Sitting Pretty

The latest kitchen accessories and appliances offer equal amounts of convenience and cool

By Dana Carman
CTW Features

Image courtesy KitchenAid

The kitchen is the heart of the home, and the designs, appliances and accessories of today's kitchens reflect that. Busy lifestyles demand conveniences in the modern kitchen. Therefore, the appliances on the market are all about the savings - time, space, energy - and are designed to fit into our kitchens, and our lives, in a much more integrated way than ever before.

"One of the big things we're seeing is the flexibility with appliances," says Janice Costa, editor of Kitchen & Bath Design News. She notes there's a lot more cognizance of the issues older appliances don't address, such as space, safety and, of course, environmental friendliness. "Everyone is concerned with green," she says. "There's a certain status in saying, 'My kitchen is green and saving energy.'"

Susan Serra, Northport, N.Y.-based certified kitchen designer and author of the blog The Kitchen Designer, agrees that appliances are no longer a one-size-fits-all package. "There's something for everyone," she says. "You can look for a nuance of a product you want and chances are you'll find it."

One such example is the Miele MasterCool refrigerator. There are four independent "cooling zones" that allow for different foods to be stored at their proper temperatures with an easy-to-navigate system; the dual compressor system eliminates flavor transfer; an alert system functions similar to a home alarm, protecting your refrigerated items should a malfunction occur; the entire box is lit up inside; the drawers fully extend; shelves and bins move in one "tilt-up-and-slide motion."

If there's a feature out there, this unit isn't missing it, according to Arthur Tanturri, owner of New York City-based Chelsea Kitchens. While it may seem all bells and whistles, Tanturri says it's a very high-quality product that is well priced and fits a niche - it comes in a 30-inch-wide version, which, according to Tanturri is a space that has long needed to be filled. "A 27-inch is not quite big enough for a family and a 36-inch is a giant refrigerator," he says.

Other trends in appliances to hit shelves include hoods that automatically detect "bad air" or heat and turn on (and are aesthetic in design as well); ranges that place the controls out of children's reach; microwave drawer ovens, in-sink and countertop dishwashers; and speed ovens ("[They] can cook a chicken in 12 minutes," says Serra).

Tanturri is also a fan of the Quadra line of cook tops by Foster, which is "very functional for an island cooking situation" as the four burners are in a horizontal line, allowing someone to sit comfortably across from the cook with space to eat. Speaking of cooking on the stove, induction cooking is big as it allows for intense heat quickly and an instantly cool surface in case of curious little hands.

Not only do new kitchen appliances have the "wow factor" in terms of functionality, they're attractive and work within kitchen designs - not the other way around.

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