August 7th, 2024 | 7 min. read
Learn how to design your kitchen the right way with our Book of Bad Renovations
From 1990 to 2016, you had one choice for mid-priced to luxury appliances: stainless steel.
That's right; your kitchen would look like everyone else's, with stainless appliances, white cabinets, gray countertops, and some kind of subway tile.
Like my kitchen (you would think I would know better).
But no longer.
In this article, you will learn about the best appliance companies for color.
You will also learn how to apply the most popular colors and a few cautionary tales about the wrong way to use color in your kitchen.
Take heart: 73% of all BlueStar ranges purchased at Yale are in a custom color.
You can do it too.
Let's get started.
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What to Look for in Colorful Kitchen Appliances
First, let's examine what you really need to know about picking out colorful kitchen appliances.
We're not just talking about slapping a random color onto your kitchen.
Here's the lowdown:
Design and Aesthetics: The Fun Part
- Integration with Kitchen Décor: Your appliances should blend seamlessly with your kitchen, not stick out. Look for colors that match your cabinets, countertops, and overall style. Whether your kitchen is sleek and modern or charming and rustic, the right color can pull it together.
- Unique Color Options: Unique colors can add a touch of personality to your kitchen, making it uniquely yours. However, be cautious; you don't want your kitchen to feel outdated in a few years.
We will talk about the application of color later in the article.
Brand Reputation and Warranty: The Bad Part
This is not to ruin your excitement, but this is where most companies fail. The color is great, but many of these companies lack any support after you buy.
Reliability: Some of these brands require so much service that we stopped selling them.
Warranty Details: Before you buy any unknown brand, call the service provider and see how long it takes to fix that brand.
Choosing colorful kitchen appliances is about more than just picking a pretty face. It's about finding appliances that fit your style, meet your needs, and stand the test of time.
Follow these tips, and you'll create a vibrant, unique, functional, and reliable kitchen.
Now that you know what to look for, let's talk about the best appliance brands that bring color but not necessarily quality to your kitchen.
Here are our top picks for brands that offer colorful kitchen appliances.
The Best Kitchen Appliance Brands for Color in 2024
Café Appliances
Café Appliances offer only four colors: white, black, stainless, and mirrored. They will be adding green and possibly gray soon.
However, Café Appliances allow some customization with stainless, black, copper, and brass handles for a unique look.
Why You Should Consider Café Appliances
The Café collection has primary colors with some customization. They also manufacture good, functional appliances.
Café has its own service through GE Factory Service, which is essential if you buy from a store without service.
Their double oven 30-inch ranges, French door refrigerators, and matching dishwashers perform well.
Unfortunately, many companies place style ahead of performance.
Speaking of which, let's look at Bertazzoni, SMEG, and ILVE appliances next. We don't sell any of these Italian brands.
However, this article is about color, not performance.
Also, their colors are attractive.
Bertazzoni
Bertazzoni is the most well-known of these three Italian companies. They offer five colors: black, white, yellow, orange, and red.
SMEG
SMEG offers gray, black, cream, green, orange, yellow, and red in their Portofino series.
However, they have a few collections with the following partners:
Dolce & Gabbana
An Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 by designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
Veuve Clicquot
One of the largest champagne houses, originally founded in 1772 in Reims, France, by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron.
Peanuts
An American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz that ran from 1950 to 2000.
You can also buy a refrigerator with a British flag theme.
ILVE
ILVE is similar to Café Appliances, offering 23 colors: white, blue, burgundy, emerald, black, stainless, matte graphite, and antique white.
You also have trim possibilities in copper, brass, bronze, and stainless steel.
Why You Should Consider Bertazzoni, SMEG, or ILVE
First, the Italian-made ranges are inexpensive and look good in color.
Consider all three if you don't cook often or want to flip your house with a unique look.
Their performance and serviceability, however, are a concern.
La Cornue CornuFé
CornuFé is a more affordable, less customizable French-style range available in two sizes: 36 and 43 inches.
You can choose from any of the 50 colors in the standard CornuFé line, including matte black, gloss black, pure white, stainless, blue, gray, green, and cream.
Trim options include polished brass and matte chrome.
Why You Should Consider CornuFé
CornuFé is a good option for a French-looking range without the price tag of La Cornue or the complexity of the Lacanche French range.
Viking
Viking was the first company to introduce color in the late 1980s. They have added new looks with the Tuscany series for a more old-world aesthetic.
They also partnered with Sherwin Williams and will be debuting new colors for 2019, including Nantucket (where we will have a store), Valentine, and even Golden Hour.
Why You Should Consider Viking
You have many choices for a high-output range, and the colors are new and bold. A new CEO, Anne Purcelli, will turn this company around.
