Key Points
- Stainless steel remains a timeless, versatile, and popular choice for kitchen appliances.
- Designers note trends toward panel-ready appliances and warm matte finishes.
- Mixing metals with stainless steel is encouraged, but appliances should share design elements like handle symmetry.
Stainless-steel appliances are everywhere today. The trend started in the 1990s, and the material has grown so popular and ubiquitous that you might wonder whether it has run its course. Is it still part of an on-trend kitchen?
We asked some pros in the appliance manufacturing and kitchen design worlds whether stainless steel is on the way out. Find out their unanimous answer, plus get expert advice on how to use stainless steel in your kitchen.
Meet Our Expert
- Andy Spanyer is the executive director for product management for refrigeration at GE Appliances.
- Dean Brindle is the head of product management at LG Electronics USA.
- Caroline Raemekers is a design consultant at AIM Kitchens and Bath in Des Moines, Iowa.
- Allison Garrison is an interior designer and principal of Allito Spaces in San Diego.
Kitchen Appliances Before Stainless Steel
Forty or fifty years ago, stainless steel appliances were solely for professional kitchens, with home kitchens rocking fashionable colors like avocado green and harvest gold in the 1970s, or white or almond in the ’80s. This changed in the 1990s when the industrial-look material became available and popular for refrigerators, dishwashers, and ranges in the middle price range. People began to aspire to have stainless-steel appliances to achieve a professional look in their home kitchen.
Does Stainless Steel Look Dated?
The short answer is absolutely not. Designers say stainless steel isn’t on its way out, and pros agree that there will always be a place for stainless-steel appliances in mainstream kitchens. The finish also leads sales in the consumer market…