From high-tech kitchen appliances that track the fridge’s inventory and can be controlled via your smartphone to chic colored ovens with a retro flair, contemporary cook spaces are a recipe made of equal parts technology and style. If you’re the kind of home cook who likes to integrate techy gadgets and high-tech helpers into your living space, you’re going to need a few of these brilliant inventions. Here are a few of our favorite modern kitchen must-haves for your consideration.

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1. Boiling with Ease: A Pot-Filler — This is one kitchen innovation that’s guaranteed to impress your Italian grandparents! These dedicated faucets are installed behind the range to provide easy access to water for boiling, steaming and more. Because who wants to carry a heavy pot of water all the way across the kitchen? They’re typically designed to extend out so they sit neatly against the wall when not in use.
2. Countertop Cooktop: A Dedicated Range — Traditional kitchen ranges tend to feature an oven and a cooktop built into a single unit, but these days, you see more and more kitchen designers opting for dedicated countertop burners (called “rangetops” or “drop-in cooktops”) that separate the two units from one another.  There are a few benefits to separating these units — they allow you to set your kitchen up in the exact configuration you want and can help save under-counter storage space.
3. No Cold Meals: A Warming Drawer — A must-have for the modern host or hostess, warming drawers are amazing kitchen appliances designed to keep your food warm for longer. Perfect for big Thanksgiving dinners and all-day potlucks, these appliances are more efficient than ovens and won’t dry out your food like a microwave or toaster oven would. Plus, they do more than just warm up casseroles! You can use them to defrost frozen food and even to help proof bread dough quicker.
4. Clean Hands, Clean Knobs: Touchless Faucets — How many times have you had to awkwardly flip the faucet with your wrist after dirtying your hands mixing meatballs or kneading bread? It’s a chef power move! These days, there are plenty of brilliant new faucet designs that eliminate the touching all together. From touchless sensor designs to foot-operated faucets with pedals tucked beneath the countertop, there are tons of new styles that can turn the water on and off without the need for contact.
5. Remote Gourmet: Wi-Fi-Enabled Appliances — By now you’ve probably seen plenty of “smart” appliances popping up in kitchen design showrooms. These are high-tech kitchen units that connect to your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth so you can control them remotely and manage them from your smartphone. For example, some smart ovens can be preheated via an app on your phone. There are even refrigerators with interior cameras that let you view inside your fridge from the dairy aisle at the grocery store to double check whether you need to restock a certain item or not.

1. Cheers to Chilling: A Wine Fridge — Wine coolers are versatile chilling staples that are essential for entertainers as well as beer and wine aficionados. They help keep reds and whites at their optimal temperature, of course, but wine fridges aren’t just for oenophiles. These pint-sized cooling units also store beer, hard seltzers and even sodas, depending on the unit. If you want to safely stash reds, whites and beer, make sure to choose a style with separate cooling zones to keep everything at its ideal temp. Want to save big with a wine cooler? Consider bundling appliances with kitchen appliance packages that can save you big bucks when compared with buying each appliance individually.
2. Summer Day Staple: A Dedicated Ice-Maker — If you live in a hot climate or love to throw big parties with overflowing coolers on the patio, you’re going to want to consider investing in a high-volume home ice-maker. These convenient units can pump out tons of buckets in a short period of time, saving you plenty of gas station runs when it’s hot out.
3. Colorful Cooking: Colored Ranges and Fridges — These days, there are more finish options on the market than stainless steel and slate. Peruse any high-end home design magazine and you’ll see plenty of colorful kitchen appliances adding a pop of personality to high-end kitchens. From chic blue and red to retro teals and oranges, it’s trendy to give your cooking space a bit of style through colors. You’ll also notice that many of these bright, modern appliances have commercial- and retro-inspired finishing touches, making them a very classic yet fresh addition.
4. The Hub of the Hub: A Smart Speaker — If you’re looking for a simple way to make your kitchen more high-tech without swapping out large appliances, consider equipping it with a smart home system, such as a Google Home, Amazon Echo or Apple HomePod. Not only do these devices serve as voice-activated speakers to set your cool cooking soundtrack, but they’ll also read you recipes, set your timer and tell you how many tablespoons are in a quarter cup (hint: it’s four).
5. Brilliant Lighting: Smart Lights That Do It All — Smart lighting is another simple tool that gives your space a high-tech enhancement without a huge spend. Ringing up for under $25 each, these brilliant (pun intended) bulbs screw into your normal bulb sockets but link up with Bluetooth, so you can control them via your voice. This is especially handy when you’re carrying in two bags full of groceries after dark or when your hands are dirty and you need to up the dimmer.

