Blanco Cinder

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should check out Blanco‘s newest color for their Siligranit II sinks – Cinder

The Cinder colorway has a dark gray, natural, stone-like appearance that gives the Silgranit II sinks the ability to stand out and be a stunning companion to a wide range of countertop colors and materials.

Made of 80% rock-hard granite, the Silgranit II sinks never fade, resist scratches, heat, food acids and impact. They also have an impermeable Hygienic+Plus surface that is proven to act as a shield to dirt and bacteria, making it safe for food prep.

Shown on the Modex sink, the 3″ edge makes a dramatic statement in any kitchen.

March 18, 2013

Samsung's New Cooking Solutions

This Summer Samsung will start offering the T9000 FlexDuo Range NE58F9710SR with first ever 30″ multifunction oven.

Samsung’s FlexDuo technology will allow you to divide the oven into two compartments for cooking two dishes at once making meal time more efficient and more convenient than ever before.

You can choose between using the range’s full size 5.8 cu. ft. capacity oven for larger dishes like roasted turkeys, or you can use the Smart Divider to divide the oven into 2.4 cu. ft. and 3.3 cu. ft. top and bottom compartments for smaller items like dinner and a dessert.

The Samsung NE597N0PBSR Induction Range is the first-ever 30″ freestanding electric range to feature the FlexCook Zone and Samsung Boil Alert, as well as SteamQuick technology.

The Flexcook zone acts as a full-length bridge element, letting customers cook large pots and pans across one large induction element without having to worry about incomplete heat distribution. When the bridge element is not in use, it can be used as two separate 9-inch elements.

Samsung’s Boil Alert technology senses small vibrations as water begins to heat up. When the vibrations reach a certain level, the range provides less heat and also sounds a series of beeps.

SteamQuick technology is Samsung’s new cleaning innovation which requires less time, power and effort. 10 pounces of water is all that is needed to clean your oven in just 20 minutes.

The NE58F9710SR FlexDuo Range should be available for $2,399.99 MSRP and the NE597N0PBSR Induction Range should be available for $1,999.99 MSRP.

Pair one of these ranges with Samsung’s ME179KFETSR OTR Speed Oven if you have limited space and need more convection cooking. This microwave is touted as having best-in-class LED lighting. $649 MSRP.

February 27, 2013

New Axor Faucets

Axor continues to add to its collection of high-design kitchen and bath fittings with beautiful creations from Philippe Starck and Antonio Citterio.

Axor Starck Kitchen:

The company has added three new designs to its Starck Kitchen line: HighArc, Prep, and Bar faucets, all available in chrome or steel optik finishes. The 17-1/2-inch-high HighArc faucet has a pull-down handle and 2 spray options.

The line’s pot fillers add versatility with wall- and deck-mounted versions. All faucets in the line have ceramic cartridges and swivel spouts.

Axor Citterio Kitchen:

Citterio has designed a new faucet and two pot fillers. The Citterio M 2-Hole Kitchen Faucet has an M2 ceramic cartridge and pull-down spray head integrated with Hansgrohe’s QuickClean technology that helps resist lime scale formation. Its swivel spout comes with an optional extension set.

Like the Starck collection, the pot fillers are available in wall- or deck-mounted designs, and all three elements in the line come in chrome or steel optic finishes.

January 2, 2013

Retro Appliances

We’ve seen companies offering retro looking ranges and refrigerators but have you every seen a retro microwave? The only option for homeowners was to hide a small microwave inside a cabinet when they desired a Period Kitchen.

An Italian appliance manufacturer has nicely solved this problem with their compact line of appliances. Restart offers microwaves, built-in coffee makers, pizza oven and steam oven in their compact collection: Compact Series di Restart.

I really like the all burnished brass finish shown on the microwave/oven combination unit. The mechanical parts of the EFM451 are from Miele. Features include TouchControl in 20 languages, 15 cooking combination methods, and 100 recipe presets.

The EMC451 built-in automatic coffee machine with grinder and cappuccino maker is equally stunning to look at and undoubtedly easy to use with Miele technology.

The Navitronic, multilingual display makes brewing two coffees simultaneously a breeze. There is also the ability to customize 10 different user profiles and choose between bean or powder for brewing.

Restart’s showroom is on Florence so unless you are traveling abroad, these units will be hard to see in person. I haven’t seen a detail spec sheet so I can’t tell if they can easily be converted to American voltage – but, one can hope.