It seems like a lot of people I know are in the middle of buying houses – pouring money into never ending pits of legal fees and surprise repairs, tying themselves to certain locations on long mortgages that quite frankly, scare the shit out of me. Dan and I rent currently, and will be renting for the next year or two (at least) while I finish writing up my PhD and find/settle into an academic post – tying ourselves to a particular location would be utterly stupid right now, because who knows where we’re going to end up? We’ve got a pretty solid plan of what we want out of the next few years, but the one fluid thing in this has always been location. For us, renting just makes sense.
One of the few downsides of renting however, is that we are a little bit limited with what we can and can’t do with the space we have. In typical daydreamer fashion, that has never stopped me from musing on our perfect someday home. I was recently contacted by Legal & General who have done some interesting research on the kitchen of the future, and asked to think a little bit about what my dream/futuristic kitchen would be like. I started putting together this dream kitchen Pinterest board, that I think highlights some of my retro futurist inspired kind of tastes. Think 1950s, atomic/space age, kitschy cute neon… with some cool futuristic gadgets and gizmos mixed in for good measure.
Okay okay, so I already have the green apple KitchenAid Artisan mixer. His name is Fieri and he was a wedding gift. I love that mixer more than is possibly healthy. Any future kitchen is going to need some bright apple green splashes to tie in. I’m picturing black, white, grey and apple green – of course with hints of chrome. The atomic motel/diner kind of vibe just really speaks to me, you know? I think the motion activated treat egg would sit really nicely with this theme, and the idea of spheres of ice encasing fruit just screams ridiculous space age novelty. I’d love a staple of this era – a jukebox – but they’re massive… so shrink it. A miniature jukebox looking kind of device rigged to our media server would be fantastic – or even a tablet for control built into a wall with a pretty decal, truly space age. Integrate some green (as in eco, not the colour) solutions in there to make food waste less of an issue and to encourage plant/herb growth. Self cleaning/sterilising surfaces would be an absolute dream!
The Legal & General article does wonder whether or not these “revolutionary” technological advancements will actually catch on… I mean, how useful is it really to have a (in all likelihood soon to be obsolete) sound system built into your fridge? Probably not that useful really, eh? On a separate level, I think there’s a reasonable amount of concern to have around the Internet of Things. I mean, if Battlestar Galactica has taught me anything it’s that we’re having no networks on this ship.
Before I run off, here’s a couple of fabulous clips imagining the perfect futuristic kitchen… if only I had these kitchens, I could focus all my energy on tennis, golf, and having the perfect lipstick. Sigh. Would kill for that striped apron too!
What would your dream kitchen look like? What would make your life in the kitchen easier?