For many people, the kitchen is the center of the home. Here are ways that some companies propose to help us make better use of space in the kitchen:
High-tech fridge
Whirlpool has an eye on a new use for some prime kitchen real estate: the refrigerator door.
Toward the end of the year, the company plans to bring to market a feature on its side-by-side, flat-door refrigerators: a docking station to hold and power popular consumer electronics such as mp3 players.
The feature, called Central Park, consists of a plug on the top of the fridge door and a removable plastic cradle.
“One of the top consumer concerns in the kitchen is cluttered counter space,” said Matthew Newton, Whirlpool’s innovation consultant. “As electronic devices move into the kitchen, we’re helping to get them off the countertops and onto a common and convenient location.”
The goal is to roll out Central Park across more Whirlpool refrigerator lines in 2008.
Prices for the side-by-side refrigerator start at $899, and the cradle will most likely sell for less than $50. The DVD player, the digital photo frame and any other electronics of choice are not included.
Two in one
Love the convenience of your slow cooker but hate its hard-to-store bulk?
Ditch it, General Electric says.
Come May, the company will offer its Profile Tango Oven, a double oven that enables cooks to simultaneously prepare two dishes at two temperatures.
The lower oven comes with a slow-cook feature that uses about the same amount of energy as a free-standing slow cooker, said GE spokeswoman Allison Eckelkamp. The oven’s slow-cook mode has five settings. The cost of using it for 10 hours is 15 cents, or 1.5 cents an hour, Eckelkamp said. In comparison, the slow cookers GE tested cost 11 to 15 cents in a 10-hour stretch.
Both ovens can be used for any type of baking, broiling or roasting.
There are two 30-inch Tango models. The PB970, which costs $1,499 to $1,799 depending on the color, has thermal baking like a conventional oven. The PB975, which costs $1,699 to $1,999, has a convection oven. Both have pizza mode in the top oven and slow-cooking mode in the bottom.
Smaller is better
Going with smaller appliances is the most obvious way to save space in the kitchen. But Gaggenau’s 24-inch, wall-mounted Lift Oven offers small with a twist.
The emphasis is on “lift.” The push of a button lowers and raises the oven’s glass ceramic base so dishes can be easily loaded and unloaded.
“It creates a lot of design options,” said Vanessa Trost, a Gaggenau spokeswoman. “You gain so much space in your bottom cabinets, which is very valuable space for most people.”
Since heat rises, the oven’s cavity does not lose much heat when the base is lowered, Trost said.
Also, if homeowners choose to mount the oven under a cabinet, the base can lower directly onto a countertop, making it easy to transfer food.
The Lift Oven will sell for about $3,300.
Microwave in a drawer
The microwave went from being on the counter, to over the counter, and now under it–in a drawer.
Sharp’s microwave in a drawer is designed so users can reach in for their food or even check on it without having to handle it.
“It’s the ultimate solution for microwave placement,” said Ryan Murphy, a Sharp spokeswoman. “It clears off the counter space.”
The stand-alone drawer debuted in early 2005. This summer, the new generation of drawers will open and close automatically with a gentle pull or push of the handle.
The oven comes in 24- and 30-inch models and will sell for $849. They have the same capacity, but the larger one has more trim on the front.
