Bland and boring kitchen designs are so yesterday. Who wants to sit down and eat somewhere that doesn’t also look great? No matter what you are eating – caviar, casserole, or cookies – preparing it in a well-designed kitchen is always going to improve the experience.

Sure, it might not totally make your poutine taste better, but it certainly will help the ambiance of your kitchen to throw in some new colours and thematic parings. And while you may think that your kitchen appliance colour choices are limited, think again. Let’s take a look at the world of colour that awaits.

1. Take the Black

(See image above)

Sometimes the best choice is to paint the night, or your kitchen appliances, black. Whirlpool’s new Fingerprint Resistant Black Stainless Steel offerings mean you can freshen up your entire suite of kitchen appliances in one unified, matching nighttime style.

With ranges, ovens, refrigerators, and dishwashers, every piece of your kitchen ensemble can join the dark side. And, like the name says, you won’t have to worry about fingerprints getting in the way of enjoying your shiny new appliances. It’s a victory for lovers of darkness everywhere. Huzzah!

2. The Sunny Side of the Street

For those of you who want your kitchen to have a somewhat sunnier demeanour, fret not. How about something that captures the moment right as the day ends and you come home, ready to jump into the kitchen and whip up a masterpiece? The sunset peeks through your windows and the light falls on your brand new…wait for it…sunset coloured appliances? Yup. You read that right. Sunset coloured.

Enter the new Whirlpool Sunset Bronze and Fingerprint Resistant Sunset Bronze colour, which combines super-hip rose gold undertones and sunset bronze to bring any kitchen into a modern – and bright – age. The Bronze Age may have come and gone, but this new tonal colour is here to stay.

3. Pretty Fly for a White Sty…le

While some may say that white is the absence of colour, it actually represents an abundance of class. Sleek and stylistic, white appliances can perfectly capture that clean and modern atmosphere without cluttering up your kitchen with distracting hues and tones.

Even better, white appliances not only look great but also open a whole new world of possibilities for decorating and exploring with themes in the rest of your kitchen. The world is your oyster, and your brand new white appliances are the shiny white pearl at the centre.

4. Steel Their Breath Away

Bold. Beautiful. Stoic. Surprising. Steel. Yes, it may be used for bridges, but a Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel finish on your Whirlpool appliances makes a statement that even the pickiest of house guests will be sure to notice.

Better yet, the Fingerprint Resistant finish means that all those messy and grubby little kid fingers won’t leave marks on your new appliances, and you’ll be able to go on enjoying their sheen for years and years to come.

5. Heavy Metal

Sometimes metalheads do get it right: Metal really can rock and roll, and it can also look good in your kitchen. Who knew?

For example, new appliances can look awesome in a nice Fingerprint Resistant Metallic Steel finish, like on a brand-new Whirlpool refrigerator.

Just make sure to leave time in your cooking schedule to stop and adore its metallic gleaming. Ah, yes. That’s the shine and sparkle you were looking for. Nice. Metal for the win.

Amanda, Your Appliances Expert

Mysterious clothing stains are just a part of everyday life when you’re doing laundry for a whole family, but they don’t have to be part of your everyday wardrobe. Samsung laundry machines have a wide range of features that let you take out tough stains in no time. So, be prepared next time disaster strikes, and learn how to clean these 5 common household stains in your Samsung washer.

1. Grass Stains

Good news: your little one nabbed the winning home run at their Little League game! Bad news: you’re the one who has to clean the uniform. Whether grassy knees are courtesy of an athletic kid, afternoon yardwork, or an unfortunate fall during what was supposed to be a nice jog in the park, unsightly green stains will be a thing of the past with Samsung.

Before starting a cycle, just pretreat the offending clothes using cool water, stain remover, and Samsung’s ActiveWash built-in sink. Grass stains don’t stand a chance against a good soak followed by a cold wash cycle.

2. Coffee Stains

Coffee is another unavoidable stain for a family on the go. Early call times for work, school, and soccer practice require a good old-fashioned cup o’ joe, but your morning pick me up can also bring your day crashing to a halt if it finds its way onto your pants and shirt.

Like grass stains, coffee stains fade fastest when soaked first with cold water using your Samsung’s built-in sink, but unlike grass stains, you’ll want to follow up the presoak with a cycle using the hottest water you can get. Samsung washers have super customizable temperature options, so just throw the clothes in the washer, select “Extra Hot,” and let your Samsung wash all your worries away.

3. Pet Stains

You might take good care of your fuzzy friends, but that won’t stop them from repaying you by doing their, uh…business whenever and wherever the need strikes. Whether it’s fur, slobber, odours, or more unsavoury stains, Samsung has you covered.

Brush off any solids, then run the fabric under cold water. Heavy stains might require an overnight soak in vinegar or bleach, but lighter stains can usually be taken care of by throwing some apple cider vinegar in with your usual wash cycle. When you’re done pre-treating your clothes, set your washer to Allergen (to wash away deep dander and bacteria) or Sanitize (to get your clothes looking and smelling good as new).

