We spoke to Stephen Flower, managing director of a team of kitchen specialists at Ashford Kitchens & Interiors. Stephen and his team have been providing homes around the United Kingdom with bespoke home offices, luxury kitchens, and customised bedrooms for over 35 years. In doing so, they are constantly sourcing the very best gadgets, appliances and products from around the world to stay one step ahead of the game and keep British homes functioning at their very best.

Here Stephen tells us about some of the best gadgets out there that will help take your home to the next level when it comes to modern home design and efficient living. 

EKO’s Sensor Bins

At Ashford, we’ve always been big fans of minimalism. If things can be closed off and efficiently organised within cupboards and drawers, there is no need to have them around the kitchen, making it look cluttered. For this reason, we’ve always been big advocates of pull-out bins that can be hidden away so brilliantly in cupboards and under sinks.

EKO is one of a few companies that have provided an alternative option to this with their set of sensor bins. The 45 Litre Phantom Sensor Bin, for example, is a fantastic addition to the kitchen for so many reasons and a gadget that shows how effective modern technology can be in the home.

With its slim shape and elegant chrome design, the Phantom Sensor Bin is not a product you would be embarrassed to have out in plain sight. It looks sleek and with its two-winged design functions as elegantly as it looks. 

More importantly, this item brings something completely new to the kitchen with its touch-free technology. An automatic sensor system triggers the winged lids to glide open silently, so you don’t have to have frequent contact with the bin and the waste within it. With a touch switch panel and a soft-close design, the Phantom Sensor Bin helps create a bacteria-free and noise-free environment in your kitchen. 

Neff Slide&Hide Ovens

Another fantastic item is from German brand Neff — a company that has been at the forefront of engineering kitchen appliances for over one hundred years. Neff has a wide selection of kitchen appliances and kitchen installations, but it is their Slide&Hide Ovens and Induction Hobs that make it in here.

The fully retractable disappearing oven door is something that will surely be a staple of modern kitchen design in years to come — but today Neff boasts the only single oven to feature this slide and hide function. 

These ovens open easily so you don’t need to worry about the door hanging open and can instead tuck the entire door away to have complete access to the oven when retrieving food or giving it a clean. Neff ovens don’t stop there, however. They also boast voice control, Pyrolytic Self-Cleaning and a pioneering heating system called CircoTherm. The latter of these — an award-winning hot-air system — allows you to bake and roast on three different levels at the same time. This is an oven and kitchen appliance steps ahead of the game.

Samsung’s Family Hub Fridges

Samsung’s new Family Hub selection of refrigerators almost have too many extraordinary features to fit in here. Their modern look design is striking, but far from what makes them stick out from the crowd.

Samsung’s Family Hub fridges live up to their name. They are truly a centrepiece of the home, let alone the kitchen. With the SmartThings application, you can control all of your smart devices and appliances from the fridge screen. Music, front door camera and everything in between can be linked up so you can manage and monitor everything in the house with a swipe on the refrigerator’s screen.

Personalised photos, handwritten notes and shopping lists are just a few of the many things that can be added to a custom home screen you’re able to redesign and add to with complete ease. 

Three inbuilt cameras allow you to see inside your fridge with your mobile phone so you no longer have to rack your brain to try and remember if you need more of certain foods. The Samsung Family Hub refrigerator is a thing of the future and a cutting-edge addition to anybody’s kitchen.