As a parade of recent refrigerators that have come through our office attest, stainless steel appliances are still all the rage. They lend kitchens a professional air — even if the amateur chefs still can’t boil an egg. But while fridges and other appliances tend to be muted tones in the U.S., as we saw at IFA 2015, other countries love to bring colors into the kitchen.
Black stainless steel isn’t exactly bucking the trend of neutral shades, but it is different from the standard silver. KitchenAid has a whole range of appliances in the material, including single and double wall ovens, fridges, and dishwashers. At the 2015 House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year, designer Ken Fulk said he chose the black stainless appliances because of the “wonderful depth to the metal,” which “fit in perfectly with our kitchen story.” Though KitchenAid says it’s the first-ever to have appliances in the color, here’s a similar lineup of Samsung appliances, and LG has fridges, ovens, dishwashers, and even a microwave.
Remodeling and interior design site Houzz recently conducted a poll of its community members on the black stainless steel trend. 60 percent of the over 6,600 respondents said they’d consider incorporating appliances in the color the next time they update their kitchens. Some said they were sick of all-white kitchens and were excited to see something new. Others, however, were worried that the color would darken their already dim kitchens even more.
One thing to note is that none of these manufacturers’ appliances match the others — LG’s color is different from KitchenAid’s, for example. If decided to go all in on the trend, unless you don’t mind a slightly grayer black on your fridge than on your dishwasher, you’d likely want to buy them as a set.
