kitchen

Any modern homebuilder will tell you that the kitchen has increasingly become the most important gathering place in many houses, even more than a family or living room. New construction reflects that lifestyle change, often building computer hutches and other non-cooking facilities into the design, yet PC makers typically treat the room as an afterthought. (Water near the keyboard? Horrors!)

The "Icebox," however, is designed specifically for use in this ostensible danger zone. The wireless keyboard and remote are fully washable, according to Appliancist, but if you still don't want grubby little mitts all over them you … Read more

We've seen a lot of tech companies try to cram everything under the sun into a single device, but we didn't think anyone would envision the humble keyboard as an uber-gadget. Yet a manufacturer called Solid Year (who could resist such a name?) seems to be headed in that direction.

Its multimedia keyboard, according to Uber-Review, sports "a VGA hide-away Webcam, speaker phone, microphone and 10 one-touch hot keys for Skype." But for all its hard work, Solid Year may have left out one killer function that rival super-keyboard "KB Dock" features most prominently: … Read more

"I'm picking out a thermos for you...Not an ordinary thermos for you..."

If a thermos really does mean true love, then get The Jerk in your life one to keep coffee hotter longer, but not actually scald.

According to Jolex, its Brugo thermos has a chamber that adjusts your coffee to an ideal sipping temp before it reaches your lips. Double-walled insulation keeps the rest of the coffee hot, until your next sip.

The $20 Brugo coffee thermos, which comes in an array of colors, is also spill proof.

Book of Joe pointed out this handy … Read more

I'm female. I don't mind pink. In fact, I kind of like it. I wore a pink shirt the other day, and my iPod is housed in a hot pink iSkin. I wouldn't buy a pink RAZR (the quintessential example of a pink gadget) but if someone gave one to me along with a nice fat data plan, I'd take it. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm not a pink-hater.

That being said, I see absolutely no reason for the existence of a baby-pink George Foreman grill, which GadgetCandy drew our … Read more

A Japanese company called Chuo Sangyo is claiming that with its funky kitchen gadget, 10 minutes, and a single power outlet, you'll be able to make coffee, toast, and eggs simultaneously. I'm a little skeptical of the appliance's capability to make food that actually tastes good (Doesn't it kind of look like a kid's toy? That could be a bad sign.) But if you have a cramped kitchen, it could be a potential space-saving solution.

I'd get it if there were an orange juicer built in. Or if that egg fryer on top could … Read more

This may not look like the most crushworthy item, but it's a classic case of form following functions--and many of them, at that. Depending on how you position it, the "multi-functional clock" from Japan-based Muji is a clock, a calendar, a thermometer or an alarm. Its utilitarian design lends itself for use in the kitchen or, as Ubergizmo suggests, as a space-saving travel device. And at $12, you won't fret too much about it when your luggage gets lost.

We hadn't realized that the Age of Transparency had made its way into the kitchen, but apparently it has in Japan. On prominent display at the National Electronics' Invention Station in Tokyo were a refrigerator, a washing machine and an air conditioner all with completely transparent casings, according to Gizmodo.

It's interesting to note that, while the trend in many domestic products seems to be leaning toward the neon, these Japanese appliances have gone the opposite route altogether with no color at all. That would be OK with us in theory, but we wouldn't want to subject … Read more

If current design trends hold up, kitchens of the future could end up looking like sets from Mickey's Toontown. For a while, refrigerators seemed to be the more popular fashion targets, but designers are now applying their color palettes to neighboring appliances.

Treehugger, for example, highlights some neon-hued stoves in Japan that could be heading west. The reason for their popularity is as much practical as aesthetic, because these are wood-burning pellet stoves that are far more environmentally friendly than their traditional counterparts.

Call us old-fashioned, but we still prefer our kitchen fixtures in neutral finishes. But if they … Read more

No, these aren't the lockers from "Napoleon Dynamite," but they're close. They are architect-designed refrigerators that will go head to head with yesterday's Big Chill coolers in Crave's first and possibly last weekend Domestic Appliance Faceoff.

These vibrant appliances are manufactured by Smeg (could they please change their name?) and come in dozens of Crayola colors plus models clad in rainbow stripes and even the Union Jack, a la Austin Powers.

The ones shown here, which we spotted on Appliancist, aren't exactly our taste, but they certainly could be worse. We'll let … Read more