - not so great - often scratched and sometimes fingerprinted.

I love white appliances. I was looking at fridges without the textured front.


Ninigret I love your kitchen. What counter top is that and what color grout did you use on your backsplash? :) Thanks!

the counter is LG rococo quartz. danged if i know the color grout, sorry, it has been 3 1/2 years. i'm always happy to have someone appreciate my quirkiness.

what about the GE matte collection?

I chose all white appliances for our new kitchen and am very happy that I did. It does not look dated- instead fresh and clean. It all depends on the look you like and are trying to achieve.

You have the 2016 Mid Priced Kitchen Design Kit. It only comes with stainless appliances at the mid price level. If you opt for the early release of the 2019 Kitchen Design Kit, Upgraded Luxury Version, Level 1, then that allows for integrated appliances, removal of the wood beams in favor of wood cabinets, and additional color choices for the island.

Do you care about resale value? If you do go with stainless, white will definitely date the house and lower the resale. If you’re not selling anytime soon then get what makes you happy (white, or even vintage style bright appliances!).

In my area, a mid-priced home with average appliances will not suffer for white appliances. They cost the same as the stainless version. Color alone will not affect selling price. Older worn appliances will lower the value, but only in how much it will cost to replace, which in a mid priced home is probably less than $5000. High end professional style kitchens are not the norm.

In my area (upper middle class homes) folks want stainless if you are planning to sell anytime soon.

Remember that it’s not the cost of stainless vs white but the perceived value. We bought a house last fall and are renovating the kitchen but keeping the old appliances (about 7-10 years old) to save on the costs. They don’t look terrible and are stainless steel so they match the new range hood and microwave. They were definitely a factor in our purchase prIce and we would have paid less if we had to replace all the appliances - which we would have done ✅ f they were white or black. Stainless steel is the most popular choice and gets you more money on resale statistically in the USA.

I would not plan my renovations to suit a possible buyer down the road, though understand if someone is selling soon or flipping. At least appliances are easy to change out. Sooo tired of the whole "dated" nonsense - marketing 101 over and over. make people perceive their present stuff is not good enough or "cool" enough so they will go out and buy new.

I would remove from the equation the idea of white appliances having an effect on resale. No one says "I love the house, but forget it, it has a white range!"

What is key to this whole discussion and has not been addressed is how much are you willing to spend on your appliances. The solution to your dilemma would be to panel the dishwasher and the fridge, and the fridge must be a fully-integrated style to pull this off. This will be very expensive. For the range, there are some lovely white ranges out there by Bertazzoni, Bluestar, Smeg, Miele, Lacanche for example, but those tend to be much more expensive than the old-style type of white range. There was a recent thread where someone posted about a white Kitchenaid range that looked fresh and not old-style, and was not priced as high as the other names I've mentioned, so look into that.

I have a panelled DW, stainless fridge, white range, and stainless hood. I love it. The range is so easy to clean compared to a stainless range. The pairing of the white range with the stainless hood looks clean and fresh. The DW panelling does not show water drips the way stainless does. I was not willing to pay the $9000+ for an integrated fridge, so I am fine with my stainless one. (I am "lusting" a little for the white Miele fridge that Miller pictured above).

One last note - your mention of the wood beams worries me. I know it's not what you asked, but adding wood beams has the potential to look very nice or to look artificial, "faux". A lot depends on your ceiling height. Make sure you have thought this through.

I wonder if Andrea is coming back, or if this was her fly-by. It bothers me a little when the OP never returns after people respond with lengthy posts, follow-up questions and photos. (I know, it's the internet, so should not bother me) But I feel better when I think that the thread may help other people reading here who might have the same questions.

Hi all. Thank you for your comments and input. M Miller, yes I'm coming back. I work full time, and have 4 kids between 3-10, a fixer upper, a broken dishwasher and a son with an ear infection... I could go on. Anyway, I love the Miele, but can't afford it. I'm not worried about re-sale because I hope to die many many years from now in this house. I had it narrowed down to the KitchenAid dishwasher pictured which has a lovely double oven that coordinates, but I went to see it (the SS version) in a local showroom and caught my purse strap and banged my hip on the giant handle bar. It looks cool in pictures and in real life, but I am thinking it could cause a concussion for the 3 or 4 year olds!!

I also saw that KitchenAid has a Stainless with Print Shield that doesn't seem too smudgy. I really tried to leave some palm prints, etc in the store, but it seemed to hold up. Of course, this makes the decision making process more painful. I feel like I can't decide on the dishwasher now until I choose the wall oven because I want them to match since they'll be on the same wall. (More info: I'm living with my icky 1965 kitchen for several more months and the dishwasher broke. I must get a new dw for my sanity, so I'm having to make decisions for my "new" kitchen that hasn't even been started yet. Hoping to start in August. Anyhoo...was hoping to go with white, but am seeing that so many products simply aren't available in white and if you want to have the same manufacturer, I will need to research and choose the oven and maybe cooktop before I buy a new dw. Thinking of a craigslist dishwasher to get me through this decision making process. I REALLY APPRECIATE all the comments and contributors for your time.

friedajune, thanks for the comment on the beams. I agree...I don't like when things look "faux"...it's very Vegas to me. I see a lot of that these days. They're building homes near me starting at 1.3 million with stone work that looks fake. I will be careful. My kitchen design is still in the infancy stage (we haven't signed a contract and don't want construction during hot So Cal summer when kids are off school). I don't want to just copy Fixer Upper and be done with it. I am hoping to make choices I will like for the next 30 years because my dear hubby is only doing 1 kitchen remodel.

Andrea - I am sorry for my comment above about the "fly-by". I totally hear you with the full life (I was there once). It's just that this forum does get a lot of fly-bys, so we start to expect them.

Before buying cabinets or starting your reno, I suggest you post your lay-out, with measurements, on this forum. There are some amazingly helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum who will provide suggestions that will make your kitchen better, and will save you anxiety about your kitchen reno.

FWIW stainless steel appliances can look plenty cheap and builder grade. Not all stainless steel is made equal. The stainless on a SZ or Miele is not the stainless on a Whirlpool and it shows.

Context matters more than the finish of the appliances. If you like white, you should get white. The KA white looks great. If you can afford to panel most things white, that would be much better though, because then you would not have to worry about replacing a one off color. Stainless is definitely the easiest choice here, but you don't have to choose the easiest.

Andrea, you are amazing and have a lot going on! I always am in awe of mom's with 4 kids that work full time! God bless you!

I'm not a fan of white appliances at all, but love those Meile that were posted above -- very sleek and beautiful! White is very tricky to match cabinets and they can stick out like a sore thumb, so it all depends on your cabinets, etc. (search houzz for kitchens with white appliances...)

Honestly, you may have to replace them all in 8-15 years anyways since appliances aren't built like back in the day. There are so many great appliance packages out there. I prefer the look of black glass/stainless....(you can always panel your dishwasher).

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/need-help-with-kitchen-layout-and-design-dsvw-vd~5285745

Hi all. I started a new discussion with pics of the layout ideas we've seen so far. I would welcome and LOVE any feedback or ideas you may have. Thank you so much!