SHEER, An Innovation in Kitchen ❧

At the Maison & Objet in Paris in January this year, one outstanding kitchen design caught my eye, and that's a very difficult thing to do considering there are over 3,000 exhibitors, and if you cover M&O annually, (I've done that since their inception mid 1990's when they were still located in the Porte de Versailles address) you tend to develop a jaded attitude having seen most things and design before. It's important to chance upon something "unusual" for once. The SHEER kitchen unit produced and manufacturered by incredible Italian designers from Lugo, Italy, had that, for me, star quality and attraction.

For those used to small compact living spaces, especially apartments in Hong Kong or Japan, or even those contemplating a home on a Parisien peniche, this kitchen unit is sexy.

It's actually a two-unit set with one unit being the island where the "smart cooking range with lava stone" is located. There's three bottle coolers on the side for chilling wine or champagne, or even a bottle of San Pellegrino, two multifunctional side trolley that can rotate freely around the island, and get this, anti-bacterial and anti-odour electronic devices with UV technology designed for the cleaning and hygiene of enclosed spaces susceptible to high levels of odours. These are inserted into the trolley with the recycling bin. There's also an extendable solid steel pull-out table top with three meters of space for a cosy dinner.

The last unit is the storage wall unit which can be placed against the wall or in the middle of a room, and it houses shelves, extractable bins, an aluminium dish rack for glasses and bottles, two large drawers for pans and kitchen utensils, and two folding cupboards. The household appliances that can be equipped on the side of the unit will depend on your preference, oven, microwave, refridgerator, or another combination with dishwasher and coffee machine.

The wall unit can also be closed, as can the island, and a motorized shutter enables another interesting use - a television projection screen.