Kitchen appliances & lights

Ruchi Raina

Be it a channel for venting out your culinary passions, hosting parties, or spending time with your folks; the kitchen stays the center of your daily life-the culinary body that asks for a perfect blend of beauty and functionality. Whether you are planning a renovation or investing in a new modular kitchen, picking up the right kitchen appliances and lights during the design phase of the kitchen will allow them to be imbibed in the basic layout avoiding any damage to the structure later. That said, what is their place in the kitchen? Both kitchen appliances and lights are crucial for the smooth functioning of your kitchen experience. Where new-age Wi-Fi smart appliances speed up the culinary tasks; smart tech lights ensure sufficient visibility and illuminate the focal points in the space.The following piece compiles how futuristic appliances and lights create visual interest and functionality in your kitchen. So what are you waiting for? Come with us as we explore them one by one:

Kitchen Appliances

Why do we need smart appliances in our kitchens? The kitchen is no longer a place whose primary role is to produce food. It's a social hub, the nucleus of interaction with exclusive interiors to match. A professional kitchen in particular tends to combine aesthetics with functionality to accomplish sundry tasks. Conclusively, the change in the mindset, the contemporary lifestyle, and the simultaneous advent of technology has redefined our interpretation of the cooking experience. It has led to kitchens becoming integrated spaces with smart appliances embedded in their structure.Right from Wi-Fi-enabled kitchen appliances to Alexa playing the role of the new sous-chef; the culinary space has come a long way. That said, it's time to waltz into the new tech-savvy cook space and check out the modern nuances of the appliances decking the kitchen units.

Smart Cooker

The name says it all! Smart cookers do exactly what they are meant to do and that is they make cooking long and complicated meals super easy. For instance, Nutri-Pot-the smart cooker from Wonderchef works as efficiently as a “personal kitchen robot.” The appliance features multiple modes in addition to 18 preset functions that can rustle up anything from dal/rice to chicken curry. Moreover, the appliance supports an exclusive smartphone app and compatibility with Amazon's Alexa which makes it truly futuristic. The app helps you both with scores of recipes as well as allows you to programme when you want to start cooking.

Smart Chimney

Whoever has ever cooked must know the importance of kitchen ventilation. Indian cooking, in particular, needs a vent to get rid of the excessive fumes and the smoke produced in the kitchen. The market is replete with chimneys but why not opt for a smart chimney that's easy to use and also falls in with the current lifestyle. Take for example Hindware's Optimus iPro, a smart chimney that's a breeze to use. The appliance comes with a smartphone app that you can use to control the device from anywhere. Best of all, you can go ahead and book a servicing session too (thanks to the app). It even reminds you to clean it up! Now, that's what I call smart technology!

 Smart Display

Do you often feel lost when trying out a new recipe? Or simply annoyed at having lost your grandma's recipe book that you always looked up when in a mood to rake up a new dish? If your answer is affirmative, then you are in for a culinary journey like never before!!. Make Smart Display your kitchen companion (literally)! Smart Display is basically a small screened virtual assistant with a built-in Alexa or Google Assistant and a large speaker at the back. These displays can help set a timer as you cook, plan the daily meals, or even set reminders to buy groceries. Once you decide what you want to cook for the day, all you have to do is to ask the assistant to guide you through the particular recipe or play a YouTube video of the dish being done and you are sorted. Finally, if you like music around as you work, go ahead and ask the assistant to play your favorite track.  You can pick your choice from either Google Nest Hub or Lenovo Smart Display.

Smart Water Purifier

A water purifier with a dedicated smartphone app??!! Can technology get better than this? The importance of clean water needs no introduction. No matter what the style or design, you'll find a water purifier in every kitchen. However smart age needs smart gadgets to suit the altered perspectives and preferences. Enter smart water purifiers with a distinct state-of-art purifying process. You can even catch real-time data on the quality of the drinking water on your phone to detect the levels of sundry contaminants. The Mi Smart Water Purifier from Xiaomi is a good example in this context.

Smart Refrigerator

With the rest of the kitchen appliances going smart, why should the refrigerators be left behind? For instance, there has been a sizeable revolution in kitchen technology with the entry of Samsung's smart refrigerator series SpaceMax Hub in the country. It has a built-in camera that lets you peep into the refrigerator by simply swiping down on the screen of your Galaxy phone. Don't own a Samsung phone? No worries, you can use the SpaceMax Family Hub app to check out the contents of the refrigerator on whatever brand you own, when out shopping for the supplies. Tired of labeling every single food item in your refrigerator? The app lets you create shopping lists, label food digitally; check on the expiration dates and also set reminders to stock up on food.

That said, you can add extra features by installing apps for looking up a recipe online, browsing through the pics, enjoying your favorite numbers on Spotify or Gaana, and even booking an Uber! And all this on the fridge screen! Other than Samsung, LG also offers smart refrigerators with built-in sensors. These sensors detect your presence when you are in front of the refrigerator and automatically open the door.

