What’s hot in the kitchen?
Every aspect of our lives is affected by technology, and the kitchen is no exception. And while we may be perfectly happy with our appliances, a lot has changed in recent years.
Kitchen designers say you can put it down to the increased interest in food shows, such as
MasterChef, and the move towards healthier eating. More and more people are upskilling in the kitchen and they need the tools to do it.
Here’s a good example: Kitchen designer Robin Caudwell, of Design CK, in Hamilton, says recently he has had two requests for expensive vacuum-sealing drawers that aid sous-vide cooking in a steam oven. This is where you cook food in a vacuum within a specially sealed pouch.
If you want one of these drawers, which look a little like a warming drawer, Miele can deliver, but it will set you back $4199.
‘‘We are seeing some extreme cooks, who want this technology,’’ Caudwell says. ‘‘And they just rave about the sous-vide vacuum-seal drawers.’’
Steam ovens are a much more common request. Caudwell says he is putting a combi steam oven into every second kitchen he designs. Smeg combi steam ovens retail from $4299 while an Asko 60cm pure steam oven is $5999. A Miele version retails for $8799, but that can be a drop in the ocean for some homeowners.
‘‘I can easily spend $50,000 to $60,000 on appliances for a client’s kitchen,’’ the designer says. ‘‘But no clients regret their purchases. Everyone who has bought the combi steam oven is over the moon about it.’’
Kitchen designer Vicki Andrews, of Vicki Andrews Design, in Christchurch, has the same experience.
‘‘People love the fact that steam ovens are a healthy way to cook and you can programme in your meal and not have a disaster. It’s healthier, easier and ergonomic, which makes it very attractive.’’
Induction cooktops have become the norm now for these designers’ clients, and prices are coming down.
‘‘Induction cooktops with no defined zones are very popular,’’ says Andrews.
Some freestanding cookers, such as the Smeg Victoria, come with induction cooktops.
Andrews says she is putting a lot of high-end appliances into new kitchens.
‘‘People today are looking for and expecting sophistication. They want the most up-to-date technology.’’
Rachel Louie, executive director of The Jones Family Business, which owns Kitchen Things and Applico, says multiple ovens are very popular.
‘‘Where in the past, customers would put in an oven and maybe a microwave, now they often prefer to install a line of ovens. A typical setting would be a 60cm oven, a 45cm steam convection oven, and a 45cm coffee machine – with a coffee drawer and a sous-vide drawer under the 45cm versions, so all the appliances look perfectly aligned and balanced.’’
The look of appliances is also changing. Louie says mixed materials are in vogue, such as glass with copper, or stainless steel details that enhance and refine the look of the appliances.
‘‘We also see a lot of tinted glass with reflective particles, especially in ovens,’’ she says.
‘‘A kitchen is no longer just a place for cooking; it’s also a place for entertaining.
‘‘Five years ago people took their friends out to dinner. Now they bring them home and cook for them – meaning the kitchen environment needs to be appealing and worthy of hosting guests and homeowners need the right appliances to help them create restaurant-style meals.’’
Other kitchen appliances turning heads include wine refrigerators, new instant filtered hot-water taps, and downdraft extractors that rise up out of the benchtop.
People today are looking for and expecting sophistication. Vicki Andrews Vicki Andrews Design