Would you buy colorful, replaceable steel panels — a “smartphone case” — for your GE Artistry Series refrigerator and dishwasher? Well, more Breaking News here on this recently-introduced appliance line: We have now learned that GE is exploring offering iPhone-style skins to fit over the fridge and dishwasher — and the company has mocked up five potential colorways to elicit marketplace feedback. Read more below — then take our vote — would you go for appliances with with color panels like this, and if so, what color would you want?
As you may recall, we were first on the web with news about GE’s retro styled Artistry appliances early last summer — and since then we’ve heard from many readers who have purchased appliances from the line for their vintage kitchen remodels. The colors currently offered are a classic white — our favorite, and black.
Now, Lou Lenzi, Director of Industrial Design for GE Appliances has quietly (it seems) published a tumblr post indicating that GE has “been kicking around the idea of adding color to Artistry’s current glossy black and white finishes.” They also mocked up possible colors and finishes to gauge for market reaction.
We quickly asked some additional questions:
How serious is GE about this, really?
GE: We’re serious. We have had so many expressions of interest in colors that we need to quantify if this makes sense, and that’s the purpose of this outreach.
How much would such a skin cost?
GE: Our goal is a $100 adder over white or black.
Can you further share: What would the material would be made of? Obviously, some dishwashers and fridges (e.g. Sub-Zero) already are designed to take panels. … ?
GE: We are considering high-gloss, powder-coated paint on cold rolled steel with anti-corrosion protection.
We love this idea. But then we are color lovers here.
From the blog of Lou Lenzi, Director of Industrial Design for GE Appliances:
Artistry Color Exploration
The Design team here at GE Appliances is constantly looking at trends – “from culture to cooking” as we say, generating insights about the world we live in. These insights inform and guide us towards designs that make lives easier, more enjoyable and maybe a little more entertaining too.
It’s a pretty dynamic activity. Every new generation of homeowner drives new trends, demanding change, just as the newest generation, dubbed “Millennials,” were the catalyst for our new Artistry line of kitchen appliances.
While Artistry only entered the market last fall, we’ve been kicking around the idea of adding color to Artistry’s current glossy black and white finishes.
Before we fall into the trap of creating (and being blamed for) the next Harvest Gold, we thought we’d start with colors that might already be present in your kitchen – ginger, lime, cinnamon, aubergine (aka eggplant for the uninitiated), and lemon. Next, we considered a variety of finish scenarios. We started by bathing the entire appliance suite in color, then tried selected appliances as accent pieces within the suite, and finally landed on colored “skins” that could attach to the front of the refrigerator and/or dishwasher, which could be changed or swapped out for new colors, much like a smartphone case.
Scroll through our images to experience color in context. Notice how a light or dark surrounding environment can transform the feel and mood of a color or kitchen. What do you think?
Our take on the proposed GE Colors
Some of the colors GE is considering for their appliance skins seem to be channeling the Jonathan Adler line of kitchen and bath sinks from Kohler — bright and cheery, retro-mod.
My personal favorite among the proposed GE colors is their Cinnamon, above. This shade of orange-red might work in a variety of vintage kitchen styles from the 40s to the 60s.
The lemon color GE is considering is not quite right for a 40s or 50s vintage kitchen, but would look totally groovy in a retro mod, flower power late 60s or 70s kitchen, don’t you think?
The same can be said about the lime offering — though it doesn’t seem to be quite as acidic as a true retro lime, it would still blend nicely into a colorful mod kitchen.
We are amused that GE’s blog post dismisses Harvest Gold (Retro Renovation 2014 Color of the Year — because their “Ginger” reminds us oh-so-much of that same lovely shade. We like this one a lot! This would be a nice choice for anyone trying to recreate a 1960s through 1980s kitchen.
Of all of the proposed colors, GE’s Aubergine, above, may be the most problematic — because when it comes to purple, many people either love it or h*** it. Even so — at $100 per panel, it doesn’t sound like too big a risk.
Inspiration from 1968: Wacky-awesome!:
Go, GE, Go!
