So what's the deal with 'white ice'? It just looks like a white refrigerator to me, unless there is detail in the photos that I'm completely missing.

Well, the photo is a white fridge with updated handles (I am considering getting some IKEA handles for my basic fridge!) I love the link to the retro finished more. I'd go for retro over stainless steel (read:boring suburbian well adapted) any day.

I've never liked the stainless steel appliances for how hard they are to keep fingerprints off...okay if you are a CSI investigator. I've always like white. I just purchase a new frig about 3 months ago...in white but if I had the budget, I'd go for an aqua blue in the retro look frig with the modern conveniences inside.

I have stainless steel appliances that came with my apartment, but other than the fact that the front of the microwave needs cleaning after everytime I cook, I have no problems with fingerprints. My parents opted for white appliances in their new kitchen and the builders were surprised that stainless wasn't chosen.

I think wrapping appliances in vinyl is going to become more popular. Replacing appliances for purely aesthetic reasons is wastefully expensive, but it's easy and cheap to "skin" them white tomorrow and then change to red next month, or gingham in the summer and tweed in the winter,

There are a few companies doing it now, but I think it's going to get more popular and more specialized, with more high-quality materials, tailored skins and professional services doing it.

http://www.applianceart.com/

Finally!! I have been waiting for someone to come out with pure, sleek white appliances. Many of the current white finishes are either textured, slightly off-white or just cheap looking. These appliances would blend in seamlessly with a modern kitchen without the finger smudges!

If the appliances are high-end, it doesn't matter what colour or material, they'll usually look good because they're designed by a good designer, are of higher quality and probably being put into a kitchen that has had some thought put into it's design.

I am not a fam of most SS appliances just because most of them are super cheaply made now. Before, there were few manufacturers making them as a really high-end niche for designers looking to put professional quality into a home kitchen.

If someone asked what I thought the next trend will be, I would say white or black with stainless trimmings. Super simple, sleek and clean.

OMG I hope so. I hate stainless. So difficult to keep fingerprints and dog noseprints off of... And when it scratches UGH drives me crazy. I have now put in white glass front Jenn-Air appliances in two homes and I love it so much.

So, is it just smooth white & not the pebbled effect? Guess I don't have a love/hate for either SS or white. Anyone remember copper or poppy (toned like copper only in red) besides avocado (which I still don't hate). Almond was about the blah est.

They're nice with the stainless type handles. Definitely better than that copper/bronzey-looking color they had awhile back. Whatevs- I still like my stainless.

What I've longed to see is a user friendly version of "stainless" - ie, gray - not just white or black. (Feel free to debate endlessly on what % gray) Also, there are endless color options in back painted glass that would allow designers total color, texture and pattern range, with easy clean-up for the end user. The Jenn-Air that Meowza mentions above stops just short of the next wave, in my book.

I'm ready for a solid-gold fridge. I think for now I'll have to settle for covering the front of my old white fridge with gold leaf. It will bring a real "pop" of glamour and excitement into my decrepit rental kitchen, and then when my fridge overheats and dies again, I can still enjoy the shimmery view.

The new white appliances I have seen are sort of a glass finish white and it doesn't look any easier to keep clean than stainless. I do like the look though, and they feel fresh and interesting in a way that stainless can't be anymore since it is so overused.

I picked stainless Bosch and Gaggenau for my kitchen recently when my old black glass appliances finally wore out. The glass black was actually somewhat hard to keep clean. Since I have worked in commercial kitchens, to me stainless is industrial, classic and utilitarian looking, which I like. And if you have worked in a pro kitchen you are accustomed to wiping everything down with soapy wet towels and rubbing them dry. I can do this very quickly at the end of the dinner clean up.

The whole stainless becoming trendy with people saying they absolutely must have stainless, and now saying stainless is so tired and just all wrong... well, I have little respect for trend following in general. It's all just consumer manipulation -- I know because it's sort of my job to manipulate you. That's how we get you to buy new stuff even when you already own perfectly serviceable stuff.

I have a beautiful white Kenmore I got a year or two ago, I think it is a lot nicer than stainless. Plus you can't have as many colors look nice on the walls with all stainless appliances.

In my eyes stainless has become very builder grade, that is - not high end or special. What remains special to me are hidden appliances, covered seamlessly with matching cabinet panels.

