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Remodeling a kitchen

dullard

dullard

Elite Member
In my house, everything is great, except for the 20 year old kitchen appliances (there is a relatively new dishwasher). Ever since I bought the place, I've wanted to replace them with better looking, more efficient, and more useful appliances. Finally, it is time to do so with middle of the line appliances (I refuse to get cheap looking crap and the high-end is a waste of money for my house since it is not a high-end house.).

I really like the look of black (and it'll match the black dishwasher I'm not replacing). So, personally I'd be happy with all black replacements. However, I realize I won't be in the house for too many years and I'd like to get back as much as I can from this renovation (I don't expect to get every dollar back). Since stainless is so popular now, do you think it adds value to the house to just pony up the extra $100 per appliance to get stainless? That is, would I get back more than $100 for having stainless instead of black?

Of course no one can answer for certain, I just wanting personal opinions of others. Would you think a house is worth $300 more with stainless appliances instead of black?

Possible Range. On sale this week, $50 off and 15% off the sale price Saturday.

Possible Refrigerator. On sale this week, $240 off and 15% off the sale price Saturday.

Possible Microwave. On sale, $60 off and 15% off sale price Saturday.

Black versions of each are about $100 less.
 
Originally posted by: Safeway
Yes. Stainless > Black.

Edit: But they do need to match =/
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Would the one black dishwasher be bad? I'm replacing the oven/range, microwave, and fridge. The replacements would be black based but with stainless coverings (the typical middle of the line stainless look).
 
JMHO... Don't do stainless-- at least, not true stainless.

I had a friend who built a house last year and bought all new stainless appliances. They looked absolutely great. At least for the first few months.

Now, just a year later they show every scratch, smudge, and fingerprint that ever came across them. From a distance they still look great, but once you get close you'd think the appliances were more than a year old.

When our fridge died two weeks ago, we thought about getting stainless for the few extra dollars-- but decided against it when we realized we wanted something that would still look good in a few years. So we went with a black fridge with the rough matte finish.

 
Originally posted by: MathMan
JMHO... Don't do stainless-- at least, not true stainless.

Now, just a year later they show every scratch, smudge, and fingerprint that ever came across them. From a distance they still look great, but once you get close you'd think the appliances were more than a year old.
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That is why I'd personally perfer all black. But I'm also trying to think of resale value. Then I'll combine my personal preference with resale to make the final decision.

Plus stainless won't let you put magnets on the fridge.

 
Originally posted by: MathMan
JMHO... Don't do stainless-- at least, not true stainless.

I had a friend who built a house last year and bought all new stainless appliances. They looked absolutely great. At least for the first few months.

Now, just a year later they show every scratch, smudge, and fingerprint that ever came across them. From a distance they still look great, but once you get close you'd think the appliances were more than a year old.

When our fridge died two weeks ago, we thought about getting stainless for the few extra dollars-- but decided against it when we realized we wanted something that would still look good in a few years. So we went with a black fridge with the rough matte finish.
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I agree. No stainless unless you get the no-smudge kind. Ours is a PITA.
 
I love stainless appliances. I've been mulling over some way to just stick stainless steel sheets on my appliances 🙂

That said, $300 isn't really significant enough to worry about. Personally, when I bought my house I never considered the color of the kitchen appliances, I was only concerned with if they worked well or not.

Also, color trends wander all over the place. When are you planning on selling? Stainless may still be popular next year. 5 years from now black will be trendy again. 10 years from now we'll be back to white. 20 years from now, we're going to be telling our adult children about how our parents threw away the same avocado appliances that you damn kids are shelling out extra for.
 
In general I agree that Stainless > Black, but that is if they all match. In your case I would go with Black because of your dishwasher. It is more important to have a matching scheme than just having stainless.

What color are your countertops and cabinets? Make sure that your applicances match those things since they would be more expensive to replace.
 
Originally posted by: Jzero
When are you planning on selling?
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Probably in 5 years. Who knows the future though. I'm a cheapskate, I care about $300 even though I shouldn't.
Originally posted by: pmark
What color are your countertops and cabinets? Make sure that your applicances match those things since they would be more expensive to replace.
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I'd like to get solid surface countertops, but price is way out of my range (and probably won't be the right match for a middle-of-the-line house). I thought of tiling, but I can't find tiles I like. So it'll be a new formica countertop for me (the savings over tile will let me get the range and microwave). I wanted to pick the appliances before I picked the countertop. I'm leaning towards a speckled forest green color a bit greener than this, but maybe more of a greyish stone look.

House has 5 year old solid wood floors in the kitchen. The cabinets are oak with a darker stain. I just got new wood blinds to match the cabinets.
 
IMO if you are going to get a new countertop, spend extra money on that and save money on appliances. A buyer can easily get new appliances, but getting a new countertop is a lot more trouble.

Also stainless steel appliances with a formica countertop is a total mismatch. High end looking appliances paired with a lower quality countertop just doesn't make sense. Your $300 would be put to better use fixing up other things.
 
Originally posted by: pmark
IMO if you are going to get a new countertop, spend extra money on that and save money on appliances. A buyer can easily get new appliances, but getting a new countertop is a lot more trouble.

Also stainless steel appliances with a formica countertop is a total mismatch. High end looking appliances paired with a lower quality countertop just doesn't make sense. Your $300 would be put to better use fixing up other things.
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spot-on and 100% correct
besides stainless is already old-hat (the uber appliances are titanium.
beauty is in the eye of the beholder too.... personally I don't like stainless, especially non-burshed ones as they show ever single fingerprintand smudge
 
Color is not as important as being rated as ENERGY STAR. If you're worried about color, Stainless > White > Black, in my experience.
 
there is a puppy thread right below this and i thought it said "remodeling a kitten" i thought "DAMN i need to see this" needless to say the real thread is a letdown.
 
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