Is Stainless Steel Out? We Asked Pros and It’s Unanimous

Stainless-steel appliances are everywhere today, but that wasn’t always the case. Forty or fifty years ago, they 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.

Since then, stainless has only grown more popular and ubiquitous, so much so 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 this burning question: After so many years of popularity, is stainless steel on the way out? Find out their unanimous answer, plus get expert advice on how to use stainless steel in your 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.

“Fingerprint-resistant stainless steel is by far the most common and popular finish, I’m sure because of the versatility,” says Andy Spanyer, executive director for product management for refrigeration at GE Appliances. “It’s seen very much as the neutral and appropriate kitchen color.”

Dean Brindle, head of product management at LG Electronics USA, offers some sales specifics. “When you walk into the store, it’s all stainless. But purchase-wise, it’s 65 to 70% stainless and the rest is split between white and other colors, with white being half of the rest.” (The reason white is so high is because it is popular in the value and builder segments of the market.)

Kitchen designers agree it still works, too. “Stainless steel will forever be around and is a timeless and budget-friendly option for any and all kitchens,” says Caroline Ramaekers, design consultant at AIM Kitchens and Bath. “This finish on appliances isn’t going anywhere.”

Two Appliance Finishes Gaining Popularity

While stainless steel is still going strong, designers do see preferences shifting toward two big trends: warm white matte finishes and panel-ready appliances. “Panel-ready appliances to coordinate with your cabinetry are big in kitchens and create a more cohesive and visually-pleasing look,” says Ramaekers.

However, panel-ready appliances usually cost more than stainless steel, sometimes making them out of reach for mainstream consumers. In that situation, interior designer Allison Garrison of Allito Spaces goes for stainless. “We’re still doing kitchens where we have stainless (appliances) and painted cabinets because there’s just no getting around it,” she says. “It’s a kitchen. You’re supposed to have appliances in the kitchen. Everyone has to choose where to spend their money, and panel-ready can be expensive.”

Pro Tips for Incorporating Stainless Steel into Your Kitchen

If you have stainless-steel appliances or are thinking of getting them, rest assured that they are definitely not out of date. The finish is still versatile, handsome, and has positive associations with the professional kitchen look that many homeowners aspire to. Since stainless steel has so much visual presence and occupies quite a bit of surface area in your kitchen, here are some designer tips for making it work across the space.

Mix Brands (But Blend the Handles)

You don’t have to source all your stainless-steel appliances from the same brand. Because stainless steel doesn’t have undertones like paint colors do, it’s easier to mix and match from different manufacturers without worrying that the finishes won’t go together.

“It’s more important that there’s symmetry in the handles,” says Garrison. “I don’t like when handles don’t have similar shapes, like one is squared off and one is rounded. I don’t think you need to use all the same brand of appliances, but they need to feel like they talk to each other.”

If your appliances aren’t from the same manufacturer, Garrison recommends going with a handle-less dishwasher to simplify the process of finding cohesive handles. “You can almost always get a dishwasher without a handle, not one with a handle that’s going to clash with everything else.”

Mix Metals

Having stainless-steel appliances doesn’t mean you’re stuck with silvery metals for your faucet and cabinet hardware. Designers encourage mixing in warmer metals, but pay attention to the undertones. “When you pick a brass or a gold, there are so many different tones that you can pick,” Garrison says. “There are some that are more like a bright gold. Those will stand out more against stainless steel. Something more bronzy is going to flow a little bit better.”

How many different metals is too many? Garrison mixed three in her kitchen: stainless steel, chrome, and bronze. Because of its versatility and ubiquity, Garrison says, “it’s almost like stainless doesn’t even count as one.”

Mix Appliance Colors

If you have a stainless-steel refrigerator, for example, you don’t necessarily have to have a stainless range and dishwasher. However, they should speak to each other design-wise. That means making sure a bit of stainless shows up on all the appliances. So if you want to put a range in a fun color with your stainless refrigerator and dishwasher, Garrison says go for it. “I would make sure that funky color range has some stainless handles on it so it ties in,” she says.