The look of tomorrow?

Imagine: kitchen appliances with a finish created from a metal considered so precious that it is traded with gold, silver and platinum on the London Metal Exchange. They loom on the horizon, says Bob Byrne, vice president of new product development at Lima, Ohio-based American Trim, which has tracked trends and supplied metal products to a variety of industries for more than 50 years.

Matte aluminum is already making a splash in Europe, where it is showing up on automobiles and furnishings, says Byrne. The matte finish is “bead-blasted” — that is, small glass beads are propelled through a nozzle at the aluminum to create the look. Matte aluminum “has an anodized appearance that is expensive, in the price realm of stainless,” Byrne says. “Europeans think of aluminum as a precious metal. It is traded on the London Metal Exchange.”

And it has another feature in common with stainless steel, Byrne adds: It won’t take magnets.

If that’s a consideration or if you simply want a different look, faux finishes in nontraditional colors may be the answer. He predicts that copper and titanium, which is already available in a laminate, could be the next wave of hot appliance looks.

Or consumers could embrace another new twist — bold colors such as cobalt blue or deep orange. Viking has widened its offerings to offer almost a dozen colors including mint julep, lemonade and eggplant. Choice is expanding, says Byrne, for “those consumers who are in the market for metal finishes in choices beyond black, white and bisque.”