For the modern chef, outfitting the kitchen is about finding ways to simplify tasks and make the cooking and hosting processes easier and more streamlined. With top-of-the-line new appliances and gadgets that integrate the best tech, you’ll be able to transform the most popular room in the home into a smart home hub that works for you.

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When you move in your own place for the first time, you’ll probably want to save money, so most people only buy the most basic of utensils, most commonly a wooden spoon, a spatula and a kitchen knife. You may even purchase something that you only use once and never use again! But what kitchen utensils are essential? Let’s go through a few now.

Knives

You will use knives in your kitchen pretty much every day. These are one of those things that it really is worthwhile investing some time researching, and splurging on. Good knives can last you your whole life if you look after them properly. There are so many knives out there, with different knives for one or two specialist jobs, but unless you’re a chef or a cooking enthusiast, there really is no need for you to have more than three or four knives. A good place to start is with a chef’s knife. These are good all rounders that can do pretty much any job you want them to do. A paring or vegetable knife which is as it says, excellent at chopping fruit and vegetables. It is much smaller than a chef’s knife, so it is easier to use for more delicate tasks. A serrated bread knife for cutting loaves of bread. It is very difficult to accurately slice bread with a straight blade like a chef’s knife, the serrated edge makes the job much easier.

A carving knife which is excellent at carving or slicing meat joints, such as the turkey at Christmas.It’s also advisable to invest in a good knife sharpener or whetstone and learn how to safely and properly sharpen your knife blades. You are much more likely to do damage with a blunt blade than a sharp one, as you put so much more pressure behind a blunt blade.

Cooking Utensils

There are many different cooking utensils that you will need depending on what you like to cook. These are just some of the utensils that you should have in your kitchen as essential items. A metal spatula, a whisk, a silicone spatula, metal tongs, box grater, wooden spoons, vegetable peelers, a ladle, and a rolling pin. Utensils are available in metal, plastic or wood. It’s better to use metal or wooden, as we should all be cutting down on plastic. Some items though, such as a silicone spatula cannot be made in metal or wood, so just be sensible about what you’re buying. You’ll build up your cookware as you go along, finding out what’s necessary and what isn’t. When you end up burning your countertop with a hot pan that you set down, you realise that you really should use a trivet.

Kitchen Scissors

Kitchen scissors are absolutely essential. Like your knives, you will use them almost every time you are in the kitchen. A good pair of kitchen scissors should be sharp, and easy to clean so you can keep them hygienic. Keep them in the kitchen so that other members of the household don’t use them for things like cutting paper which will quickly blunt them.

Chopping Board

A chopping board is essential. It should be easy to clean, and portable so you can pick it up to clean it. There are some very pretty chopping boards made of granite or similar stone, but these will quickly ruin the lovely knives you have just splurged on. Stick to a traditional wooden chopping board. Some people like to have more than one chopping board, one for uncooked meat and one for vegetables. This is a good idea, but if you are lacking storage space, then just ensure you clean it in between.

Meat Thermometer

Nobody wants to give themselves, or others food poisoning. This is where a meat thermometer comes in and are a great tool to have when preparing meals. Different meats need to be cooked to different temperatures, so a thermometer should be placed into the thickest part of the meat to check the temperature and therefore if it’s been cooked all the way through. As well as preventing food poisoning, it can also stop you from overcooking the meat and having dry, tough meat for dinner.

Cookware

If you’re using your oven, you will need a good set of baking trays. This includes a deep roasting tray for roasting vegetables or joints of meat. Pyrex dishes always come in useful as well, for cooking stews or lasagne. If you are a pizza fanatic, a pizza tray will ensure your pizza is crisp on the bottom, without the pizza falling through the bars on the oven racks which can so often happen.

Saucepans

This is another place where you can spend a little bit more money. A good set of saucepans will last you a lifetime if looked after properly. Some people prefer non stick pans, and others prefer the ones without coating. It all depends on your preference, but whichever you get, learn how to look after them properly and you will never have to buy another set.

Measuring Jugs

Extremely useful for every day use in the kitchen. Measuring jugs come in a range of material, but the most popular are the pyrex glass ones. These are the most popular for a reason – they last. They can take a lot of abuse, are fairly heatproof, and as they are clear it’s easy to see what you’re measuring. As you can see there are several things that are essential for keeping your kitchen running smoothly. As you go through life and discover what you like cooking, or what you never want to cook again, you will find which utensils you need or don’t need. It’s always worth buying food quality equipment, and spending a little bit of money. If you scrimp here, you will end up buying the same piece of equipment time and time again, and spending more money in the long run. It’s important to have fun when cooking, and the correct utensils can make the experience an even more fulfilling one.