From Guest Blogger Martin William: The Latest Trends in Home/Kitchen Appliances

The kitchen is one of the most important parts in a house. It is where the family gathers the most aside from the living room. Over the years, the appliances that fill a kitchen have transformed, following the latest trends and new technologies. This year, the trends in home and kitchen appliances are focusing more on simple designs and connectivity.

A Smart Home

Ever since the Nest thermostat became very popular, the revolution towards a smarter home was kicked off. Smart TVs can now accept voice command, browse the internet and even record the shows you want to watch for you based on your habit and other inputs.

The same goes for kitchen appliances. KitchenAid™ KFIS29PBMS Refrigerators can now keep track of your shopping list and even tell you if some of the food you store in it will expire soon. To tie everything together, you have your smartphone at the centre of it all.

Smart home and kitchen appliances are reaching their economic of scale as well, which means they are becoming more and more affordable. If a basic Nest thermostat was too expensive for you last year, you can now have the fully functional model installed at an affordable price.

Mixed Materials & New Technologies

Home and kitchen appliance makers are shifting away from the basic industrial look and are beginning to add more materials, colours and shapes to their products. I personally love clean countertops paired with matching kitchen appliances, and it is now very easy to find the right appliances to use.

Coffee makers are no longer made of stainless steel and plastic. Glass and even sapphire are now used to make them much more beautiful design-wise. You can even have your own Nespresso machine in your kitchen; it will brew you the perfect cup of coffe in just a few seconds.

Grills are also becoming more modern. Gas grills are still the most popular type on the market, mainly because people who love to host BBQs are very familiar with this type of grills. However, there are now electric grills – and even grills that use a specialized heat panel – for you to choose from.

Better Kitchen Lighting & Countertops

Even the kitchen lighting is now improved. LED lights can be adjusted to glow warm or cold depending on the mood you want to set in the kitchen. A centralized dial can help control the lighting, the kitchen blinds and even the shades all at once. If you have a kitchen that connects to a backyard or a patio area, you can also have the lighting setup integrated.

Countertops are no longer dull. Granite countertops may look very beautiful a few years ago, but they are now being replaced by newer materials, such as composite vinyl, that are just as beautiful and durable. To make it even better, modern countertops can be styled to look like any surface you want for a fraction of the cost of using the real materials. You can now have your own retro kitchen, complete with retro-looking – yet high-tech – kitchen appliances to go along with the look.