Given how technology now affects every part of our lives, it would actually be more surprising if it wasn’t changing the future of kitchens. Why should technology not enter and improve the very place where our daily sustenance is prepared? Besides, kitchens are usually a place of aesthetic pride for homeowners, which is the prime reason why kitchens are the most remodeled rooms across the US, right beside bathrooms.
So, how is it that tech is entering, changing and refining kitchens at rapid rates and building a better, more efficient future in the process? Well, that’s what we will discuss next.
Professional Kitchen Designing Software
You might think that a kitchen renovation would be that one place where software has little functionality, but you would be very wrong, because professional kitchen design software from the likes of ProKitchen has now made it possible to imagine, design and refine your kitchen remodeling right from your computer (Mac or Windows), before putting those designs to effect in your kitchen.
Check out the ProKitchen website to learn more about how you can plan your entire kitchen renovation for free. If you are a professional interior decorator or architect though, the ProKitchen Professional Design Software could be a very useful tool for making sales and refining your ideas by incorporating the expectations of your clients within it. It saves time, eliminates the chances of errors and provides a glimpse of the future, even before you have powered up the drill.
The Induction Hob
Induction hobs were futuristic from the very day they were first introduced to the public because they just looked so impressive. A piece of gorgeous ceramic in black that cooks food in perfect temperatures, without fire; if that’s not a piece of the future, then we don’t know what is!
However, when they were introduced, the hobs were highly inefficient as they consumed a lot of electricity and the rate at which they managed to even boil water was quite disappointing to say the least.
The induction technology has come a long way since those early days, because in 2019, a premium kitchen hob is extremely power-efficient and cooks faster than it was ever thought possible for induction magnets before.
The Smart Fridge
Imagine a world where a fridge is able to tell automatically when it’s time to increase or decrease the cooling in each of its separate departments for better preservation of food, in accordance with the temperature outside. Well, that imagined future is a reality now, thanks to smart refrigerators introduced into the market by the major manufacturers.
In fact, some of them can actually predict and warn you against rotting food left in the fridge for too long. The programmable nature of the smart fridges also lets them warn users before they run out of a certain grocery item, making them the ideal kitchen partner and friend we never thought the fridge could become.
As if warning people about the impending doom of perishables wasn’t enough, there are advanced (and extremely expensive) models in the market that come with big displays connected to cameras located inside the fridge, so that you can check what’s inside without even having to open the door.
The displays also show messages left behind by others at home, play music (that’s correct), connect to smartphones and smart speakers, and sometimes, the fridge sends you some notifications of its own regarding what it thinks of its current internal status. You know the future is here when the fridge starts advising you about managing groceries better!
Smart Ovens and Stoves
Not unlike smart fridges, smart ovens and stoves can do some pretty cool and futuristic things as well. Of course, the actual abilities will vary from model to model, but some of the following can be expected from smart ovens in general:
- Wi-Fi connectivity for connecting with your smartphones/tablets/smart speakers
- Enabling you to control all functions of the oven with your smartphone or smart speaker alone
- Advanced setting options for cooking a wide range of cuisines
- If two stoves are on the same platform, they should be able to cook in different temperatures
- Automatic alerts to notify potential dangers or burning/overcooking of food
- Ability to detect when it requires cleaning, with self-cleaning options
- Preheating, automatic cooking and automatic shut downs, post cooking
Samsung is the leader in the smart oven and stove business, although competition from the others is heating up slowly, as they are getting a grasp of the market that remains to be capitalized here. It’s good news for consumers though, because competition lowers prices and inspires innovations in every field.
The Environmentally Conscious Trash Can
The problem regarding landfills putting tremendous pressure on the environment and our oceans is a very real problem that we are dealing with right now, but environment-friendly trash cans might help to reduce at least some of our garbage and put it to better use.
What the recycling bin does is that it basically converts all the organic trash from the kitchen into potent fertilizer that you can then use in your garden to feed your plants or enrich the soil. If you don’t have a garden, use it for your indoor plants, or to grow herbs on your windowsill.
Do be careful to not put metal, plastic or any inorganic waste into these trash cans though, because they cannot be recycled by a regular recycling bin for obvious reasons.
Of course, this isn’t the most definitive list, but it certainly manages to highlight some of the most prolific changes that we are seeing right now, or we are about to see very soon.
Then again, by the end of the next one or two years, it is quite likely that even more changes might be introduced to the kitchen via refined and improved technology. As far as kitchen renovations are concerned though, now is probably the best time to go for one than it has ever been in the last few years!