Remember the Dyson, the revolutionary vacuum cleaner where you could watch the dust being sucked up? Now James Dyson has got his eyes on helping homeowners save space on overcrowded kitchen worktops by re-designing kitchen gadgets into smaller forms.

He wants to see all free-standing kitchen gadgets made into self-contained wipe-clean, cuboids. The idea is that these tall cuboids could be pushed together. Could this be the start of a revolution for kitchen designs?

Over the last 30 years the heart of our homes has changed. Cast you mind back to the 1970s and recall the plastic wooden Formica surfaces and large orange pattern wall paper. A decade later in the 1980s ‘country fitted’ kitchens were popular. Fast forward to the 1990s when dining rooms were knocked through to make larger kitchens for entertaining.

Retro 1950s Kitchen – Wear Big Business

But the basics elements of kitchens are still there, such as an oven, fridge and toaster, although arguably their designs have also changed over the decades. What’s interesting is that while Dyson is looking to the future, many homeowners are re-visiting the past. This could possibly be as a result of consumers tightening their belts. Retro 1950s kitchen-wear, such as bread bins, are now big business. Interestingly, sales of bread makers have increased as people go ‘back to basics’. Allotments too are seeing a revival as many homeowners are growing vegetables in order to cut back on supermarket spending.

It will be interesting to see in the next few years, especially in these hard economic times,which direction buyers want kitchen designers to take them. Will traditional kitchen tools such as the mop and bucket be replaced by, steam mops,?

Dyson’s ideas may be grand and revolutionary but only consumers will decide if they like his plans. In this difficult economic climate, is it the right moment for kitchen designs and tools to change?

Only time will tell whether new kitchen gadgets such as, steam mops, will replace the traditional mop and whether consumers will buy into Dyson’s cuboid plans. Maybe it will be the case that buyers will only consider new design concepts for their kitchen – wares, such as purchasing a, steam mop, when their existing kitchen tools break. Perhaps many consumers are waiting before splashing out. But let’s hope that any kitchen design revolution is not held back by poor economic conditions.