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Dream Kitchens: What’s New?

A refrigerator that cleans the air, a hands-free faucet, and other appliances on the cutting edge.

By Marilyn Dickey Published Monday, October 01, 2007

Photograph courtesy of Sub-Zero

Cool and Clean

Due in May 2008, Sub-Zero’s built-in refrigerators—which will come in a variety of door styles—“clean” the interior air every 20 minutes, removing odors, bacteria, viruses, and ethylene, the gas that makes fruits and vegetables ripen; thus, produce remains fresh longer. A water-filtration system removes bacteria and viruses in addition to chlorine and sediment from water and ice. These new models include better lighting, a new glide system for crisper and storage drawers, and a digital control panel. Price not determined; subzero.com.

Photograph courtesy of Thermador

Trap That Smoke

A touch of a button extends this 36-inch-wide Thermador chimney-style drawer hood ($1,799; thermador.com) an extra foot forward, better preventing smoke from front burners from escaping into the kitchen. The hood has four power levels and halogen lighting to illuminate the cooking surface. An indicator light shows when the filter needs cleaning; just take it out and pop it into the dishwasher.

Photograph courtesy of Brizo

Look, No Hands

Put your hands or a pot under Brizo’s hands-free Pascal pull-down faucet and the water flows; when nothing is there, it stops. You can override the automatic feature by tapping anywhere on the faucet, and you can change water flow and temperature using the one-hand control (at right). A button on the pull-down spray head switches the flow from spray to stream. In chrome with soap dispenser (pictured), $1,097; brizo.com.