HTC
(Credit:
Appliancist)
Coming to the kitchen as what appears to be the first of its kind, this contraption keeps drinks cold when you're nowhere near the icebox.
The sink, designed by Meneghini, uses either air or water refrigeration to cool beverages and snacks. All you do is press a button, and a compressor that sits in the bottom of the sink pushes cold water or air through the perforated disk that sits underneath your refreshments.
The sink has specially designed metal fixtures that act as bottle rests and a center peg that can be used as a platform for a plate of fruit or cheese. If you'd prefer not to use refrigeration, it functions as a normal sink.
If you're the trendsetter in your neighborhood, then you should be the first to upgrade your sink to the new SILGRANIT II from Blanco. As the name suggests, it's a granite composite sink--a blend of 80 percent natural granite and 20 percent acrylic resin (with ceramic components). What does that mean for you? Oh, just that it's easy to clean and the most scratch-resistant sink on the market.
The sink is also heat-resistant to more than 500 degrees, so you can put pans fresh from the stove straight into the sink without worrying.
Currently offered in five colors--brown, white, anthracite, biscuit, and metallic gray--the sink resists overnight beet juice, hair dye, tea stains, and whatever you scraped off your plates and left in the sink all day. Get one in your kitchen for $350 to $1,500.
(Credit:
Umbra)
People tell me that I have this tendency because I'm a Virgo, which I heartily accept (since the alternative names for it are less flattering). Whatever your name for it, I think we can all agree that organization makes cooking and cleaning a whole lot more efficient.
Among the many things I like to keep organized is my kitchen sink. I have a dish rack for drying, a space behind for cutting boards and paper towels, and each of the two corners is designated either for the dish soap or for sponges. More than once, though, I've attempted thinking about an alternative place to keep the sponges. Is it really sanitary to keep something that washes all of your plates and bowls on the edge of something that gets as nasty as the kitchen sink?
Probably not, which is why many companies have devised a variety of ways to store your sink accessories. Although I'm not a fan of the ubiquitous stainless steel rack look that many of these organizers seem to embody, I'm a big fan of this Pivo Storage Tray.
Though it's not specifically intended for use in the kitchen, this pivoting acrylic tray would be perfect for sponges, towels, and scrubbing pads. Keeping these sink accessories in a tray like the Pivo is a much more sanitary way to store them, and the tray can be arranged so that the ugly cleaning supplies are conveniently located, but hidden from plain sight.
The Pivo Storage Tray is available in clear as well, but I'm partial to the white variety pictured here. They'll cost you about $21, a small price to pay for a sanitary sink.
If you like kitchen gadgets, you're probably the kind of person who dreams of a fabulous kitchen. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances quietly gleaming, wide expanses of space, waiting to be filled with food and the tools needed to make it.
How much thought do you give to the sink in your kitchen? It's a small thing, sure, but it can make a real difference. That old, once-white porcelain is impossible to scrub clean. Stainless steel looks better, but that telltale rim can mess with the lines you're going for.
Flushmount sinks look great in the kitchen, but the installation can by pricey. How about an easy-(and inexpensive) to-install overmount sink that gives you the look of a flushmount? That's what you get with MicroEdge, the latest offering from Blanco. It's an ultrafine rim--1.25 mm--that installs over virtually any counter material for a precision, near seamless edge.
The sink isn't cheap--you'll spend around $600--but the install is standard enough that you can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you for far less than a flush or undermount.
The Kohler Karbon Articulating Kitchen Faucet is something like a hybrid between your standard, kitchen, spray nozzle and an elegant, metal faucet spout. It's made out of a series of solid pieces, each connected by an articulating joint. The result is a faucet that can move into any position and then stay put.
Wouldn't ever need such an adjustable faucet, you say? I'm living proof that we dlo: I put a water filter on my faucet that has now lowered the point from which the water pours so much that my water pitcher will no longer fit beneath it. The Karbon can be raised up to a higher level to deal with situations like this, and to fill large pots. It can then lower back down for washing the dishes, and can fold completely when you're finished using it.
The list price of the faucet is at $990.00, but you can find it on some retailers' Web sites for as low as $650.00. That is still a hefty chunk of change, but if you're planning on remodeling anytime soon, then keep in mind that now you can have the look without losing functionality.
With a family of six, I cook every night of the week. This means I get plenty of practice, but it doesn't necessarily mean I learn from my mistakes. In particular, I frequently find myself with my hands full of raw meat exactly when I suddenly need something from the pantry. So, I put the meat down, head to the sink, and with my contaminated fingers, turn the knob to wash my hands. Now my whole faucet is covered in raw meat germs--just one more thing to worry about and to decontaminate when I clean up.
The EZ Faucet Pro is an infrared sensor faucet adapter that quickly and easily converts any existing faucet into a hands-free, automatic model. You won't need to hire a plumber or a contractor to redesign your kitchen, run new pipes or electric, or lose the use of your sink during a time-consuming installation process. Just attach the adapter, and you've instantly got a sensor-activated faucet with adjustable temperature and pressure.
