The kitchen is often called the heart of the home. Whether you’re grabbing a quick breakfast, preparing a 5-star feast, or gathering together for hot chocolate on a cold night, your kitchen is likely one of the most frequently used areas in your home.
But what exactly makes up a functional, stylish kitchen? Yes, the cabinets, countertops, flooring, and lighting fixtures are all very important pieces in a well put together kitchen, but the real powerhouse is your appliances. After all, your kitchen is for more than just looking at, right? Cooking is the name of the game!
Throughout our extensive design catalogue, we offer a wide range of high quality GE ® kitchen appliances that can suit any culinary skillset, all the way up to the exquisite Café line. But features and function aren’t the only thing you have to consider when selecting your new appliances nowadays. Style is always changing, and a few finish newcomers have taken the stage, giving you even MORE available appliances to choose from (as if there weren’t enough already).
Let’s take a look at the latest in appliance finishes that are keeping things fresh in the kitchen.
Stainless Steel
Tried and true! For the past couple of decades, stainless steel has been the go-to for bringing an upscale look to your kitchen appliances. It’s clean, looks great, and matches easily with pretty much every cabinet color, countertop material, and flooring option. A majority of kitchens you see (and most likely your own) feature stainless steel appliances in this day and age. However, that means you’re also aware of the biggest issue with stainless steel – those pesky smudges and fingerprints. Whether you have tiny (typically messy) hands in your home touching everything or a self-proclaimed chef who buzzes around the kitchen like a pro, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid prints and smudges with typical household use. It requires a good amount of upkeep to keep your appliances looking like new and sparkling with the shine that you fell in love with in the first place.
Black Stainless Steel
So what other options are out there? If you’re feeling brave enough to step away from the safety and timeless style of stainless steel, the latest black stainless steel appliances may be just what you need to make a statement. The brushed metal texture of regular stainless steel gets upgraded with a glossy black hue, bringing sleekness and originality to a more modern designed kitchen. Black stainless steel was also developed to combat the biggest issue with typical stainless steel with its smudge-resistant design. Instead of spraying down and scrubbing, leftover marks can be wiped away in seconds, making it easy to keep your kitchen looking crisp and clean. Keep in mind, however, the decor of your kitchen you’re your own personal style when considering to go with a black stainless finish. The bold black may be more difficult to match to the rest of your kitchen depending on your taste. Black stainless steel appliances typically coordinate better with more monotone kitchens featuring whites, grays, and taupes.
Slate
Slate may be a perfect in-between for those who are put off by the risky jump to black stainless steel. But a slate finish is more than just a “middle of the road”, safe option. The stone-inspired slate finish on appliances is very quickly making a name for itself in more recent kitchen designs – and for good reason. Most notably, it features a matte finish instead of the brushed shine found in stainless steel, giving your kitchen a more subtle elegance. The slate also one-up’s the black stainless steel by naturally hiding fingerprints and claiming to be smudge-proof. Yes, you read that right. So say so long to dirty kitchen and hello to subtle slate. In addition, with today’s homes gearing towards more open floorplans, it’s important that the rooms of your home coordinate with those surrounding them. Much like your traditional stainless steel, the slate finish knocks it out of the park here, matching seamlessly with most colors, textures, and hardware. Whether your taste is coastal comfort, classic contemporary, or rustic chic, the subtle elegance of slate appliances have you and your new kitchen covered.
So what’s your preference when it comes to keeping your kitchen up to date? Are you sticking with the tried and true stainless steel, jumping on board with black, or keeping it cool with slate?