Tuesday, February 7, 2012

All-in-One Fooder: Compact kitchenettes

While I love working at Sophie's World, it's no secret that we're a start-up. We're scrapping along as best we can on a very limited budget. (Visit our site!) (Buy our DVD!) In fact, my office isn't as much an office as it is the break room with a desk in it. Without moving from my seat, I can touch my all-in-one printer with one hand and the fridge and/or microwave with the other. People come in, microwave their lunches, get some water from the cooler… Meanwhile I'm typing away with ear buds in, trying not to let someone's delicious-smelling leftover pizza distract me.

My compact office/kitchen's hybrid nature made me wonder if it were possible to have an "all-in-one" kitchen, just like my trusty HP printer/scanner/copier/fax machine. And of course, with tiny homes increasing in popularity, appliance engineers are happy to help! Here's a look at some all-in-ones that literally have everything PLUS the kitchen sink. (No fax machines that I can see, though. Not that anyone uses them anyway.)



This cupboard kitchen from Culshaw Bell looks more like it should contain coats and clothes than a culinary workspace. But contain it it does; this baby has everything from a microwave, fridge, sink, toaster, and places to store your kitchen and food items. It retails for $7,400, but as Curbly suggests, this might be worth a DIY try.



Dornob features this sleek kitchenette from French design company Kitchoo. It cooks, it cleans, and it all closes up into a modern cabinet looks more like a media console than a kitchen. (Via The Tiny Life.)



Frodo WISHES he had to trek to these Two Towers -- he'd have been able to fix himself second breakfast then go take a nap on the couch. The Tower Kitchen by Philippe Starck has hot elements in one tower (like the oven and microwave) and the cold elements in anther (like the fridge and freezer). No mention of where you can throw the One Ring, though. Maybe the oven gets as hot as the fires of Mount Doom? (Via Dornob.)



This fun, round red kitchen reminds me of something from Disneyland's Tomorrowland. From Spy Home Design.



Erin at Unclutterer has uncovered this très useful range/oven/dishwasher hybrid from Candy. Unfortunately it's only available in Europe right now. Darn them and their national healthcare, six weeks vacation, and awesome appliances!

8 comments:

  1. These are pretty neat! My last three apartments (including the one I'm in now) have all had tiny kitchens, so I always appreciate a great use of space!

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  2. My boyfriend had a dishwasher/oven combo almost exactly like the one you've got above when he lived in the Hague. They seemed pretty standard in the Netherlands. But then again, the Dutch grocery shop almost everyday. Milk and other necessities come in smaller containers (sizes we consider practically single serve here in the US) to fit in smaller fridges & ovens. It is different, but once you live with it, as a daily lifestyle for a few weeks, you get used to it.

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  3. @katiemade I've always liked the idea of being able to grocery shop every day or almost every day. It bums me out that most Americans' (my own included) lives are too jam-packed to fit that in on a daily basis. And not only do I feel like I don't have time, but it seems that most grocery stores are huge megaplexes that need to be driven to. It's a whole production to go grocery shopping. I'd kill to be able to walk to a local, small grocery store on the corner!

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  4. brilliant blog, nice work, will recommend

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  5. There are some gorgeous pieces on your website! Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often.

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  6. Hey! Great post..
    and very random question - how long vacation time do you have in the US?
    :-)

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  7. @Mina: Well, most full-time (40 hours/week) jobs will give you two weeks' paid vacation, which is usually only useable after having been there a year. Yeah. I know. It sucks.

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  8. ah, that does really suck! I am originally from Denmark and there you have 8 weeks/year with a job with 37h/week. However I moved to Spain 4 years ago and even here we have 3 weeks with a 39h/week job (6 weeks with a 40h/week).

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