Do My Kitchen Appliances Have to "Match"?

[cschin4]

I am doing a complete kitchen remodel. It will be a U shape. On the left wall will be the stove and hood in stainless steel. In the middle is the sink which is going to be white integral with the Corian countertop. Beside the sink will be the dishwasher. I currently have a nice side by side white refrigerator which is perfectly fine and that would be nearer the sink on the right wall. Anyway, I am thinking of keeping the frig because I just can't see spending $2K just to get a stainless steel frig. I do need to buy a dishwasher so I was going to get white. Those appliances will all be pretty close together. The stove will be on it's own wall. However, I am getting incredulous looks that I am not going match all the appliances, etc and that my kitchen isn't going to look right, etc. I really think it will look just fine.
But, I am committing some kitchen faux pax? I see kitchens now with mixed woods and all kinds of variety. I guess I don't see the big deal and see the reason to spend another $2K to buy something I already have.

[Caoineag]

I agree with you. Nothing wrong with the color combinations you have mentioned. Maybe because I have never been in a kitchen in my life where the frig matched the stove. I can't even imagine that. Wouldn't it look boring if everything was the same color?

[cschin4]

I thought white sink, white dishwasher and white frig. Then, I am planning to get "professional style 36 inch" commercial stove so I guess I view that as it's own entity. However, my mom is mortified and just can't believe I wouldn't buy all new stuff. Well, hello, I am spending a small fortune as is. I am not trying to "save" money necessarily, I just happen to like the frig we have. The new ones look pretty cheaply made to me.

[momof1in150]

Can you buy inserts for your refrigerator and dishwasher to match your cabinets? That way it will look intentional. Just a thought.

[AmbitiousSaver]

It would drive me nuts cause DH and I are OCD like that

BUT when we moved into our first home we had mismatched appliances. Bought a SS fridge... then waited for the bisque dishwasher and stove to eventually quit. The dishwasher quit later that year... and the stove quit the next year. There is no rule that says you need to replace all the appliances at once. Our appliances were mismatched for a year and a half.

[annmarie93]

Do you have to go with stainless steel with the new stuff. You could go with white and save even more money. With HGTV, and how many viewers they have, home items are changing even faster than ever. Stainless steel could be on the way out in just a few years.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

The kitchen is the one room in the house where USAmericans have the farthest to go in discarding the idea that matchy-matchy is a good look. Matchy-matchy is a mass produced look and is more subject to feeling "dated." Homes that are alive with change will not feel so depressingly dated as ones that strived to look top notch at one frozen moment in time. If you want your kitchen to look less frozen in time, less identifiable as having been remodeled in 2008, then I say go with non-matching appliances. Heck, I even say throw in some cabinetry that is not out of the same model line as the rest.

The Oracle has spoken.
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But the Oracle has one heck of a broken down looking kitchen, so weigh that against her words. The Oracle keeps bizarre wallpaper in her kitchen because it is humorous. The wallpaper is so not her own taste, yet it is immensely functional--scrubbable vinyl, you know. A real treat is that when the Oracle walks into the kitchen without her glasses on, she thinks she sees giant ,blue-grey snails arranged in repeating patterns on her walls. This makes the Oracle laugh and think about giving others decorating advice: Allow for humor. Stoves, refrigerators, and dishwashers can get too serious.

[zakity]

I have mismatched kitchen stuff. My fridge is almond. The stove is white. The dishwasher is almond (because the guy at the store decided I needed it to match the fridge). I think he was shocked that I didn't care if it matched and there wasn't a price difference between the colors (sometimes there is). Actually, when we bought the dishwasher, we had an avacado stove.

[disneysteve]

Our fridge (which we bought) is white.
Our dishwasher (which we bought) is black.
Our oven (which came with the house) is black.
Our stovetop (which came with the house) is white.

I don't see the problem.

[pearlieq]

I guess I'll be the dissenting voice, but in general I would expect the appliances to match in a house. It would find it pretty jarring if they didn't and it would seriously deter me from buying a house unless a price concession was made so I could replace what needed to be replaced.

That being said, the scenario you described is probably the most acceptable version of not matching. I could more easily accept a non matching stove of stainless steel with the rest of the appliances matching. That probably wouldn't stick out too much.

Good luck with the remodel, whatever you decide!

[stressedmama]

If that's what you want go for it, but if you plan on selling your house any time soon get matching colored appliances. People usually expect them to match. I think it would be a deterent later on down the road if you decide to sell.

I personally don't know of one person who has mismatched appliances. They are either all white, all black, or all stainless steel. IMO, I think it is strange to have mismatched appliances especially if you are in the process of remodeling.

[scfr]

I don't see why you couldn't mix them and have the kitchen be perfectly asthetically pleasing. You're talking about mixing a neutral color and a metallic, not about mixing two contrasting colors (such as orange and blue).

White and a silvery metallic make up some pretty gorgeous mixes if you think about it:

- Alabaster white & "nickel" light fixtures
- White & Silver Christmas decorations
- White china & sterling silver (is there a more elegant way to set a table?)

You could play up the white & silver theme if you wanted to, or add white-colored decorative accesories to make it look like you really planned to do it that way!

Here are a couple other things to consider, in addition to the fact that you already own the white fridge:

- You mentioned that your sink will be white. You already have a major white element in your kitchen. Your white appliances will match that.

- Stainless fridges are hard to keep free of fingerprints. And they are big & shiny! Think seriously if you want all that metal in one room.

For the record, in my former house my ovens, microwave, range hood, and dishwasher were stainless. The cooktop was black w/ stainless trim, and the refrigerator was black. I prefer a fairly unified look, but don't think everything has to match. And yes, my house sold in what was an average length of time for the market at that time.

[maat55]

Our fridge (which we bought) is white.
Our dishwasher (which we bought) is black.
Our oven (which came with the house) is black.
Our stovetop (which came with the house) is white.

I don't see the problem.

And you won't as long as you keep your bifocals off.

[LuxLiving]

Do what pleases you.

If I were in your situation I'd keep the working appliance that I have and then when it gives up the ghost I'd go w/a matching color at that time IF I could afford it. It's the frugal thing to do!

[Spud]

If I were you, any new appliances bought would be stainless, but I would keep the fridge if you like it and it's still working. When you sell the house, the new owners will probably replace it. Which means you might be able to take it with you when you left.

FWIW I got a 'stainless look' Whirlpool refrigerator that we really like and it was not $2k. More like $1200. The other great thing about it was that since it wasn't actually stainless, magnets work on it.

This is a similar refrigerator to ours.