What I see for the future is matte finish appliances in a wider range of colors. I would totally buy a matte gunmetal suite if the finish was high quality.

I'd think that any really high gloss surface will be just as difficult to keep clean as stainless. It's just so easy to see imperfections on something so reflective. From a cleaning standpoint, maybe the best direction for appliance trends would be a smooth surface (as opposed to pebbled or otherwise textured) with a more matte finish?

I'm not sure why every suburban housewife on 'House Hunters' HAS to have stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Use some imagination. We're going with stainless steel countertops and white appliances.

I think white and stainless are both classic (though stainless is overused and white underused at the moment). Don't like black, I think it doesn't really work with anything.

I'm just about to buy a new white refrigerator, so this intrigues me. The Whirlpool brand French door refrigerators are very highly rated by Consumer Reports, and they are also the highest in reliability, if any one cares.

I had already chosen another brand, but I'd at least like to see the white ice in person. Apparently it looks like glass and I really like the stainless handles.

Whirlpool also makes Ikea appliances and, I think, Kenmore appliances. Amana, Jenn-Air, Maytag, and Kitchen Aid are all part of the Whirlpool brand. (I love google).

I like my white appliances, but I would love to get "sexier" white that looks more upscale. White goes with my condo and stainless steal would stick out too much. yuck! If I had a bigger kitchen I would do those hidden appliances with cabinet fronts. Appliances do not need to steal the show!

I really like the Bosch red appliances but don't think they'd look good in my place.

I love a white kitchen with white appliances that blend in. I am neutral on SS, but detest the ones that have SS combined with black.
But I also wonder, when will we get something new? I was watching "My Favorite Space" on HGTV this morning, and Marcus Samuelsson (chef) had a copper (professional no doubt) stove in his NYC apartment. I recall an episode of Sarah's House (or one of the Sarah Richardson shows) in which she chose a grey--but not SS oven. Some new metallics would be nice.

I like the look of this Fridge: http://www.carving.com/cabinetry/armoires_gal.php?pic=2
With maybe a stove like this: http://www.maknyuu.us/2011/08/13/home-professional-kitchen/#
But I'm a sucker for the storybook look

After watching my MIL continuously clean fingerprints and scratches off her stainless steel fridge I decided long ago that when I redo my kitchen It'd be in white. I've been seeing a lot of sleeker options for white. I think it looks much better than SS and blends into all white cabinets rather than stick out like a stainless steel thumb.

I like white for the kitchen, it looks very clean. I resisted the stainless/black trend for years, but finally had to give in because they seem to be the only option these days.

I absolutely love that look! Although any color would be nice and all colors will be dirt magnets in their own way, depending on the finish.

Either way, I'd buy these designs in white, black, red, blue... whatever. lol.

I love the storybook look. Having a house that is my "castle" seems like such a great idea. With that said, if I were to have my dream appliances I'd go for one of those armoire fridges, something like this: http://www.carving.com/cabinetry/armoires_gal.php?pic=2
And kind of a cast iron look, but with modern conveniences. Something like this: http://www.maknyuu.us/2011/08/13/home-professional-kitchen/#

I do like these ice white appliances, but they are very sterile and cold still. What about something a little more earthy or natural in finish?

I recently bought a french door fridge in white. Stainless just seems like a maintenance nightmare. I'm redoing my kitchen with dark wood cabinets and white appliances I already own.

I've always loved white and have thought stainless was over done and sure to eventually become the harvest gold and avocado green of yesteryear. Just bought my new smooth white fridge and I love it! (I'd painted my ancient beige workhorse white till I was able to afford my new one and I'd done such a good job on it everyone thought I'd gotten a new fridge.)

No.

I had a friend in high schools who's parents were super trendy/cool and they had a fridge that was all glass Like the ones at 7-11 that hold the cold drinks. I thought that was bitchen and would love that in our kitchen.

I like it!

