This dishwasher concept from De Dietrich uses cavitation to clean your dishes. In layman’s terms that means tiny bubbles strike your dinnerware and scrub the surfaces clean. The process cuts out much of the water and energy waste associated with traditional dishwashers.

Sadly, this dishwasher can’t be used to steam a salmon, which, on second thought, may be a good thing. [De Dietrich via Appliancist via DVICE]

This otherwise standard, boring island’s countertop slides out to stretch its surface area while revealing (cold?) storage, a sink and electric burners. Comparing this design to the layout of more than one of my tiny apartments, there’s really no contest—this island is simpler, more space efficient and has a lot more eye appeal. I’d far rather work on an island than with my face pressed to cabinets, and there’s enough surface area here to match most small kitchens.

Then again, keep in mind that you need to leave the open space for everything to unfold and the island fails to accommodate a simple toaster, blender, or even oven. So maybe existing designs don’t have it all wrong even if they aren’t quite as chic or idealistic. [Ensci via freshome via dvice]

Their answer, given in patent filing US 2009/0095729, is a simple one: make all free-standing gadgets like kettles, toasters, juicers and food mixers in the shape of tall cuboids that can easily be pushed together on a worktop, with no wasted space between them. As the controls could be recessed in their flat lids or on the front panels, no space-wasting side access is required. The patent also suggests connecting the appliances together—presumably using a common power supply.

You know what this means right? Bedroom, office, living room and dining room squareness are still wide open. I’m calling dibs bitches! [Patent via New Scientist via Boing Boing and Fast Company]

Armani’s Calyx (yes, that Armani) is a kitchen outfitted with decadent wood veneers, glass and woven metal…all of which are masked behind floor-to-ceiling doors. Armani calls the effect a “discreet environment.” I’d call it a cold and soul-sucking hospital room.

Besides, I’d over-stuff that kitchen like a WASP’s linen closet. There would be no end to the bright orange corners of Cheetos bags making their way through the door cracks, Man’s subconscious urge for untamed wilderness playing out in a quiet protest. [WIDN and SaukValley via BornRich]

Making dinner for two? Then move along. The Electrolux Personal Mini Kitchen concept is designed to hold the bare essentials for one person: A small silicon hotplate, a tiny soda-can-sized fridge, and a tablet PC.

The Mini Kitchen is designed for the growing numbers of young and single people in China, and features an all-in-one design including tiny facsimiles of a fridge, stovetop, and silverware. The “cook box” is sort of like a compartmentalised bento box that can be used for both cooking and serving, which is actually pretty clever. The tablet PC is a small netbook-type that is mostly intended for chatting (as it features a webcam) and looking up recipes. Unfortunately for all you single-and-staying-that-way types, it is just a concept for now, but it seems fairly marketable if the price could be kept down. [Yanko Design]

I’ve always wanted an outdoor kitchen—something with gas burners, a grill, sink and some storage space (maybe even a wood-fire pizza oven). This compact Cheope oven from Alpina fits most of those requirements.

The stainless steel unit features two standard gas burners, 2 gas burners to reheat the lava rock grill, a single burner for the ollare stone, a sink with stretchable tap, storage drawers and a fair amount of counter space for such a compact unit. No word on pricing, but I doubt that I will be trading in my hibachi anytime soon. [Alpina via Furniture Fashion via Born Rich]

The kitchen, shaped like an egg, has enough space for a water reservation tank, a gas chamber (for storing cooking gas), a water sink and a burner. Bring it with you on camping trips and you can have fancy home-cooked meals in your tent.

Looking at the pictures, you’re supposed to be able to strap it to the top of your car… though I’m not sure how that’s supposed to work. Trying to strap anything that round to a flat surface seems like it’d be a pain in the arse. [Tuvie]

There are certainly a few clever ideas, as we see in the first shot of a cooking space promising to be 1/3 the size of modern stoves. The pots and pans double as serving dishes, and while we don’t quite understand how one stirs the food, it certainly appears to be a clean way to cook.
But most of the plans focus on integration. You know, stick a waffle iron and a toaster right into the counter top—which makes sense until you realise that those appliances just eat into drawer space or raise the cooking surface by several inches.

Still, I could look at future concepts from the 1940s all day long. See lots more shots by hitting the links. [Dwell and Paleo-Future via bbGadgets]

[Frattini via Trendir via Newlaunches via DVICE]

Buchberger said he decided to create Flatshare from personal experience, after discovering that “there is nothing more disgusting than a dirty fridge in a shared flat.” I had one of those experiences. One former roommate had made a creamy fruit salad in the fall, and plum forgotten about it when she moved out in the winter. I could’ve sworn the monstrosity that greeted me three months later asked me if I was the Gatekeeper. [Flatshare Fridge set via Electrolux