4. Juice Stains

What do you do if your kid spills fruit juice on their favourite toy? You know, the one they can’t sleep without? Fifteen minutes before bedtime? Don’t worry, you don’t have to pick between a sleepless night while teddy presoaks in the washer and a sticky toy attracting ants to your kid’s room—use Samsung’s Deep Steam setting instead. Steaming is a surefire way to get out the toughest of stains—no prewash required! Just throw Mr. Bear into the wash, set it to steam, and he’ll come out squeaky clean in no time.

5. Grease Stains

Whether you’ve been working hard over the stove or you’re just grabbing a quick bite to eat, grease stains can sneak up on you. It doesn’t take much for a small splash or drip to turn into a stubborn stain on your spotless clothes. But don’t worry, there is a reliable way to get rid of these pesky spots, and it’s simpler than you might imagine.

The key to cutting grease stains is just a bit of dish detergent! Blot away any remaining grease with cloth and cover the whole spot with dish detergent. With a scrub brush and a bit of elbow grease (no pun intended), you should be able to lift off the worst of the stain, then just toss your clothes in the wash for a final clean. Samsung’s normal wash cycle—set to warm, but not too hot—should have just the right combination of power and care to get your clothes fresh again without setting the stain in deeper.

Amanda, Your Appliance Expert

You just bought a brand-new GE Dishwasher, and you want to test it out. Run it through the wringer. Throw everything you can think of – cake crumb-coated plates, burrito crusted dishes, ice cream stained bowls – at it just to see how powerful it is.

Of course, there are some things that you shouldn’t put in your dishwasher – like raccoons — but there are also some surprising things that you might not know are dishwasher safe. So, try throwing the below items in your new washer, and sit back and relax and see the sparkling clean results.

1. Egg Beaters

There are some dinnerware items that you often use but are a total pain to wash by hand. Egg beaters? Those rise right to the top of the list. They may be super helpful in making fluffy and amazing scrambled eggs, but those little wiry nooks and crannies are the absolute worst when it comes to cleaning.

Ta-Da! Problem solved. Grab your egg beaters – or whatever whisk you fancy – and throw them in your egg-cellent new dishwasher. Problem solved: GE’s Deep Clean Silverware Jets will blast that food into outer space…or at least off your beaters. Bet that will pass even your greatest eggs-pectations.

2. Wine Stoppers

Somewhat of a misnomer, wine stoppers aren’t there to get you to drink less wine, but just to keep the wine that you do have fresh after popping the cork. They serve a good purpose!

And as such, they should be treated with care. They can – from time to time – get a little wine splashed on them, and everybody knows that wine can stain and be a total pain to wash off. But, stop worrying too much: Many wine stoppers can be thrown right into the dishwasher. In fact, you could even throw it in the dishwasher, grab a glass of wine, wait for it to come clean, and then “recork” the bottle. Now that’s some smart time and wine management, right there.

3. Taco Holder

Whether you celebrate Taco Tuesday or Taco Thursday, or just love enjoying tacos every day of the week, taco holders can make prepping them so much easier.

But what happens when you go a little too crazy with your loaded toppings, and your once clean taco holder is now covered with burnt quesadilla cheese and blackened, hard-to-clean jalapeno residue? It would be a shame to throw our such useful and important culinary items.

Dishwasher to the rescue! Toss those taco holders in your GE dishwasher with its more than 140 Cleaning Jets and let your new home appliance do the hard work for you. It leaves you more time for taco eating, and anything that does that is a win in our book.

4. Panini Maker (Trays, at least)

While bread may be good in its normal, untoasted form, there’s just something about taking two slices, placing your favourite toppings, meat, and cheeses between them, and throwing them on a panini press for a little slice of warm, toasted heaven.

The problem is that paninis – just by their nature – can get messy, and cheese that tastes quite good can be quite annoying to try to scrape off the panini trays.

Good news! Stop the panini presses! Remove those trays and interior grids and throw (not literally throw, but you get the idea) them in your GE dishwasher’s convenient Third Rack and fret no more. Now, just make sure you don’t put the ENTIRE panini maker in the dishwasher, but we shouldn’t have to remind you of that.

5. Whiskey Stones

Some people want their whiskey cool, but without water dulling the flavour. For those brave souls, whiskey stones were invented. But like anything that sits and soaks in a glass, eventually, you are going to need to wash them. Yes, even if you are soaking them in alcohol. That doesn’t count as cleaning. Sorry.

But, whiskey stones are small, and there can be a lot of them. The tiny little things can also fall down the drain, and that’s just an accident waiting to happen.

Perfect solution and it didn’t even require a drink to think of it: Put them in the dishwasher. Yup, whiskey stones are dishwasher safe, and you’ll be able to keep them fresh and clean for that next nightcap.

Amanda, Your Appliance Expert