i+D - November/December 2019 - 34

The Connected Kitchen - By Jessica Goldbogen Harlan

Turn faucets on and
dispense measured
amounts of water with
the hands-free sink
operations made possible
through Delta Faucet's
VoiceIQ capability.
(Image: Delta Faucet
Company)

Fordham Blanco asserts that in addition to smart lighting systems-
"I rarely work on a home that doesn't have a lighting designer"-she
has seen window treatments that work with daylight, raising and
lowering as the light changes. "I work with these a lot in modern homes
because there are a lot of window surfaces in them," she notes. Automated
cabinet doors that open and close with the touch of a button-especially
handy for high upper cabinets-are nothing new; Fordham Blanco says
Poggenpohl has had them for years. But, they're becoming increasingly
useful in today's efficient kitchen.
One thing that's missing in today's kitchens: a desk. Whereas a workstation
used to be commonplace when homeowners had a desktop computer that
they needed situated in a central area, or even when laptops were commonly
referred to for recipes or to compile a shopping list, today's lifestyles rely on
uber-portable smartphones and tablets in the kitchen.

Cutting-Edge Kitchen
Thermador, Bosch, and Delta all are proving that even old dogs can learn
new tricks. But in 2016, LG Appliances created a start-up-style brand
to turn the high-end kitchen on its ear by reimagining and reinventing the
capabilities of traditional appliances. Signature Kitchen Suite considers
itself more of a technology company than an appliance company, according
to Zach Elkin, general manager of Signature Kitchen Suite and LG Builder
Sales. "We were able to start from the ground up," with the focus of
bringing functional technology into the industry. The company even created
a target demographic-the trademarked "Technicurean"-as its anticipated
customer. A highlight of Signature Kitchen's new offerings is its True to Food
line, featuring a Pro Range with a sous vide bay, a combination of gas and
induction cooking surfaces, a combi steam oven, and a full convection steam
oven. "We created this Swiss Army Knife of all these functionalities for the
home enthusiast who loves to cook," says Elkin.
Signature Kitchen's French door refrigerators also have clever features:
LED lighting is designed to shine across each shelf all the way to the back;
crisper drawers are removable; and a middle drawer can convert to five
temperature settings, from the ideal wine-chilling temperature to a freezer.
And, its 71-bottle capacity Integrated Column Wine Refrigerator features
what Elkin refers to as "'Wine Cave' technology"-namely, it maintains
a valuable collection at a constant temperature and optimal humidity with
no light and, most significantly, no vibration, thanks to a special linear
compressor that has a variable speed.
And, yes, there's an app for that...and, indeed, for all of Signature Kitchen's
appliances. A wine app features facial recognition for bottles and can
maintain an inventory. It has AI-learning capabilities so, over time, it can make
recommendations for you based on what you drink or, choose bottles from
your collection that'll pair perfectly with what you're having for dinner. At the
same time, the range has six timers-one for each burner-and you don't
have to be nearby when they go off, as you'll get an alert on your phone.

Bosch's CrystalDry
technology delivers
better drying capabilities
of flatware, silverware,
dinnerware, glassware-
and even plastics.

34

(Image: Laurie Frankel
Photography)

i+D - November/December 2019
i+D - November/December 2019

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