Best New Kitchen Appliances 2015

Appliances get bold and make a serious statement with dark hues and some rather grand gestures.

Black Magic Who says the inside of a fridge needs to be glaring white? The dark charcoal of the Obsidian interior in select refrigerators by Jenn-Air (from $9,499) makes food colours pop. jennair.caOoh La La!Sophisticated pendant light or utilitarian range hood? The fiery and curvaceous Ola by Italian innovator Elica ($1,799) is both. Workhorse and art piece, it extracts fumes and odours via a gleaming and shapely display that’s worthy of centre stage in the kitchen. elica.com Water WorksSamsung’s Chef Collection WaterWall dishwasher (from $1,499) abandons the old-school rotating circle of spray for a high-pressure wall of water that reaches corner to corner—and it has two separate cleaning zones, so you can work it and take it easy at the same time. samsung.ca

Show-OffThe Samsung Induction Chef Collection range ($5,000) mimics the blue light of gas with LED technology. The first of its kind, with knobs for temperature control that also evoke a gas range, its virtual flame induction burners let you turn it on with gusto. samsung.ca

Kitchen AIThere’s a new breed of clever appliances in the kitchen, whether it’s features like smartphone-like touch screens or self-guiding cleaning gadgets. They’re all run on artificial intelligence that reduces your food prep and mess. So go ahead, leave a trail of bread crumbs, because Miele’s Scout RX1 robot vacuum ($799) is able to navigate your kitchen and beyond in OCD-precise lines (using a ceiling camera and gyro sensor). Your very own R2-D2—with bling. miele.ca