Inspired Trend: Black, Silver Also Advance at a Colorful Inspired Home Show

With the varied color finishes that painted so much of the new product seen at The Inspired Home Show 2024, it might have been easy to overlook advances in the use of black, white and metallic silver — yes, they are colors, too — to bring an updated look and feel to timeless styling.

The Inspired Home Show witnessed more black in balance with white in monochrome and silvery, stainless steel and aluminum looks in metals. Frequently, however, show participants combined black with stainless steel and aluminum to achieve a classic combination that harkens back to other periods, such as the late 1950s and early 1960s, when such space looks were popular.

Of course, color remains critical to housewares, as demonstrated by Lee Eiseman’s Pantone Color of the Year presentation at The Inspired Home Show, where she revealed seven emerging color palettes for the home under the theme A New Harmony. The exhibit floor at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center was awash in all sorts of hues, tones, and finishes — some bright and lively, others more muted and restrained — as the industry turns again to such colorful implementation as a potential elixir of renewed growth.

However, basic monochrome and metal colors remain important considerations for consumers who want to accent, complement and contrast the colors in their homes. Black and silver and black and white combinations, which did have some presence among new products, have a clean style that suggests function but can do so in an attractive way when combined in forms that support modern looks.

Still, a modern look doesn’t mean contemporary in the sense of cutting-edge design that might not be attractive to consumers shopping in the mass market. Instead, it’s akin to menswear-inspired and mid-century modern design sensibilities, the popularity of which began taking off more than a generation ago. Another consideration, black and silver are sometimes used in contrasts that direct the consumer’s eye to control surfaces in products where operational features are the key selling point.

Bright metal design can also signal other messages, in some cases, as to the use of recycled materials. Fissler described the Vitaquick Premium Pressure Cooker (pictured above) as a next-generation in company design, made up of 90% recycled 18/10 stainless steel. The Fissler contrasted the bright functional metal appearance with black handles and pressure fitting to achieve a modern look. In a similar design turn, Fissler characterized the M5 Pro-Ply Collection as designed to meet preferences expressed by U.S. consumers in its 5-ply construction using up to 90% recycled 18/10 polished stainless steel.

In a different shining cookware example, the Campfire Griller from Nordic Ware is made of durable, rust-free cast aluminum designed to withstand the heat and intensity of an open fire, which it is designed to do as a cooking implement that users can suspend over a campfire through the use of the attached handle. In this case, the clean look adds to the substantial composition of the cooking surface to suggest that the griller can stand up to rough use.

Black and Silver

In taking things in a somewhat different direction, the Tramontina Guru induction cooktop is a black-hue appliance, but it comes in a set that mixes in bright aluminum and steel. In the case of the 4-quart Covered Dutch Oven, that means the bright metal is adorned with black handles, but the aluminum 9.5-inch Ceramic Nonstick Frypan comes in black as the primary color with the metal’s silvery tones shining through as accents, including on handles and rims.

Appliance introductions at The Inspired Home Show frequently used black as a means of enhancing the look for a particular purpose. To provide an enhanced retro look in appliances that offer up-to-date functionality, Mon Chateau wrapped The Brookstone Retro Air Fryer in classic black and used midnight tones throughout its several Brookstone Retro introductions. The Retro Air Fryer, to reinforce the retro theme, incorporates large dial controls with a red center disk to contrast and underscore the use of old-fashioned controls in the function and styling.

The Show had multiple examples of the pairing of silver and black in the small appliance segment. Jura’s ENA 8 coffee maker in Full Metropolitan Black has bright, light glass and silver elements in an urbane contrast, in one example. For its part, Salton contrasts silver and black in the company’s 2-in-1 Single Serve Coffee Maker. The black body frames a silver band around the brew basket, which itself frames the black company logo. Then the new Aqua Optima’s electric kettle comes in black with silver accents in a relaxed contemporary expression.

Black has emerged in personal care in the case of the Gforest Enterprises Lightweight High-Speed Hand-Held Hair Dryer as an alternative to white and the various colors that cycle through the marketplace, providing a choice for consumers who might have a more functional, get-the-job-done sensibility. In home décor, black also has its place. Umbra designed its Cubiko Wall Planter for indoor or outdoor use in black to make it translatable to most decors while making dirt and grime less conspicuous.

Providing Options

Black and white combinations can still establish a modern look that works in a variety of room environments as a stylistic accent or contrast that doesn’t seem too stark. So the Mila Air 3 room atmosphere purifier sets off its white side panels with a black top surface that provides enough style to make it part of a room’s decor.

In a different twist, Brabantia provided black-and-white choices in a new line of garment care so the products involved, which might be placed in various rooms in a home, can suit the stylistic preferences consumers might have. Although it might be assumed that white would be the monochromatic choice in garment care, especially for products that might reside in the laundry room, some consumers may look to purchase one or more for a bedroom or craft room, given the line ranges from the Steam Clothes Hanger, Door Steam Blanket and Foldable Steam Board to a clothes Rack and a 9.2 and a 10.6-gallon size laundry basket.

So, certainly, white remained a part of the show and color remains critical. Yet, the presence of so much black among monotone introductions speaks to companies trying to create new products that suit the wide range of consumer tastes.