IKEA Designs the Ultra-Efficient Kitchen of the Future

by Ariel Schwartz

What high-tech gizmos will we see in the kitchens of the future? IKEA may have the answers. The Swedish superstore recently drew up a concept kitchen for the year 2040, and it’s pretty wild — it features self-cleaning kitchen counters, 3D holographic displays, cabinets on rails, a “sixth-generation” iPad, remote-controlled ovens, and a host of ultra-efficient energy-saving systems.

IKEA’s kitchen of the future contains some pretty incredible theoretical tech, but we’re most excited about IKEA’s vision for kitchen-based smart energy monitoring and 3D food printers — imagine how much energy you could save by ditching trips to the grocery store.
Of course, IKEA doesn’t specialize in consumer electronics, so we don’t expect any of these products to actually come from the company. But we can dream, right?

IKEA Kitchen Of The Future Looks Pretty Much Like The Present

by Lloyd Alter

They just don't do kitchens of the future like they used to. IKEA in the UK commissioned a study by The Future Laboratory, who claim "is recognized internationally for its innovative approach to trend forecasting, consumer insight and brand strategy." They came up with three visions of the kitchen in 2040, that really don't look all that innovative. This is, I believe, the INTUITIV.

As you walk into the INTUITIV kitchen of the future, LED light projections adjust to your mood - it will know if you have a hangover via sensors that will read your brainwaves. Aromatherapy infused walls will be synced to your calendar, calming you before a big meeting or energizing you before a gym session. The fridge will have selected some breakfast options, identifying the essential vitamins for your day via sensors. When you get home, a hologrammed chef will be on hand for recipe inspiration.

Or, as the head of kitchen design for IKEA Dublin told the Irish Examiner,

"In this world of the future, the kitchen will be a thoughtful, considerate friend, steering between being the health hub of the home, a cultural and social structure cradling human connection, and a technological yet animate force making life easier, cleaner, sustainable and enjoyable."

However it might have been the ELEMENTARA, which definitely sounds the most TreeHuggeresque:

The ELEMENTARA kitchen will encourage you to grow your own food and be self-sufficient with a garden or mini allotment as a standard extension of the room. Food will be kept cool through cold larders and recycling facilities will be seamlessly incorporated into the kitchen.

Most the Tech blogs are showing the SKARP.

This kitchen will be intelligent, predicting its inhabitants' needs with smart technology. Synchronized appliances will make everything happen at the touch of a button, communicating through iPad style devices which will act as the brain of the kitchen, making our lives easier.

But except for #2 on the left, the 3D food printer, the layout and the appliances look like the kitchen of today. Will we still be using inefficient two-door side-by-side fridges in 30 years?
Read the entire press release via ENGADGET, which perhaps was a little more realistic in its assessment of the kitchen of 2040:

These guys are certainly optimistic! Hell, we'll be happy if thirty years hence the typical kitchen isn't a leaking tent in a robot-run internment camp.

Personally, I think they used to do a better job of kitchens of the future.
Other Kitchens of the Future:

1939: The Electric House of the Future

1957 Frigidaire Dream Kitchen of Tomorrow