As the weather picks up and restrictions start to ease, it’s time to welcome in the spring/summer season and look forward to alfresco dining, picnics in the park and maybe even a brand new kitchen update too. From stunning islands with built-in greenery to intelligent refrigeration and a seriously chic matt black shower tap, here’s our pick of the latest spring kitchen updates.

Schmidt brings the outside in

Bring some wellness into the kitchen with Schmidt’s Sencha matt green cabinets complete with ingenious island planter. Offering plenty of drawer storage, a geometric undermounted sink, professional-style tap and pop-up plug sockets for small appliances or phone charging, the island features an integrated planter for keeping fresh herbs close to hand when cooking. The front of the island has a Laser textured front while the back comprises the Schmidt Arcos door with drawer pack, both in a crisp Celest white finish. As well as the textural Laser door finish, the island is also shown with functional shelving as a practical add-on. Perfect for storing dried ingredients as well as everyday crockery and cookware, it keeps everything close to hand, saving time and creating an easy, ergonomic space. The shelving is also adjustable to suit different needs while the open design further enhances the light and airy feel.

www.homedesign.schmidt

Whirlpool launches connected four-door refrigeration

Designed to offer an intuitive experience for consumers with busy lives, the brand new Whirlpool W Collection 4 Doors fridge freezer (WQ9I FO1BX UK) benefits from 6^TH SENSE Live^® connectivity. In a smart black stainless steel finish, the appliance can be controlled from anywhere, via a smartphone or tablet, thanks to the Whirlpool 6^TH SENSE Live^® app. Users can adjust and monitor settings, activate special functions such as the fast cooling mode as well as access advice for easy maintenance. What’s more, the app can help users effectively manage the contents of the fridge freezer by notifying them when food needs to be used by or when drinks are chilled to perfection. The app can also provide food storage tips, recipes and a shopping list. There is also 33 per cent more space for fresh fruit and vegetables with a dedicated compartment that can be adapted to individual needs and switched from fridge to freezer conditions with just one touch.

www.whirlpool.co.uk

Caesarstone unveils new opulent design

The Calacatta Maximus quartz surface has a pure white backdrop with striking broad grey veining that features delicately highlighted details in copper and gold. It was designed by Caesarstone’s in-house team led by Mor Krisher, who conceived the brand’s Supernatural Collection and the award-winning Metropolitan Collection. It comes in standard size slabs, 20mm and a polished finish.

www.caesarstone.co.uk

Smeg adds matte finishes to its retro-style kettle and toaster

Smeg offers three new matte finishes for its KLF03 kettle and TSF01 toaster – matte white, black and champagne. Beautifully designed with a stainless-steel body, the kettle has a large capacity of 1.7L with soft opening lid, 360-degree swivel base with non-slip feet, automatic shut-off at 100 degrees, a removable, washable stainless steel limescale filter and concealed heating element to prevent limescale build-up. The two-slice toaster includes extra- wide and deep slots for thick-cut, artisan breads and bagels, six browning levels, three pre-set functions (defrost, reheat and a bagel setting), an illuminated dial while in operation, a touch-release removable stainless-steel crumb tray, built-in cord wrap and anti-slip feet.

www.smeguk.com

Franke reveals new Icon Pull Out Double Jet Shower tap

With its slim body and high spout, which stands 355mm tall with a reach of 237mm, the Icon Pull Out is designed to make light work of cleaning even the bulkiest pots and pans. The adjustable pull out spray, complete with modern black hose, allows users to easily switch between the single or more powerful double jet with just the push of a button for convenient rinsing and effortless cleaning of stubborn food remains. It is also fitted with a Neoperl Laminar aerator to reduce splashing and also comes in Décor Steel and Chrome.

www.franke.co.uk

Pronorm introduces Ancient Oak Carmine Red door finish

Reflecting the move towards warmer, richer colours in interior design, Ancient Oak Carmine Red is a wood veneered door featuring the authentic character of a cracked woodgrain with knots, while being finished to offer durability and easy maintenance. Shown here with the Organic Stratus grey door in an anti-fingerprint matt finish, marking out the generous u-shaped peninsula for optimised storage, in a combination of the Y-line handleless and Proline 128 kitchen furniture ranges.

www.pronorm.de

Novy launches Panorama PRO 120

This 120cm induction hob features five uninterrupted cooking zones in a side-by-side configuration that can also be bridged to become a fully zoneless cooking area. Designed for those seeking a flexible and technologically advanced surface cooking centre, the hob also has a special grill function for use with a grill pan accessory together with a wide range of advanced cooking functions including automatic pan detection, automatic cooking, keep warm, chef function, Stop&Go pause function and timers for each zone.

Integrated within the hob’s surface is the 110cm semi-transparent ventilation tower that rises by up to 30cm to extract cooking vapours at source – directly behind the pans. It is super quiet, with a minimum noise level of 41dB and maximum continuous noise level of 60dB. With a maximum free flow rate of 1530m³/h, the powerful extractor has five speeds plus three intensive speeds together with a pre-set extraction function to automatically adjust the power level. When cooking has ended the tower retracts back into the hob’s surface to be completely concealed from view. In addition to touch controls on the hob’s surface, the extractor can also be controlled and adjusted using the Novy Connect app on all mobile devices.

www.novy.co.uk

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