2016 Kitchen Appliance Options

Feb 11, 2016

With the New Year comes a new round of trade shows where manufacturers display their latest and greatest appliances and trends. Kitchen stoves, fridges, and dishwashers continue to become sleeker, more efficient, and more “smart” for the tech savvy. Appliance Gallery offers insights on what is on the horizon and what continues to trend.

Refrigerator/Freezer Columns: Columns are thin refrigerators and freezer units designed to fit in spaces between 24- to 36-inches. The columns can be placed side-by-side or separate to maximize space. Imagine the cook having more counter space next to a column refrigerator, where they are likely to access much more frequently than a freezer during meal prep time. Columns are also extremely energy efficient because of their smaller profile. Miele, Liebherr, Thermador and Sub-zero offer column style units.

French Door Ovens: Not only will this wall oven compliment the style of your French door refrigerator, but it also is extremely user friendly. You can open up both doors with one hand! Viking leads the way in this area, with an extra-large interior, fast preheating, heavy-duty metal knobs accented with LED lights, and 11 different cooking modes.

Convection/Steam Ovens: Steam cooking is gaining popularity for its healthy eating properties – food absorbs only the moisture it requires and oil or fats are not necessary in the cooking process. Meanwhile, convection ovens have a fan and exhaust system, which conventional ovens do not have. The fan and exhaust blows hot oven air over and around the food, and then back out, which cooks the food evenly and faster. The Wolf Convection Steam Oven has 10 cooking modes: steam, auto steam bake, convection, convection humid, convection steam, gourmet, slow roast, reheat, recipes and keep warm. Unique technology senses the amount, size, and shape of food once an automatic mode has been selected. While cooking, it monitors the time, temperature, and environment, eliminating all guesswork in the kitchen.

Retractable Range Hoods: While range hoods can be a kitchen focal point, especially with a dramatic backsplash, the advantage of a retractable hood is an unobstructed view. Contained below the counter surface when not in use, the hood raises and lowers at the touch of a button.

Induction Cooktops: Faster cooking, food cooking evenly, energy efficiency, and easy cleaning are the benefits of induction cooktops, which use a high-frequency induction coil below the surface to heat cookware via a magnetic field. Great for busy families who need to have food on the table quickly. However, pans need to be magnetized to work on them. (If a magnet sticks to the bottom of a pot, it will work on an induction stove).

Multiple Appliances: While this is not a new concept, it is becoming more mainstream with homeowners wanting a range oven and a wall oven, a standard dishwasher and a dish drawer, and refrigerator plus beverage and/or wine cooler.

Smart Phone Control: Technology has expanded to kitchen appliances, including oven control, fridge control, dishwashers, and even washer and dryers. Supercool the fridge, start the washing machine, set the oven cycle, and more, can all be controlled with phone apps and Wi-Fi.

Color: Stainless is timeless and goes with any kitchen style, but appliances are getting more colorful, particularly stand-alone stoves which make a bold color statement in greens, reds, blues, and yellows.