Ah, the kitchen—a room so vital to modern life it’s become a fraught battleground. Easily the most expensive renovation you’ll ever oversee, an average “midrange” kitchen remodel costs about $76,000, according to Remodeling Magazine . That cost and stress imbues every design decision with heavy emotion and dread, which is why trends and default design choices are so comforting—and why stainless steel has become so prevalent in our kitchens. You rarely saw stainless in a kitchen prior to the 21st century, but a combination of future-forward thinking and more men doing the cooking made stainless steel the default choice for stylish appliances.

But is stainless steel always the best choice? Depending on your design preferences and personal taste, there’s no reason your finishes must be stainless steel—and while more traditional choices like white or black have become (largely unfairly) associated with “cheap” or “budget,” sometimes they represent a better design decision. Let’s dig into why stainless steel isn’t always your best option.

OK, before we go too far down the rabbit hole let’s be clear about one thing. Stainless steel is a terrific finish choice for several reasons:

But just because stainless steel is typically a good choice doesn’t mean it’s always the best choice, because it does bring some downsides:

Spring has sprung, mostly Equip your wardrobe with stylish shorts for the warmer months and stay looking fly. Did we mention it's three for one?

The good news is that this is your kitchen, and you can choose something other than stainless steel if you want to. The alternatives can be pretty terrific:

So an all-stainless steel kitchen might not be your best choice if you hate cleaning, have kids or pets, or have a more vibrant design sensibility. But this is not a zero-sum game. You don’t necessarily have to match all of your appliance finishes. The secret superpower of designing a kitchen is that you can choose a different finish or color for each appliance if you’re thoughtful about it.

Why would you mix and match finishes? It’s practical, for one thing. Having a refrigerator that’s not stainless steel while everything else is can eliminate the constant wiping-off of fingerprints while maintaining the durability of a stainless oven. There’s a design factor, too: Giving yourself permission to mix up your appliances can have some pretty spectacular results. Here’s a quick guide to mixing and matching your appliance finishes:

There are literally dozens and dozens of color and finish combinations available, so the main advice here is to take your time. Consult an interior designer if it’s in your budget (or consult a creative friend), or steal ideas from the Internet—but don’t rush. You’ll be living with your kitchen for a long time, so don’t make any avocado-green decisions you will come to regret.