A model unit of the SieMatic kitchen.

Kitchens have come a long way, indeed.  Gone are the days when having a kitchen full of state-of-the-art appliances and cutting-edge design can assure the homemaker that she has the best kitchen that humanity’s present level of technical and design expertise can provide.  At present, it seems that a curious blend of science, functionality and aesthetics is the current standard by which the supposedly “ideal kitchen” can only be attained.  It’s a fact that kitchen designers have been aware for some time now.

Enter SieMatic.  The kitchen cabinet brand from Germany has long been involved in redesigning today’s kitchen for current needs, and it seems that it’s now quite able and ready to part the curtains so-to-speak, on its newest designs—the SieMatic S1.  Says Volker Betsch, managing director of SieMatic’s Far East Office.  “The SieMatic S1 redefines our concept of kitchens.  It proves that more than just a room for preparing food, the kitchen can become a living area where friends and family come together.  The kitchen is equipped with sophisticated entertainment facilities and technological features in keeping with the now blurring boundaries of living spaces.”

Indeed, this was shown during the SieMatic S1 launch in a short skit that illustrated the different needs of a family.  In the short presentation, the mother is bent on preparing some of her best dishes for the table while her other family members can be found in the other places of the home preoccupied with their different interests and activities.  Of course, such a set-up demonstrated the alienation of family members from one another, with the lack of a central living space that would unite them clearly apparent.  Ultimately, the father figure acted as a “fairy godfather” of sorts and gifted his wife (with the connivance of the children seemingly) with the SieMatic S1.  Hence, the hinted upon family break-up was solved, with everyone finding what he or she needs in the very sophisticated kitchen set-up.

And what a sophisticated kitchen the SieMatic S1 is.  Although it may look like a typically streamlined kitchen, it has the Smartboard which serves as control center interface for customizable features that include an integrated entertainment system.  As such, there are provisions for TV, CD, DVD, radio, internet and even an iPod docking station complemented by impressive acoustics.  Likewise, the Smartboard—which can alternately be run via remote, also operated a cleverly concealed lighting system that may optimally illuminate work surfaces or set various subtle and customizable mood lighting for the kitchen area. This ability to play with illumination does not only set the ambiance, but somehow also changes the look of the kitchen immediately.

As if the Smartboard is not enough, the S1 also has the so-called S1-Grid—another interactive user interface that allows one to surf the net, access e-mail, upload photos and even check the weather  anywhere in the world, right in the kitchen.  One can also communicate via Skype by simply connecting a webcam into one of the system’s USB port.  This was ably demonstrated in the above mentioned short skit, when the mother conversed with one of her children who was studying abroad.

Another feature—though not as immediately apparent as the Smartboard and S1-Grid—is the use of MaticMotion.  Imagine doing away with visible handles for one’s drawers?  Well, that’s what MaticMotion provides as it is the world’s first pushbutton kitchen handle.  Because of this, the drawers of the S1 kitchen look flawlessly smooth streamlined without ugly knobs typical of most kitchen drawers protruding from their surfaces.