Comment away! (Please note that this is posted with permission from The Kitchn, which would normally publish a post of this type, if it weren't part of our search.))
Can appliances be art?
Designing your space, particularly small spaces that often come along with apartment living, is a constant work in creativity. The best fits are often the unexpected find whose presence in your space turns each room into home. The lovely couple of Marin and Loren, long time Twin Peak residents and all around fabulous people, were kind enough to introduce me to the art of the Sandwich maker. Although at first glance its design aesthetics could be up for debate, its presence in the kitchen is sure to evoke a feeling of nostalgia and thoughts of home for those familiar with its workings. The same thing any great piece of art would do, right? So can appliances be considered art?
Marin and Loren fill their home with pieces collected from family members and world travels. Since Marin is a chef-in-training, the kitchen is where the couple spends a great deal of their time and where appliances truly do become art. Observing Marin work with mere pesto and provolone and along with the sandwich maker produce a beyond noteworthy meal, definitely convinced me. Design and art truly is all of those little things that make it feel like home.
A first round scavenge of Alemany's Sunday swap wares did not turn up a sandwich maker, but I'm happy to report that Williams Sonoma came through. Enjoy!
-bethany
Other Posts by Bethany:
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
The World's Ugliest Condo: The Big Bathroom Reveal 
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Homesteaders' Cocktail Recipe: Lovage Simple Syrup
Comments (7)
YES!
I keep pointing out to the heathens that mock my Dualit toaster that it is a piece of industrial art. So, most assuredly, YES!!!
Yes, they can ... but not those two appliances on that stove!
(Like your Joyce Chen bamboo cutting board, though...)
Isn't art something that serves no real utilitarian purpose, and useful objects are "designed"? But that's beside the point. I have a tiny kitchen and my red dutch oven makes everything look cute.
especially the teapot. i have a tangerine orange one!
Of course an appliance or any functional item can be art. This is exactly what Sullivan meant by "form ever follows function!" Particularly in the U.S. pragmatism and aesthetics do not negate one another.
If in its function a masterpiece is created, is it then not a masterpiece itself? Own it, Love it!