Appliances & Kitchen Gadgets

(Credit: Oskay via Flickr.com)

The holidays are upon us, which means full bellies, festive colors, and brightly colored lights. Meet a dining room table whose brightly lit top would fit in perfectly with the rest of your twinkling home decorations.

OK, so it wasn't created for the holiday season. To the contrary, it was made by Windell Oskay, who jokes that he "built it because (they) needed a new dining table, and I guess (they're) just that kind of people." Oskay brought the table to the Maker Faire, and posted several pictures of its construction on his Flickr Web site. Since then, it has been featured in several blogs.

The table is constructed from 448 LEDs of various colors embedded into perforated board. The circuitry that drives the LEDs was designed in a way that causes them to light up and shut off as a response to ambient light above them while the family eats. After the electronics boards were made, Oskay set them into a stained birch and poplar table frame and covered them with a piece of recycled glass that he recovered from an old desk.

The festive and attractive design is also environmentally conscious: the table uses recycled materials like the glass top, and LEDs require so little power to run that the table doesn't require a ton of energy to function. It's definitely not a centerpiece for every family's dining room, but technophiles and children-at-heart can all agree that it's a cool invention. To see it in action, check out the video here.

Imagine the possibilities.

(Credit: Cook-N-Dine)

There are lots of foods that benefit from being prepared on a flattop grill. While this Portable Teppanyaki Grill from Cook-n-Dine may have Japanese food at the heart of its design, the reality is anything can be prepared with ease and delicious results.

I have in mind one particular street food of which I happen to be fond: the bacon-wrapped hot dog. Hot dog carts selling these tubes of pork delight have been gaining in popularity in recent years. (I first remember seeing them in Mexico many years ago, but that's a different story.) However, creating the ultimate form of the hot dog as it was meant to be enjoyed is not as easy as it looks. Upon frying some up, I realized that the fat would collect in the pan, creating an even greasier dog (not to mention unevenly cooked). The next time I found a hot dog cart I took a closer look and realized that the grill actually bent down, allowing for different cooking zones on one cooking surface. The fat would puddle in one specific place, and the hot dog could be moved accordingly.

So what do bacon-wrapped hot dogs and a portable teppanyaki grill have to do with each other? Only that this grill truly spans international borders, as it would be the perfect device for cooking up a batch. You see, besides being portable and all, the center bows down when hot--so all those delicious juices are collected into one spot! To further the degree of control, the temperature selector allows for heating from 120° F up to 430° F. With such precise cooking ability, people of any nationality will find a use for this grill.

(Via Appliancist)

Design concept EPOS-lite merges payment and ordering into one small device.

(Credit: Behance)

You know that future we're all waiting for? The one where magic happens on a day-to-day basis? It just got here a little bit early. Well, maybe. At least the design concepts keep pushing the envelope, making sure that the future will eventually get here.

The EPOS-lite by Allport is a design that the maker describes as "the world's lightest cash register". Of course, no "cash" is actually involved, as the EPOS-lite is a charge machine. By combining that function with a restaurant menu, future diners will have the ability to order and pay from the same device.

While it may not be the future-future we hope for, it is another step in that direction. Possible spawns from this design could lead to a whole new way to eat on the go. Imagine, for example, an ordering system tied into a GPS-enabled cell phone. Users simply order what they want wherever they are and their food gets delivered to their location. If the hungry patron changes their location, the GPS function simply updates and responds accordingly. Of course, some sort of helicopter-robot-waiter would have to be invented first before this imaginary technology ever takes off.

As for the EPOS-lite, the designer should start looking into possible alternative uses. (I'm telling you, automatic miniature heli-delivery is gonna be big) Other, more established (and well-funded) 'pay-at-table' options are already in use.

(Via Gizmo Watch)

But, where did the chairs go?

(Credit: Yanko Design)

In the design of dining sets, the cost of beauty too often comes at the cost of comfort. If you've ever been asked to sit on a chair covered in plastic, then you know what I'm talking about. My mom had a very dramatic, very pretty dining room set when I was growing up, but I have very few memories of actually eating on it. What I do remember is the annoying feeling of crinkly plastic under me during dinner. Is this the price we have to pay for a dining room table that's worth looking at?

Not necessarily, if you're willing to make some concessions. I'm not one of them, but I'm guessing that people who buy dining room tables strictly for decorative purposes must take two things into consideration:

1. Does this table fit with the design of the rest of my house? Do I like it? Will it look awkward or out of place?

2. What would someone say about my table? Is it a conversation piece?

But in getting a table that fits within these constraints, many people forget that the dining table, among other things, is a place to sit down. Shouldn't it be comfortable enough to do so?

Enter tables like the Chubby Brothers dining table, a set designed by Brian Lee that is neat to look at and also, according to Chris Burns of Yanko Design, very comfortable. True, its look is different from those you'd see in many traditional dining rooms, but as a modern set that is fun to look at and talk about, it really does the trick.

Does it fit the aforementioned decorative dining set criteria? The chairs fit entirely inside the table when you're not using it, converting the whole set into a work surface, party table, or a sculpture (if you're thinking creatively). And it's a conversation piece that packs a serious punch when it comes to surprising your guests. My parents' set, while beautiful, can't boast the same "wow" factor.

Marimba dining table.