If GE moves ahead with this idea, we’d sure love to see them give a nod to the retro with several of their color offerings, of course! No matter what, though, we are super excited that color is returning to the appliance market once again. RESIST THE GREIGE NATION, America!
Kelly Wittenauer says
Turquoise/aqua
Harvest gold
Avocado green
Would be my choices. And I think their best bet for maximum sales would be to match the retro colors. Plenty of buyers who want to match those existing appliances, but would like to have versions offering modern conveniences & lower energy consumption.
tammyCA says
I forgot..I voted on the turquoise or aqua. Actually I have a kitchen aid mixer in the prettiest aqua ever..that would be the color of a fridge I’d love.
JulieL says
This is a great idea! I was literally just thinking about this yesterday because I know soooo many people who throw away perfectly good WORKING appliances simply because they want a different color. Our desire for style makes such a negative environmental impact. This would be an amazing and environmentally smart idea! I would love anything in the blue family: robin’s egg blue, turqoise, powder blue etc.. Thanks for bringing this to us.
tammyCA says
Well, I’m a colors fan so I think it’s a pretty good idea..but I’d rather have the appliances come in colors with great design and function. We had to buy a new fridge a few years ago and it was very hard to find even a white one that was the right size for the space and with the freezer on top…even so I constantly curse it’s lousy interior design and breaking plastic drawers..geez! I love and miss vintage design, rounded corners, shiny chrome handles (I miss handles!)..and metal shelves again! Quality in everything has gone downhill.
Jan says
I would love it if appliance companies would at least make replaceable panels of this nature, since the usual ones don’t seem to want to make the actual appliances in anything by stainless steel, with the occasional white or black thrown in! But I also wish they’d stop making these things with the curved fronts on them! Flat please!
Lynne says
I’m posting without reading many of the previous comments, so I apologize if this has been brought up before.
I’m all for the color choices but looks are only skin deep. What about the quality and capacity of these appliances?
pam kueber says
For quality assessments, I recommend readers buy a subscription to Consumer Reports. That’s the only source I know of you get such guidance. Any other reviews would be, in my view, anecdotal. In fact, I really discourage and may not approve or delete negative quality rants on this blog, because I don’t know who these people are, where they are coming from, whether they are robots, whatever. I may do the same with way positive comments, especially from commenters who have never posted before; same reasons. I find this to be a tough issue to figure out what the right thing to do is… Bottom line: This is not a review site.
On this blog, I generally focus on design/aesthetics and size appropriateness. I personally have a subscription to Consumer Reports, and I use it as part of my decision-making process when making certain purchases. That said, I will not share what I read on Consumer Reports – because my understanding is that their reviews are their own copyrighted information; this is how they make their money, and good for them!
angie says
PLEASE, YES! I need a turquoise dishwasher to complete our remodel and a vintage one is scarcer than hens teeth. So please!
vegebrarian says
This is an exciting prospect! We’ve been casually shopping for a new fridge and last year’s story on the Artistry line put this one at the top of our wishlist. I love, love, love the idea of swappable panels!
Andi says
To answer the question, YES I would buy a “smartphone case” for my fridge! I called area appliance stores for months after reading about the Artistry line on RetroRenovation, searching for a floor model to see in person. Finally found one about a month back…and these are VERY nice!
I am waiting for my old clunker to truly bite the dust so I can justify a new one (amidst a ton of other pricey projects, the fridge took back burner) but an Artistry fridge is on my list. I would have gotten white, but if an aquamarine “skin” becomes available, the fridge will move to the front burner for sure!
I voted for Aquamarine/Turquoise of course, but several of the colors they are already considering are also nice.
This is truly EXCITING news on so many fronts!
Mary Elizabeth says
Wow! This is a great idea. Do you remember when dishwashers came with different color panels you could switch out? Some people have already painted their white panels to match other appliances in the kitchen. I like that you would be able to change colors if you redecorated, but it doesn’t seem there are enough color choices to attract sufficient buyers.