Stainless Steel Vs. White Vs. Black Appliances

Updated on June 19, 2008
A.G. asks from Westminster, CA
13 answers

Looking for some advice, we're shopping for appliances. Our kitchen has dark oak cabinets, dark granite counters, brass faucet, and black sink. What would you choose and why? I feel the black will be easier to keep clean on the outside at least. I hear that stainless steel gets pretty dirty with finger prints especially with toddlers around.

TIA!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all of the input. We're a little torn between the black and stainless steel. I'm leaning towards the textured black. Thanks again.

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J.B.

answers from Dallas on

We have stainless steel accented in black with dark cabinets and granite countertops. It looks great and is easy to clean. The stainless steel is made to be "smudge proof" and it really works. Good luck.

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K.A.

answers from Dallas on

It sounds like stainless would look really nice with your cabinets/countertops. We have stainless in our home and use these wipes designed especially for stainless stell that keeps everything looking really nice. They also have a spray that we use on our stainless steel stovetop that has really kept it looking nice.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.D.

answers from Dallas on

If you're replacing everything - then I'd say go for Stainless, for sure, especially since you've got dark going on in the other things (counters, cabinets) - the stainless will pop. Plus, that's a great selling point for when/if you ever move.

Like previous person said .. they make new stainless that doesn't show fingerprints - which is wonderful!!!

Let us know what you end up getting! :-D

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C.R.

answers from Dallas on

HI A.L.
I have to say I have black appliances in my kitchen and I think they make your kitchen look great with what ever colors you have and most people say that black is hard to clean not true just depends on how you take care of it and how you keep it up and there much cheaper than the stainless steel.Good Luck

SAHM of three kids ....

1 mom found this helpful
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N.

answers from Dallas on

Based on the description you gave, I think black would look nicest, but as someone else said, black is NOT easy to keep clean. We have a black dishwasher and it always shows every little spot, spill or splatter that hits it. We have a stainless stove top and I never noticed any problem with fingerprints. And stainless is the "hot" thing right now and it probably would add value should you need to sell your property before you have to change your appliances again. If I were redoing all my appliances at once, I'd definitely do stainless for that reason. In regards to white, in my very first apartment, I had all white appliances. I remember telling myself I would NEVER have white appliances again if I could help it. To me, they were harder to keep clean than the black is. In the house we lived in before, all our appliances were bisque (or almond) and that was probably the easiest color to keep clean in my opinion. It didn't show fingerprints and you could go a while without having to wipe them down before they started looking dirty again. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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L.A.

answers from Dallas on

I will have to disagree with black. We are in the process of replacing all of our appliances and we just bought a frig and dishwasher, both black. We love them. My mother however has all stainless, FINGERPRINT MAGNET. Yes there are some out there that are fingerprint proof. Yes our black frig gets fingerprints on it b/c it does not have handles (thier built into the door itself) But nothing a little windex won't get off, however windex doesn't work as well on stainless. Go with black.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.F.

answers from Dallas on

If you go Stainless go "clean steel" we didn't (we have regular S S) any my kitchen is full of my toddlers fingerprints...it drive me crazy!

1 mom found this helpful
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I.

answers from Dallas on

What a great topic!!!!!!!!!!!!

I.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Seattle on

OMG....black is so hard to keep clean!! We have stainless appliances, but a black stove top. It is constantly dirty, you can see every speck of dust, dirt, whatever. You may not see the fingerprints as much, but even right after I clean the stove top, you see fibers from the cloth I used. I think white is the easiest to keep clean, you just wipe it down. BUT, stainless or black is much prettier!! They have a stainless that doesn't show fingerprints....of course mine does, but there is a cleaner (either Stainless Magic or Steel Magice or something like that) that works great! You can even buy wipes (like Clorox wipes) from them and just wipe down the appliances...good as new! I vote for stainless!!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.R.

answers from Dallas on

Hi Luisa,

I don't know if you've already gotten your appliances, but they have a new color style that is called graphite or something like that... it looks like stainless but is almost the surface type as the black so you don't get the fingerprints. My mother-in-law has it and it's beautiful!

Good luck and enjoy your new kitchen! :-)
S.

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J.R.

answers from Dallas on

I have a black textured fridge and it's great. I have a stainless steel stove with black top and I hate the black top. Like another poster said, it never looks clean. I use spray cleaner to get rid of any grease but it dries streaky so I use windex or white vinegar to get rid of steaks but it never is quite streak free. It drives me crazy. If anyone has any hints for cleaning a black stove top that would be really helpful.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

We just moved into our home that had black appliances (stove, micro, dishwasher) and dark countertops/cabinets, but the sinks are stainless........which I thought looked nice, but never again!!! It always looks dirty to me, and shows every speck of dust. We went with the "faux" stainless front refridgerator that had black textured sides and black accents. It is made to not show smudges and fingerprints, and it is less expensive than stainless, and then it also didn't close up the space with so much black.
Good Luck!
J.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.M.

answers from Dallas on

I would definitely go black--also, it's less expensive than stainless!! My sister has stainless and can't keep little fingerprints off it!

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