(Credit: designboom)

No bachelor pad is complete without a few well-known essential items: music, drink, and mood. But times have moved beyond exotic tunes warming up the hi-fi set, olive adorned martini glasses, and romantic mood lighting. The modern swank setup needs something a little extra to impress today's discerning women.

Instead of laying down the tunes with Arthur Lyman's Taboo, why not spice up and vibe the night with this marimba table? Yes, marimba table. Dinner and a show. You're sure to impress your date with this table that doubles as a musical instrument.

It's a concept piece, but one that's not too far off. I have an electric piano in my house. I can tell you from experience that it also makes a great table. It's not so great as a piano, but it's a great table. Which is why I am even more excited about a dining room table that also plays tunes. Once dinner is done and the dishes removed, its true purpose--to entertain with music--is revealed. The same cannot be said about my electric piano, stuff gets put on top and it sort of just stays there...of course, my actual dining room table is covered with stuff too.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

In this day and age when every other person is a self-described foodie, finding the best mobile application to point you to a taste bud-bending experience requires as much discernment as finding the authentic voice from among throngs of folks who think they know good eats.

I'd be lying if I didn't claim snobby epicurean tendencies, myself.

This headstrong belief in one's own taste credentials is exactly what fuels the need for informative and well-designed food-finding applications. Too simple and a foodie will shun it. Too esoteric and it could alienate a growing segment of people who really care about the art and science of meal-making.

I've recently studied several restaurant-recommending applications for iPhone and other mobile platforms, including Yelp and Urbanspoon for iPhone and Zagat To Go for Windows Mobile, Palm, and BlackBerry, and wondered how relative newcomers Munch ($0.99) and LocalEats ($0.99) compare to these more established services.

Munch for iPhone turns out accurate results, but what's with the ratings?

(Credit: CNET Networks)

There are, of course, things to laud and criticize with each app. Munch's interface has a great method for quick-launching searches for pizza, Mexican, and so on from icons in the screen navigation. You can select other cuisines from a scrolling list. Munch returns wonderfully accurate search results, but is devoid of context. There are no reviews, no Web site listings, and every restaurant we looked at was rated with five empty stars. That's doable if you want a listings app, but for anyone trying to make intelligent choices, it just won't work.

LocalEats fares much better. The app brings you the best 100 (or more) restaurants in 50 U.S. cities as determined by a team of foodie professionals, authors of the online dining guide Where the locals eat. The benefit is that unlike Urbanspoon, no national chain even thinks of making an appearance. You can search each city's highest-rated establishments by alphabetical order, cuisine type, or the best of each category. For larger cities you can also search by neighborhood.

Steady now...

(Credit: designboom)

The perfect table might be harder to describe than you thought. Opinions would, of course, vary; design, structure, shape, and size would likely be the most contentious factors. c But once those were agreed upon, color, usage, and placement might then be brought to the table, so to speak. Regardless of how deep the debate can get, you would at least expect the perfect table to have four legs.

Until now. Here is the min 2 table, having no legs at all. Designed to be placed on the knees of table-sitters, the concept makes sharing a meal more of an experience than anyone may previously have imagined.

We all enjoy setting down with friends and family to share a delicious dish or a drink. Rarely, though, does the simple act of eating or drinking require such trust. Sure, we trust that our companions aren't going to poison our drinks or food, but that trust is implicit--just like we used to implicitly trust our dining tables. However, if anyone makes any sudden--or even shaky--moves, the whole thing comes crashing down.

Which is why, perhaps, this table is perfect. Dining has always been a communal thing. But, we've graduated from our cave dwelling ancestry only to find ourselves more fragmented when it comes to the simplest of our needs. Food is meant not only to sustain, but to bring us together as people. By sitting down at the min 2 table we are forced to reexamine our past and by extension, our future.

Perfect.

Supplies are stored inside, so no one will know you're a secret pool shark.

(Credit: Aramith)

When I was growing up, I really wanted a pool table. And for a brief period of time, I actually thought I would get one. My parents took measurements of our basement and considered making it a game room. Sadly, they abandoned the idea after realizing that our house, even with its five bedrooms, just didn't have enough room for a pool table. But in a cosmic event of game-room redemption, Aramith has developed the Fusion Table, a dining room table that solves the problem that robbed me of several hours of childhood bliss.

The Fusion Table is a combination dining and pool table that is multifunctional to save space and still looks good enough to make an appearance in a high-end furniture catalog. The top of the dining table can be removed to reveal a full-size billiard table underneath.

Pool tables are traditionally at a taller height than dining tables, so the table can be converted from 30 inches for dining to the standard 33-inch game height using a patented Easy-Lift spring-loaded system. It also automatically locks and has an auto-level feature, so you can make sure that your game will be perfectly level (without having to wedge napkins or coasters under the legs).

Maybe you're looking at the picture and wondering, "But where are the pockets?" The patent-pending pockets are made of memory nylon material, so they lay flat when they're empty, but stretch out when they collect balls. When you're done playing, you store your cues, the rack, and the balls inside the table under the dining surface.

The table comes in five finishes, with either metal or wooden table lines. It also includes optional chairs or a leather bench, both of which can be stowed under or right against the table during gameplay.

The tabletop is perfect for pool, but can also function as a card or roulette table. In other words, you'd better prepare yourself to volunteer your dining room for game night every Friday.

If you want to see a video presentation about the table, see a gallery of pictures, or read more about the features, you can check out Aramith's Web site.