When it comes to kitchen product designers and engineers, Thermador has some of the best in the business. They help us do one of our job’s most important functions:  monitoring current kitchen trends and creating new trends for the future. It’s all about setting a standard.

So, it’s vital as a leading luxury appliance brand to be in constant contact with our industry’s foremost influencers. We never lose sight that we must design our products to meet their needs, and in turn, the need of today’s culinary enthusiasts.

That’s why we began our Designer Council summit a year ago at our Scottsdale Gallery & Training Center: to instantly align ourselves with some of the nation’s most influential figures in kitchen design and consulting. These 14 people converge to form the ultimate focus group and discuss what matters most to them when it comes to culinary-focused, luxury kitchens.

In a nutshell, we turn them loose to cook wild in a custom kitchen equipped with Thermador’s latest kitchen innovations, such as the Pro Grand Steam Range. We don’t get many complaints.

Then, we listen. And what do we wind up learning? Our Design Council’s feedback reiterates, much to our pleasure, what our own Thermador designers have anticipated over the past few years, as well as what they’re delivering to the marketplace today.

At our latest summit in October, our experts relayed:

—A desire for appliances that stand proud and dominate a kitchen, as well as centerpiece-type appliances that seem to completely disappear based on the kitchen design

—A need to create a new kind of living space that is more “great room” and less “kitchen”

—The fact that kitchens are becoming more integrated with the overall feel of a larger room, meaning fewer overhead cabinets and more “furniture,” rather than traditional kitchen cabinetry

—Wanting a much more integrated appliance design — meaning custom panels instead of stainless fronts and under-the-counter refrigeration and microwaves.

It’s no coincidence that these are trends Thermador is already well ahead of. Thermador without question is doing more than most when it comes to making culinary-focused kitchens better. We currently have more products in development than any other luxury appliance brand, including a roster of products in cooking and refrigeration, as well as dishwashers ready for launch in 2012 that are already kitchen-designer-approved.

The combination of Thermador’s innovations and willingness to listen to the experts is what helps our company make the home’s kitchen much more than just the kitchen, and cooking more than just a chore, but an experience.

Cheers,

Zach Elkin

Director of Brand Marketing

P.S. We take our design council members’ advice so seriously that we’ve dedicated a series of videos to them. Check one of them out here, featuring Mary Fisher Knott, Certified Interior Designer and Owner of Mary Fisher Designs.