Stainless steel appliances have ruled over kitchen trends for more than a decade, but has the time come for the pseudo-industrial look?

Before it hit stores, KitchenAid gave New Orleanians a sneak peek of its new "black stainless steel" appliance finish last month when House Beautiful magazine transformed an Uptown home into its Kitchen of the Year. (See photos of the incredible kitchen makeover here.)

Now the black stainless steel finish is hitting the mass market as part of a new appliance collection sold across the country.

KitchenAid described the finish as a combination of "the satiny luster of brushed steel with a warm, neutral tone that both increases its adaptability to various kitchen designs and decreases the appearance of fingerprints." 

Translation: an edgier option for those tired of traditional stainless steel.

When renovating the House Beautiful kitchen in New Orleans, San Francisco designer Ken Fulk said the days of the all-white-and-stainless-steel kitchen may be nearing an end. "That trend has reached a saturation point," he told NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune writer Patricia Murret.