Technology gives kitchens make-over

Talk kitchens of the future and the fridge is always at the white-hot end of technology. It will morph from a device for storing food, into an on-line multimedia centre; the TV blaring while the vegetables stay chilled. It's just there's been so much talk about net fridges and other 'dot appliances' transforming our lives that we've tuned out.

It's technology that hasn't yet landed in our kitchens, and we're not too fussed about the manufacturers' hype. We're far too preoccupied with transforming our kitchens into functional open-plan spaces to think about using a fridge for electronic inventory. Today's kitchen is still the heart of the home but in a whole new way.

If cooking was once a solitary pursuit, today's open-plan kitchen practically elevates you to celebrity-chef status. It's also the new hub for family activities; the dining table now the multi-purpose 'doing table' where families eat, drink and then get down to work on their wireless laptops.

Designer Shane George, this year's NKBA's kitchen designer of the year, says good design is crucial in today's showcase kitchens.

"There is a greater awareness of good design because people realise how important these rooms are. Some people want practical kitchens, while others want a designer look," he says.

"All want the best technology has to offer."

Home owners can spend as much as $50,000 on a gallery of stainless steel, engineered stone benchtops, exquisitely finished fine cabinetry and the latest European appliances. Fridges and dishwashers are integrated into the total look, hidden behind joinery panels. Cupboards have been exchanged for deep drawers which close silently with a gentle, vacuum-assisted push.

Designer Ingrid Geldof, just back from the Eurocucina Exhibition in Milan, says technology is right at home in today's kitchens.

"We have so many choices compared to 10 years ago – and technological advancements were evident at Milan," he says.

"Many of the kitchens had lacquered cabinetry, and that's a direct result of improvements in paint technology. Integration was a key feature – and the hardware is improving all the time. I saw one sliding cabinet that sat completely flush against the wall."

Geldolf, who has just won her 30th design award, says some of the technology was complex and sometimes quite baffling. The new Miele range of kitchen appliances featured integrated electronics: "the oven was 'talking' to the fridge".

The compact kitchen was a notable trend to emerge from the Milan exhibition, widely regarded as the showcase for future kitchens. 'Single', designed by Alberto Colonello, is a free-standing or wall-mounted unit with fixed dimensions that can be equipped with a sink, dishwasher, refrigerator, and cooking surface. The cover snaps shut, returning the kitchen to a compact block.

Increasingly design innovations contribute to the evolution of the kitchen. Although, as George says, many people recoil from a cold and futuristic look in their homes.

"People still want kitchens that are tactile, with hardware and appliances that work together."

Martin Croft from Kouzina Appliances in Auckland says the majority of his clients ask for induction cookers over gas, and functional products such as self-cleaning ovens. He has also noted an increasing demand for steam ovens.

"They are replacing microwaves," he says. "With fast cooking speed as the main attraction." Manufacturers such as Gaggenau, Miele and Bosch all produce their version of a steam oven. Other products, such as the Hofhizaki ice maker – which churns out 20kg of ice in 24 hours – are pure indulgence.

Leading appliance manufacturers have a constant stream of new products for consumers to ponder. Fisher & Paykel Appliances have recently introduced the 'Gas in Glass' cooktop; a frameless piece of black glass supporting three gas burners, that rise out of the cooktop when needed.

Rosalie Davison of Electrolux says one of the banes of modern living that frustrate many people are the multi-layered menus on the tiny screens. She says Electrolux is leading the way with intuitive interfaces so customers won't need to consult a manual before setting an oven clock.

The company's latest designs, she says, will achieve this through multiple displays and buttons.

Donald A. Norman, a leading expert in usability engineering, writes about this dilemma in his 1988 book The Design of Everyday Things.

"I do not think that simple home appliances ... should look like Hollywood's idea of a spaceship control room," he writes. "The consumer who, often as not, has lost (or cannot understand) the instruction manual, so – faced with the bewildering array of controls and displays- simply memorises one or two fixed settings to approximate what is desired."

But what about the future? There are ambitious plans to connect fridges, and even kettles to the net. When it comes, the internet fridge, permanently online and accessible by you from everywhere, may indeed transform our lives. It's been promised for a long time. In 2002, LG Electronics were promoting an internet fridge with the nous to download recipes and organize them in a digital cookbook – or order groceries on-line through an internet grocery delivery service as items were removed from the firdge.

For our technological advances, good kitchen design will always be based on human culture, rather than technology for technology's sake.

As kitchen designer guru Johnny Grey recently told the NZ Herald: "We don't use the kitchen much for cooking; it is more a social place for reheating food."