WHOA, what?
Whirlpool is biting my style!
I did this with my new fridge when I moved 3 years ago. Didn't like the look of stainless and wanted to fit my vintage house. Bought an LG and swapped the handles out for brushed stainless. When all was said and done, it cost a little more than stainless, but I achieved the effect I wanted. The proof is here

Slightly off topic perhaps, but could I go all Spelling Gestapo for a moment? I propose we all agree to spell the diminutive form of "refrigerator" as "fridge" from here on out.
"Frig"? Well, it...it just disturbs me.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means"-- Inigo Montoya

@RMBNN Yes....I have seen those colors....'real time'..there was pink....and the awful 'harvest gold' the 'poppy' was horrific...I think I still prefer a classic and smooth bright white..basic..simple....but of course, the colorful retro's are jussssttttt adorrrrrrrrrrrable..: )

I like white versus stainless because they blend into the white cabinets better. I think stainless looks trendy and annoying. It has looked that way to me for at least 7-8 years. Looks like it's for people who never actually cook but think they're being cool. Real cooks and chefs I know never seem to have stainless in their own home kitchens.

I agree with a previous comment, the "white ice" is kind of a sexy option in comparison to all the dull and textured white appliances out there.

As my husband said - 'white ice', otherwise known as white.

@THATKRIS...; ) Ha!..I rememmmbbberrr that..

Are Wolf ranges in stainless steel "out" or just the ones from Sears?

Oooh, YES PLEASE!! This is sexy. Can't tell for sure, but it looks like it has an ultra-white glossy finish.

My beautiful new bottom-mount WHITE fridge is only 4 years old. I deliberately avoided SS. I can't count the number of people who said 'Oh...why didn't you get a stainless one?' when I bought it.

But just last night, a friend was over for dinner and starting checking out the fridge while I was cooking. After a while, she said 'I'm in the market for a new fridge, and I'm just thinking how much nicer yours is, than all the stainless ones. Those make your kitchen look like a lab. I actually think I might go with white.'

Booyeah.

My mother-in-law, who was alive to see the 70s and 80s eras of colored appliances, gave me excellent advice: No color for appliances. They age too quickly.

That said, all my small appliances are red. Rest is white. Spice of life, folks.

*are* white! : )

I can't stand stainless-unfortunately, our kitchen is decked out with it. We have a all white high gloss kitchen, and I really wanted white appliances to go with it. The problem is, a lot of white appliances are ugly-made of that cheap textured material, and we couldn't find a dishwasher that had hidden controls in white like we could stainless. I would kill to have really sleek white appliances like in the photo-would make our kitchen look much more streamlined.

Not to mention stainless shows every dent, fingerprint, and bit of dog slobber on it.

For about four years I've been reading that "oil-rubbed" (whatever that means) bronze is The Next Big Thing in appliances. Jenn-Air was one of the first to tout it, but it must not have caught on because they now sell only one refrigerator in that finish. Lately they're pushing dark red. Very pretty, but it certainly limits changing one's decor on a whim.

I think this White Ice (it also comes in Black Ice) is attractive in a sleek contemporary way, but I can't see it with anything except white cabinets. I've done two kitchens with white cabinets and I used white appliances over SS both times. But I still prefer SS with wood cabinets. Whirlpool shows both the White Ice AND their Black Ice with black cabinets. Black with black? Now there's a real destroyer of light!

But if anyone thinks these Ice designs will fight fingerprints better than real stainless (as opposed to the commonly sold SS-look which repels them just fine), they should think again. The only appliance finish I've ever seen that really hides fingerprints is the pebble finish, which is not attractive at all to me. Floating black glass wins the fingerprint capturing contest hands-down.

I must be the only person who hates white as a design choice, hates it.
Its so clinical and sterile looking. I have really dislike the range of electronics that have come out in white and hate this range of appliances.

My house was painted white only for an undercoat. Could not leave it white

Am I the only one who LIKES white and stainless steel because it looks clinical and sterile looking? I'd love to cook in a place that looked so pristine you could produce microchips.

I've never liked stainless steel appliances. They make me feel like I've walked into the back of a fast-food restaurant. There is no character or charm, just plain old metal. Currently, I have all white appliances, but would love to get something colorful and charming in the future.

No @Pi, you're not the only one. I'd love that too.

It's sad that, despite all the advances in inventory management and in transportation, our decor options for appliances seem so limited. I know that big-box stores want to stock lots of models, and it doesn't make sense to have each model in more than one or two finishes -- but still: My parents had an AQUA refrigerator. It was glorious.