Once the adapter is installed, hold your hands (or a dish, or whatever you need to fill or wash) under the faucet to activate the water flow. The water stays on until you move from under the sensor. Or, override the automatic feature by pressing the manual override button if you need to.
Set the temperature and pressure with the faucet as normal; whenever the sensor is activated it will come on as you set it. The unit runs on 4 AAA batteries that can last over a year with normal use. Most people, particularly those with kids, will find the unit provides significant water savings. So, wash up!
Every time I try to turn on my garbage disposal, I first turn on the light over the kitchen sink. The two switches are right next to each other, and no matter how many times I make the mistake, I still can't remember which is which. I suppose I could label the switches, but that would destroy the minimalist look I love. Plus, I'd have to make a label, and that's just too much effort.
Far easier, at least for me, to tell my husband to install the InSinkErator SinkTop Switch. It mounts on the counter or the sink and offers a convenient alternative to those pesky, confusing wall switches.
The SinkTop Switch uses air pressure and an ordinary electrical outlet for power. You can actually install it without an electrician if you don't mind spending about ten minutes under your sink. InSinkErator says it's a great choice for an island sink, where running additional wiring could be costly or impossible.
Once installed, the button uses air pressure to send a pulse of air through a tube connected to the power module under the sink. The air triggers the remote switch and activates the disposal.
The SinkTop Switch works with any garbage disposal system and comes in a variety of finishes to match any kitchen decor.
Kohler Crevasse takes your scraps straight from the cutting board to the drain, without your hands getting dirty.
(Credit: boingboing.net)Just when I thought we had run out of ways to eliminate the need for us to do the dirty work in the kitchen, I stumbled into the completely foreign land of the prep sink. Until seeing the Kohler Crevasse Prep Sink and its cousins, I was under the impression that a kitchen sink is a singular, possibly double-basined place for all rinsing, draining, disposing, and soaking needs, with some allowance for shapes and colors.
Not so, apparently. I should preface the following post by explaining how I currently deal with my food scraps. Living in New York in an apartment in Brooklyn, I have little to no say in the appliance set in my kitchen. I can buy as many small appliances, gadgets, pots, and pans as my budget will allow, but when it comes to the dishwasher, stove, and sink, I'm stuck with what I have.
For the most part, this works out great: I have a gas range, a new dishwasher, and an oven that so far, has been able to keep up with my baking hobby. The bane of my existence in the kitchen is the sink, which doesn't have a garbage disposal. I make several trips to the trash every time I cook with handfuls of wilted leaves, peels, and other gooey unidentifiable messes so that I can avoid clogging the drain. Most of the time, this happens anyway.
So the excitement about the Kohler Crevasse is laced with resentment, both because I know I'm not able to install extra sinks in the granite-colored laminate countertop, and because it angers me to think that I'm the only one left who has to carry gross food leftovers to the garbage by hand. Selfishness aside, however, the Crevasse really is kind of nifty.
The prep sink is a narrow stainless steel slit that you install in your counter wherever you do your chopping. It's built on a slanted angle, so when you toss your food scraps into it and press the button, they'll wash neatly down the drain. You can press the button for a quick rinse, or for bigger scraps, you can kick it up a notch with Kohler's Cynchronous rinsing system, which synchronizes the rinse and garbage disposal cycles. A solid blue light lets you know that the rinse cycle is on, and a flashing blue light indicates that the synchronized garbage disposal is working.
Kohler's Web site lists the Crevasse prep sink at $1,350 and up, a hefty price tag unless you're a home owner with some wiggle room in your budget for luxury splurges. For those of you who, like me, lack the means necessary for such a dramatic sink upgrade, consider something a little bit cheaper.
This elegant Arwa kitchen faucet, not to be mistaken for a snake about to pounce, caught the eye of the red dot design competition judges this year, winning a coveted "best of the best" product award. (Just 50 entries received that honor in the 2008 product design competition, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious. There were a total of 3,203 entries this year from 51 countries.)
The Arwa-Twinflex is made by Swiss kitchen and bathroom specialist Arwa.
This Arwa-Twinflex faucet is a design winner.
(Credit: Arwa)While the base of the faucet has a chrome finish, the PVC sheath, which fits over the spout, is available in some eye-popping colors including Orange and Pigeon Blue. For a more subdued look, there's Beige-Grey and Black. The sheaths are available separately and can be switched easily.
Not only does this faucet look great, but it is also quite flexible, letting you direct water exactly where it's needed. The spout and faucet head can be turned 360 degrees and--when moved to a particular position--remains there until it's moved.
The Arwa-Twinflex system has a temperature-limiter for safety. It uses patented Trigon mixing technology to clean and save water and a flow-limiter to conserve water, too.
Arwa, which has been in business since 1955, sells largely in Europe, though its fixtures are available through Gemini Bath and Kitchen products in Tucson, Ariz.