Kitchen Lights

Smart integrated lighting in the kitchen plays subtly on your senses by pepping up your mood and building an ambience to match. Moreover, it's important to have both residential and commercial kitchen work area well-lit for safety purposes. There are plentiful options to choose from comprising energy-saving smart bulbs that you can brighten or dim as per occasion to floor lighting, light strips, under wall unit lighting, ceiling lighting, display lighting, worktop lighting, and over wall unit lighting.

The above mentioned lighting should fall in the following three categories:

1. Ambient Lighting refers to soft overhead light used to illuminate the walls and floor helping you to enter, exit and navigate the kitchen.
2. Task Lighting is brighter than the above and helps to illuminate counters, sinks, islands, and sundry work areas enhancing visibility as you work.
3. Accent Lighting falls somewhere between ambient and task lighting in terms of brightness and also highlights any notable architectural features or the kitchen decor.

That said, you need to consider your kitchen space before taking a call to invest in fixtures. In other words, take into account the kitchen's layout, size, and look. For instance, taller ceilings and darker spaces need more light than others.

Smart Lighting For Kitchen Floor

LED strip lights enhance your space with loads of mood-lifting options.  These strips are often spotted under the cabinets at foot level in contemporary kitchens where they tend to create a nice ambient impact. Other than that, they light up the foot-friendly area and impart a warm glow to the space. Plus they save you and your kids from injuring your toes on your midnight cruise to your refrigerator! On a side note, it's possible to hardwire the strip lights at this level but it is more common to have them plugged directly into a wall socket.

Smart Lighting for Counter Top Level

We are no strangers to having lights under the wall-mounted cabinets to brighten the counter area. However, it is also possible to have the lighting right above the countertop line. The concept is super cool because when you prepare food on the counter, it will help to have extra lights in this particular space. The only drawback is that you need to hide the wiring of the above counter lighting or you run the risk of spoiling your kitchen's entire look.

Smart Lighting for Under Wall-Mounted Cabinets

You can have the LED smart light strips run under your cabinets to light up your kitchen space. Essentially, the lighting fixtures are installed underneath the cabinets wherein they blend seamlessly without clashing with your existing kitchen decor. It's a great option for improving the brightness and the feel of your cooking space. Traditional linear fixtures, light bars, puck lights, and tape systems are different kinds of under cabinet lighting solutions that you can depend on for lighting up your space.

Traditional LED Linear fixtures

Traditional LED Linear fixtures work well at illuminating high functional areas like counters, stoves, and sinks. They basically brighten the dark caves and shadows that cabinets cast and soak your workspace in light. The fixtures pour out light evenly across the fixture's length thereby creating a consistent light distribution.

Puck Lights

Though puck lights are compact and low voltage, they ooze a reasonably good light output. Function-wise, they are great at lighting your counter space, and glass-front cabinets including open shelves. Puck lights can be both recessed as well as surface mounted depending on the look you desire. Additionally, they create a focused look akin to spotlights.

Light Bars

Light bars are yet another lighting solution for below the cabinets and task lighting. If you are looking for a feasible alternative to the ancient halogens and fluorescents that emit loads of heat,  these lights are a perfect choice as they give off enough light and are low maintenance too.

Since these bars are ultra-compact, they can easily be installed in small spaces-are perfect for glass cabinets, display shelves, bookshelves, and sundry as functional and ambient lighting. Again, these lights like the linear fixtures are linkable-allowing you to multi-chain them for complicated layouts like L-shaped and cabinets of differing lengths and heights.

Tape Lighting

Tape lighting or strip systems are the ultimate in concealed under cabinet lighting. You can also use it to highlight displays like china and crystal. In addition, the lights help you to spot things tucked away in those deep drawers and cabinets. Other than that, you can cut it to the desired length and use it in diverse applications like under counters, above cabinets, near the floor, and other recessed slot spaces. The lighting looks equally suave under islands as well as bars where it adds depth and defines edges. Most of the tape lighting available is dimmable which allows the user to adjust the intensity of light as required.

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are typically put on the wall for extra lighting. They look stylish, and modern, and light up the entire wall. Warm lighting from wall sconces whips up a subtle serene glow in the room.

Pendant Lights

Pendant lights are perfect for creating style accents in your kitchen as they work to fill up the void above peninsulas and islands and simultaneously provide illumination for the work area. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.

Make your Kitchen Go Glamorous With Chandeliers

So you thought that chandlers are only for the dining area? Not really!! Perk up your kitchen with a golden or a crystal chandelier that takes center stage and lights up your kitchen too!.To create a kitchen that's bright enough and ambient as well, it's a good idea to layer your lights by mixing task, ambient, and accent or decorative lighting with natural light. Philips, Jaquar, Bajaj, Wipro, Havells, Osram, Syska, and Surya are a few prominent brands that offer energy-efficient lighting solutions that you can utilize for your kitchen.To sum up, a well-laid-out kitchen with the main appliances in a succinct triangle and where every crevice radiates with subtle charm is what gives your den a sense of space and warmth immersed in class.

(This story has been published under arrangement from Better Kitchen magazine)