Choosing low-maintenance kitchen accessories

If you don't have time for the pain of wiping away finger marks on your appliances, you're going to want to choose your appliance finishes wisely. Stay away from colors that are too light or too dark. White appliances and accessories need constant attention. To avoid marks and blemishes on your white furnishings, you will have to wash them constantly. Like a movie screen, white makes spills and shmutz stand out. Dark backgrounds make dust more visible. Just look at your dining room table with a dark wood finish. Seems like you have to dust it every five minutes. That's because the dust reflects the light bouncing off the table's dark surface. Stainless steel comes with its own set of problems. If you are into stainless steel and don't want to see the dirty parts that clearly, go with a brushed or matte finish. They can hide a good deal of the unpleasantness. The shiny mirror finishes are, on the other hand, brutally honest. They will show every smudge, fingerprint, grease speck down to the molecular level, practically. Mirror-finishes just don't care.