The Interior Living Room

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…well, not really. After all, in Star Trek the food magically appears via some sort of weird replicator-like thingy. At least I think that’s how it was done, I stopped watching the show a while back when Captain Kirk left. Alas, here comes this post’s tie in. The futuristic theme of this article is due to something we often notice here at The Interior Living Room. A great deal of otherwise top notch decorators and designers hold on to tradition at their detriment, not keeping up on the latest tech news and designs. Many have the tendancy to shun away from all things futuristic. My guess i those decorators don’t watch Star Trek either.

As designers we are all guilty of holding on to “old school” I suppose. Working by the axiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is always a good insurance policy, but sometimes it’s just plain boring. Let’s face it though, designers in this day and age should not be falling on their collective butts when it comes to noticing and implementing the latest technology. Being creatively forward looking – many times – involves taking a few risks and in a good number of such cases those risks can pay off with incredible decorating ideas and designs.

Here’s a brilliant idea I’ve just heard about from a company you’ve likely heard of – Electrolux. Electrolux is always on the edge of innovation, thanks to their Desgin Lab R n D department. This is news to me. Their plan to gather innovative ideas is a sort of “Celebrity Apprentice” meets “American Idol” method of finding the latest design wonderment, and it works rather well for them.

In a nutshell, they ask for submissions from designers world wide, all of whom are then judged by an international panel of renowned designers. Thankfully Simon Cowell isn’t an interior desgner, but my guess is there has to be at least 1 obnoxious British bloke on the Electrolux judging panel. The competitive nature of Electrolux’ design labs is underscored however. Their method works more like a giant “casting call” for new designs and creations. If you check out the Electrolux website you will quickly see that they are on to something.

There was one item that caught my eye, and that item was the muse for my writing this article. But before I get into specifics, it’s question time:

• How would you like a stove top that can read RFID chips? (If you don’t know what an RFID chip is, think “bar code replacement” and you’ll know everything you need to know). These chips have the potential to provide all sorts of information and communicate that information to appliances and devices. We’re talking info such as cooking times, correct cooking temperatures, and even delicious recipe suggestions.

So let’s say you just bought a Norwegian Salmon steak. Theoretically you could scan it with the RFID reader and before you even turn on the stove you would know the best temperature to cook it, how long to cook it, and have 50 or so delicious possibilities before you. I’m sorry, but I gotta say it… how cool is that? (I’m quite certain RFID chips can even provide the latest NHL stats, should you be so inclined to know).

Enter Mathias Pinkert’s Vesta cooktop, a 2008 finalist for best design at Electrolux Design Labs. You can read more about it here at yankodesign… and again I gotta say it… how cool is that!!?

Yep, that’s right, this stove top design does everything on the wishlist above, along with folding away vertically when it’s not in use. However it looks so nice that I don’t think I would ever fold it away. It really is a perfect design for those with limited space and I just think it’s the cat’s meow.

The Interior Living Room loves technology, as you will come to find out, so we are feverishly waiting to get a Vesta cooktop and install it in the galley of our very own spaceship.

Technorati Tags: innovative design, kitchen design, kitchen ideas, space saving advice