Stainless steel kitchens are in trend. Many brands are coming up which this not so unique concept of making kitchens in stainless steel. So what is this finish and is it really that good? Lets discuss a bit of it here.

If you have ever visited a commercial kitchen inside a restaurant or a caterer, you would have seen a stainless steel kitchen. Thick gauge stainless steel or SS ensures that the tables can handle the hard and extreme conditions of a commercial kitchen. They are made to be banged on with extremely heavy utensils, be cut and scraped and still be cleaned easily. The concept of SS kitchens is not new and has been here for several decades. The only drawback of these commercial SS kitchens is that they are not needed to have closed cabinets. Pantries in commercial kitchens are made in normal wood or iron and are a separate room. A home kitchen needs to be made in cabinets and needs to be much more aesthetically appealing compared to a commercial kitchen.

As stated above, the thicker gauge SS kitchens are a great thing but SS that is that thick cannot be turned into cabinets. Hence, a much thinner gauge of SS is used. This can then be turned and pressed in the desired cabinet shapes with one issue. The strength is not the same. But then, that really doesn’t matter that much since a home kitchen does not have to suffer the same hardships that a commercial kitchen needs to. Another issue is the aesthetics. SS is just one color of the mild matte steel. Its neither glossy nor colorful. For that matter, a couple of different approaches are used by different vendors.

1. Use wooden shutters. The frame is made in SS and the shutters are made using the normal plywood with the desired finish. This gives an outward appearance of a normal kitchen.

2. Use SS shutters. The SS shutters are spray painted in some limited range of colors. Depending on the quality of spraying, this could last long or be chipped off after a while.

The biggest reason why people explore stainless steel kitchens is because of their longevity. Even the best quality plywood can start spoiling in the areas close to the sink. The best reason for a stainless steel kitchen is that it will not break down even after several years. At the most, water can create some algae which can be avoided by regular cleaning. In addition, any seepage in walls will not harm the SS frames or cause any damage to the utensils or material kept in the cabinets. This is by far a huge reason why people get attracted to a stainless steel kitchen.

A big disadvantage is the cost. A decent SS kitchen will cost double or more in comparison to a plywood kitchen. Another concern is lot of empty spaces for cockroaches to dwell in. To keep prices low, very thin gauge SS is normally used for the cabinets. In addition, they also need to hold screws of hinges which is not needed in a commercial kitchen. Hence, instead of single sheet, the steel is folded and doubled with space in between. This is a haven for cockroaches.

Stainless steel kitchens have a very good benefit. But nowadays, there are other options available like a Bolio branded board by Action Tesa. But these are all still wood while steel is steel. If needed, and if possible, you can try to see the option of using stainless steel for framework in and around the sink area of the kitchen while going for the normal wooden cabinets in other areas. This will save money as well as provide a safety against dampness and water damage.