Kitchen design nowadays seems so full of fear. People decorate so as not to offend the next buyer at resale time, and everyone has to pick lowest common denominators instead of something they'd really like.

I know neutrals are easier to redecorate around, but this business of "pick white, don't get stuck with a color you'll tire of" is hogwash. Picking a Kitchenaid mixer was one of the funnest appliance experiences of my life because they have so many great colors. If there's ever a company that makes it easy to order a refrigerator from such a range of colors, I'd be loyal for life.

I had a Jenn-Air white glass refrigerator and wall oven at my old house. I loved them. They looked fantastic and were a great alternative to the now very common stainless steel appliances. They were also very easy to keep clean even with 2 toddlers/preschoolers around. My guess for the next big thing would be appliances with customizable door panels so your refrigerator and dishwasher doors match your cabinets.

Oh darn it, I was so hoping the next trend would be Swarovski crystal encrusted appliances.

Interesting to hear that "white ice" is the new trend. Although it looks lovely, I will be sure to buy a different color/texture now. ;) Even while owning stainless, I can agree it's over-saturated.

@pi - I love sterile too! Nothing is allowed on my kitchen counter tops. Principle of it & all!

@weatherman - Great lead on "skins" for the big appliances! Much more practical. And our poor landfills filling b/c of trends!?!?

Apologies, I can't recall who first mentioned it, but I too am dead sick of "house hunters" demanding granite & stainless... especially when they have to ask, "is this granite?" If you have to ask, you don't deserve it!!!

I like white. Maybe I'm one of the few. I think it's timeless. Stainless always looks dirty, and cold to me. White looks great with any style. I will need all new appliances soon, and I'm going with all white again. Maybe I will try the white ice. I'll have to see what it looks like in person first.

I am just about to renovate my galley kitchen and am on the fence about white appliances. I think I would do them if they made a counter depth refrigerator that was only 30" wide and an 18" dishwasher in the white ice finish. I'm having a hard enough time finding them in stanless. I refuse to buy those plain white appliances, but I do like the white glass finish.

I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry when I first saw an article on the "white ice" trend - I had just bought my dream SS appliances and now it seemed they would look as dated as harvest gold in just a couple years! Then I remembered the article I read saying white cabinets were "dead.". That was about 10 minutes after I finished painting my kitchen cabinets white. It seems that white cabinets have now been revived. Bottom line, it's your kitchen, so do what makes you happy, even if it is harvest gold!

There's a definite trend in white kitchen hoods, especially with white glass. Check out http://www.futurofuturo.com/white-range-hoods.php for some ideas.

@ sealbeachy: "Oh darn it, I was so hoping the next trend would be Swarovski crystal encrusted appliances." - LOL, Elica actually makes a vent hood that's covered in crystals. I can't imagine cleaning it though...

I love white appliances with stainless handles, knobs, etc. I have a Jenn-Air slide in range from the 1980s with the same combination, and it looks great. I noticed Ikea started doing a simillar color combo as well. It makes white appliances look great! I am thinking about buying a white ice door to replace the stainless door on my whirlpool dishwasher, and thinking about the white ice range as well... most all stainless ranges look ugly to me. i cannot stand the black accents that are normally on stainless ranges.

TiffanySeattle thank you for posting your pic. This is just what I wanted to do, but was afraid to pull the trigger. I am putting in darker cabinets and white appliances. I am also planning on switching the handles to stainless. Wasn't sure how it would look, now I am sure, thanks!!

SS has always struck me as a "no brainer" choice...for people with no brains. It's a trend that makes suburban people feel like they're keeping up with the Joneses. But, it's become a parody of itself IMHO. I'm going with all white new appliances. They're classic, unpretentious, clean and tasteful.

I'm not a huge fan of stainless, either. It's like the granite countertops issue. What was once considered a delicious upgrade is now pretty mainstream. When things go mainstream, quality goes down the tubes. If I could have whatever I wanted, it would be an old 50s fridge in a sort of cream or buttercream color and an AGA range in the same color.

(I have black granite countertops, and I despise them. I would replace them with oiled wood in a heartbeat)

I love the handles and the fridge. Nice job.

The new GE Slate line is very refreshing - they are supposed to be coming out with more size options for the frig - right now the only one is too big for my space