“Alexa, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.”                     
                       
“Hey Google, find me the best recipe for Paella.”

“Honey, can you brew us 2 coffees with the GE Café?”

Who is in charge of your kitchen today? Your voice commands have more power these days. Manufacturers of smart kitchen appliances are finally integrating with popular home assistants such as Alexa and Google Home. Up until recently, each one of the Wi-Fi connected appliances had its own app and worked independently of each other. GE, Samsung and LG all has their own operating system that is proprietary to that brand.

It is not just the larger pieces of equipment that fall into the “Connected Appliances” categories. We are seeing a wealth of new IoT technology powering smaller countertop appliances such as:
     Connected Coffee Makers which seems to have started this craze
     The Sous Vide Cookers for “precision cooking”
     Baking Scales that simplify baking
     Smart Ovens that toast, bake, steam & broil in a small countertop unit
     Even the smoothie machine is connected for you to achieve your wellness goals. 
 

So, when you got up to 4 different connected kitchen appliances, 4 different apps on your phone, it gets very confusing because no one is talking to each other. Since Alexa and Google Home already dominate in market share, it just makes sense to integrate with these Kitchen Quarterbacks. 
Market Watch predicts the Smart Kitchen appliance market will surpass $43.4 BILLION by 2027. So there will be a greater need to connect Wi-Fi enabled appliances with a Smart Home operating system.

Connected Kitchen Designers Anticipate Trends

So, from our standpoint, we have to be smart about how we accommodate for all these connected devices our clients now seek for the kitchen. Two of the questions we started to ask clients is, “Where are they on the Smart Kitchen curve?” and “What devices/appliances do your currently use?” We have been incorporating charging stations and TV screens into our designs for a number of years now. The client is responsible for the WiFi speed and amplification equipment, but we do discuss the need for more bandwidth required for additional connected devices. 

Our big job is to find the best kitchen real estate for storing and/or displaying the smaller appliances and to design it in a way that is both tasteful and purposeful. We also have to see future trends in this smart kitchen space. For example, grocery delivery services are all negotiating to be partnered with the next Alexa Skills and Google Home commands. So, the storage of groceries being delivered when no one is home should be considered in future designs. 

Gourmet Kitchen Design Gets Smarter Too

As a gourmet kitchen designer, we are part of the educational network that keeps us up to date with the latest products from the worlds high end kitchen appliance manufacturers. Subzero-Wolf, Thermador Appliances, Viking Range, Miele and Monogram all have products that embrace Wi-Fi enables technology.
These luxury lines of ranges, ovens and professional cooking appliances have been recognized as gourmet kitchen appliance leaders for many years. So when a client shares with us their vision and it suggests a professional chef’s kitchen that is high tech, we are prepared with suggestions that are trustworthy and filled with product specific details. Sometimes the large appliance selection discussion comes before any sketches take place because these high-end appliances can become a focal point in the design. The high end appliance footprint is often unique and those dimensions need to be precise when developing design blueprints.

Passionate Kitchen Designer’s Job Gets Complicated

Sometimes I think the appliances might get smarter than us some day. AI is often a part of the appliance design and development process of these smart kitchen appliances. Artificial Intelligence is a key component of the Alexa and Google home experience and they are learning more about you and I every day. I am passionate about my kitchen designs and still believe that passion cannot be harnessed yet by machine learning. Maybe someday, but not today.

If you seek a passionate kitchen designer for your connected kitchen, give me a call here to get started.