Kitchen appliances come together to form a breakfast cube

Breakfast, cubed.

(Credit: Princess Household Appliances )

The Princess Compact4All kitchen appliances (available this month) come together to form a "breakfast cube." Designed by Jan des Bouvrie for the Dutch firm Princess Household Appliances, the four countertop appliances each measures 20 centimeters cubed. (To American countertops, that would be 7.87 inches all around.) Composed of a juicer, a kettle, a toaster, and a coffeemaker, the modular set can be stacked together or moved about the kitchen just like any other appliance.

Sometimes finding the unexpected in a collection of appliances only involves putting them all together. In this case, the juicer hides a secret. Acting as the central figure in the set, the juicer has three plug sockets (220 to 240 volts) for which the other appliances could be plugged into. The set forms a cohesive whole not only in styling and design but also in utility.

Since this is breakfast we're talking about here, the merging of form and function is of no small importance; foggy mornings become clear when everything comes together. Facilitating this transition into the day are standard features one would expect to see in such a collection of appliances: yes, the toaster has browning control; yes, the coffeemaker has a removable water reservoir; yes, the kettle is cordless. But it's ... [Read more]