AGA
You know the color is good when they spell it "colour."
AGA is a British brand that offers ranges in 36 and 48-inch sizes, along with more specialized models in their classic and new-era stove collections.
AGA offers 14 color options, each with a British-sounding name, such as "Piccadilly Red."
Why You Should Consider AGA
AGA ranges are extremely good-looking and have unique features tailored to the way you cook.
This range has separate broilers and multiple compartments.
AGA is one of the few 48-inch induction ranges available...for now.
True
True is a giant commercial refrigerator company based out of Missouri.
If you pulled your Greek yogurt out of a Whole Foods or Wegmans refrigerator, the unit was most likely a True.
Want to have some fun? Go to True's website and play with their "Build Your True" refrigeration design system.
True refrigerators feature 13 colors and six hinge options.
Want a white refrigerator with black or copper hinges? How about black and copper?
Why You Should Consider True
True builds the most unique refrigeration on the market. True is all stainless and incredibly solid.
True refrigeration gives you the commercial look with a little more flair.
Lacanche
What a stunning range.
If you are looking for a French country look, then Lacanche is a great consideration.
Lacanche offers 31 colors and four trims to choose from, with widths ranging from 28 to 71 inches.
Lacanche also offers options for ovens, broilers, and warming drawers.
Our recent article compared La Cornue and Lacanche. Read it before you buy a French range.
Why You Should Consider Lacanche
Lacanche offers rich colors, customization options, and larger sizes at a more affordable price.
How to Apply Color
Now that you've learned about the best appliance brands with custom colors let's go over how to successfully add color to your kitchen.
You only need a pop of color, although you can buy all your appliances in color.
In what I feel is the best kitchen design of centralizing the sink, stove, and dishwasher, your stove is the best place for color.
You can also add color to the hood for an additional accent.
So, this:
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Eclectic Chic, Transitional Kitchen by Randall Architects
Instead of this:
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Big Chill Studio Size Refrigerator Scandinavian Kitchen
Another way to apply color is by adding a custom panel.
For a brand like True, the refrigerator is a focal point. I am more of a purist and believe you centralize color.
However, the refrigerator's color with a glass front is also attractive.
Most Popular Colors
You probably thought red, orange, and grey were the most popular appliance colors, but natural colors are back.
Black
Both matte and gloss black are popular now.
Traditional Kitchen by Daniels Design & Remodeling
GLENWOOD Blue and White Kitchen by Rosa Moreno Kitchens
White
White will always be popular in New England, especially with brass and copper accents. Polished is more of a New England thing.
If you live in Florida or the Southwest, polished is probably not part of your thinking,
Las Canoas Remodel Kitchen by Allen Construction
Green
Refrigeration in Green with a Glass Panel
Green is the new trendy color. However, green was always the least popular when we sold lighting, so be careful.
Colors to Avoid
Black Steel
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Black Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances
Black steel is an oxide coating. It's simple to scratch, as shown in the video below. Once marked, you will see dots of stainless forever.
The scratches are not repairable or covered under warranty.
Brown
Brown Kitchen Appliances
Oil-rubbed bronze, toast, Cappuccino, coffee, and truffle all have one commonality: they never last and are often discontinued shortly after the grand introduction.
Brown never matches cabinets and doesn't fit with the popular white and gray kitchens.
Cautionary Tale One
Let's have another look at the stylish Dolce&Gabbana appliances from SMEG. Look at the stove closer.
The word "retiring" means discontinued. But what happens if you need it replaced?
SMEG Range featuring the Dolce&Gabbana Design
Many companies will discontinue colors leaving you with a mismatched kitchen in the future.
Cautionary Tale Two
My best friend's family moved out of their home and into a new place on the other side of Needham.
They had Gaggenau appliances and did an excellent job with the finishes and the overall layout.
In the master bath, they had salmon Villeroy & Boch toilets and sinks.
Flash forward ten years, my friend buys the house, and those expensive toilets look pink.
You can be trendy but risk looking dated over the years.
Key Takeaways
You now have more choices for color in brands and appliances. Be careful not to choose the brand just by color.
A pop of color is a great way to distinguish your kitchen from your neighbors.
Start with one appliance, look at magazines, or visit Yale for inspiration.
Additional Resources
Get the free Yale Appliance Buying Guide. It has features, specs, and inside tips for all the brands like Sub-Zero, Thermador, Bosch, and Miele. It covers built-ins, counter depth, freestanding vs. slide-in, and much more (plus a ton of good product shots as well). Well over 1 million people have read a Yale Guide.
Related Articles:
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A Note About Pricing
Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.
