January’s virtual CES 2021 showcased some interesting new products for kitchen, bath and other rooms, which were described in an article by Melissa Dittmann Tracey of Realtor Magazine.
For kitchen appliances, there’s a move toward more intelligent and colorful appliances. Rita and I have one of Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerators, and we like it! You can display a slide show of pictures from a thumb drive, or even mirror your WiFi-connected TV from another room.
Samsung is offering its Bespoke refrigerators in eight glass or steel colors: gray glass; sky blue glass, navy steel, champagne steel, matte black steel, navy glass, white glass, and rose pink glass.
LG introduced its “Furniture Concept Appliances,” which make sense now that open floor plans are commonly combining kitchen, dining room and family room. Their appliances come in several materials and color combos.
Another trend featured in the article was toward a “wellness” design for bathrooms, inspired by the greater amount of time everyone is spending at home because of Covid. Kohler’s $16,000 “Stillness Bath” (above) is an extreme example of this: “It mixes water, light, fog, and essential oils and features an infinity-style water cascade that falls onto a Hinoki wood moat that then recirculates the water back into the bathtub.” No thanks!
LG also introduced a $2,599 “Wash Tower” which is nothing more than a stacked washer and dryer in a single unit with controls of both units between the two. I don’t like this because Rita and I are completely sold on the new style of high efficiency washing machines which are top loading with a glass top and no agitator, also sold by LG. They are smart units which, among other things, sense the size of your load and only introduce the amount of water needed for that load.
As you’d expect, there were lots of innovations displayed by TV manufacturers. I like the idea of Samsung’s The Frame (above): “An extra-slim 4K television, attempts to turn the TV into actual artwork that you can hang on your wall like a picture frame.” When you’re not watching TV, it can display a painting or picture of your choosing or, presumably, a slide show like you are used to viewing on the electronic picture frames available for years.
Golden Real Estate's Blog 