Stainless vs Paneled Fridge

Panels look nice but I’ve found they are rarely installed perfectly, and can shift over time and need frequent re-adjustment to stay flush and not over/under close...

A nice stainless steel may be an easier way to go.

In NYC, I've got stainless steel (but not on a sub-zero), because it goes with the overall modern minimalist gray and white scheme of the kitchen. In the 2nd home, it's paneled, so it better blends in with an early 1800s kitchen. Agree with steve123: Fitting panels on fridges and dishwashers is finicky work.

Thanks. I see that almost all new developments are doing paneled fridge. Any insights into high-end consumer taste?

Have had paneled appliances for 15+ years and the panels have never shifted.

Have had paneled appliances for 15+ years and the panels have never shifted.

If you’re doing a custom kitchen fitting panels to
appliances should be a no brainer.

Thanks.

I would prefer panels over stainless. You see stainless everywhere, and panels seem to be a surprise and high end finishing to me. Never had panels though, so don't know if there is some downside to them. As I am looking at units today, artfully done stoves/range + panels really stick out. For some reason I think I can tell when a stove unit is cheap versus "solid".

Paneled look is more expensive as the fridges which accept panels are usually built-in (their door is almost flush with the countertop) vs counter-depth where the door sticks out beyond counter. For 36 inch, the difference is $3-4K min for similar brand.

I'd think this is a pretty kitchen-specific question. I've had both, and you can certainly get counter-depth refrigerators with factory-supplied stainless panels that sit flush with the countertop.

If you have wood floors and wood cabinets, sometimes a stainless refrigerator is a nice break. A lot of kitchens still have stainless ranges...

My NYC apartment has a paneled fridge that matches the pantry at the other end. Back when guests would come over they could never find the ice.

Panels in my condo are 14 years old and I don't see any shift. Nor any of my neighbors, far as I know.

Aesthetically, I agree it's hugely dependent on context and overall decor. My personal bias would be toward stainless, since my memories of working in well-oiled commercial kitchens are fonder than my memories of trying to get shit done in fancy people's homes (that were clearly designed to be gawked at rather than used).

I'll pick on my building as an example of why I've grown skeptical of paneling.
https://streeteasy.com/sale/1403530

Here we've got a $2.5M Wall St apartment whose sharp-looking kitchen is less capable than the $500/mo apartment I had as a retail employee in Nowhere. Ok fine, different people have different priorities, yadda yadda -- but the listing has the gall to tout these appliances as a high-end perk. That stove may be 21" wide and completely unventilated, but hey, it's a European brand!

(and to be clear it's not just this broker getting carried away, it's every listing in every building around here)

I have seen high end kitchens that combine modern cabinetry + functionality, but they are the exception. Whereas when I see a more industrial-looking setup in someone else's kitchen (steel shelving, knife bars, hung pots, etc), I assume the odds of it being suitable to actual cooking are more favorable.

As always, this is pure bias & stereotyping on my part and should have no bearing on what a particular homeowner wants to do with the space they own.

Come on - that kitchen at one end of the living room is obviously not designed for real cooking - has nothing to do with being paneled - it would be ridiculous in stainless steel

Right, it would be absurd to think that panels *cause* kitchens to be crappy.

But brains are tricky things. Once you've seen a hundred such listings, prejudices creep in. The same happens in reverse all the time (Veblen's "trickle down" of status symbols).

Our architect put down his foot re insisting on panels for subzero in our current prewar apartment. Those who have seen the reno say he hit it out of the park. I absolutely love it, but as the end user, I still don't appreciate why it mattered to the design as much as it apparently did to the architect.

And FWIW, I replaced the panels on the subzero in our DC house with stainless steel. There is no accounting for taste.

Additional note here: As always, I recommend doing the opposite of what I like if you want amy resale value, but I am annoyed that I let myself be talked into yet another built-in-counter-depth subzero. The sizes are unique to subzero and you are then captive to the brand long-term so that if you tire of it in 10 years, you have no choice but to go back to subzero for whatever you want to change, unless you are prepared to redo counters and cabinets as well.

Personally I miss the 24" Liebherr counter-depth we put in the apartment we recently sold, but Mr. MCR knows his way around the kitchen and insisted on real appliances if I ever hoped to entice him to the NY apartment on any regular basis.