From The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition Six years ago, Cynthia Landvater decided she wanted restaurant-style kitchen appliances in her Raleigh, N.C., home. There was just one problem. Let the backlash begin. Hard to clean, sensitive to fingerprints and not always user-friendly, commercial machines often turn out to be more headache than conversation piece.
Industrial ovens can be so hot they singe cabinets.
As a result, some upper-end homeowners are junking their stainless appliances altogether. Others are choosing to hide them in alcoves and cabinets rather than showcase them. The move away from stainless shows how rapidly home-fashion trends come and go these days. Once major residential-design styles changed every decade or so, leaving plenty of time for ordinary homeowners to jump on board and feel stylish for a while. But in today's booming economy, with record spending on remodeling, home fashions fluctuate almost as often as hemlines.