Latest kitchen design trends point to a growing awareness of ergonomics with consumers preferencing appliance ‘banks’ at the ‘midway point’, ensuring easy, safe access and no bending or stooping. Smeg has seen significant growth in its compact appliances, aimed squarely at the keen home cook who wants a variety of cooking methods to produce a wide variety of culinary styles.
Compact appliances are the standard 600mm wide and just 450mm high and designed to be installed in a bank either at the ‘midway point’ (chest or eye level) – or, if preferred, under bench. Consumers can choose from convection oven with microwave; combi steam/convection oven; dedicated steam oven; microwave oven with grill function; and a built-in coffee machine.
Smeg stands alone as the only brand to offer its appliances in two distinct design aesthetics – the Classic all stainless steel (as used in the kitchen pictured) and the very contemporary Linear in stainless steel and glass. A further benefit of the Smeg compact series is the cookie-cutter design approach – each appliance, be it Classic or Linear, has matching aesthetics to give a homogeneous look to the entire kitchen. The owners of the kitchen pictured, designed by Kim Duffin of Sublime Architectural Interiors, also wanted to take full advantage of the natural light and surrounding rural views, so while the midpoint bank of appliances satisfied the ergonomics, ventilation posed a different hurdle.
A powerful solution was found in the twin cylindrical stainless steel rangehoods, again from Smeg, 370mm in diameter and moving up to 620 cubic metres of air an hour. Prices for the Smeg appliances in the kitchen pictured, including compacts, are:
Classic microwave oven and grill, compact (SA45MX2) $2790
Classic convection/microwave, compact (SA45MCX2) $3290
Classic dedicated steam oven, compact (SA45VX2) $3290
Classic combi steam/convection, compact (SA45VCX2) $4490
Classic built-in coffee machine (CMS45X) $4290
Linear microwave oven and grill, compact (SCA45M2) $2790
Linear convection/microwave, compact (SCA45MC2) $3290
Linear dedicated steam oven, compact (SCA45V2) $3290
Linear combi/steam convection, compact (SCA45VC2) $4490
Linear built-in coffee machine (CMSC45) $4290
Cylindrical wall mount rangehood (SHW410X) $2490 each
Induction cooktop, 900mm, 4 zones (SIHP294S) $3190
Smeg kitchen appliances are available nationally from appliance specialists, electrical retailers and some department stores. Visit www.smeg.com.au for more information.
