Sorry, but they look like washers and dryers. Maybe if wood-clad...

I love the potential to regain your "counter" space when not cooking.

I think they're great! Put them side-by-side and when you're cooking, close the sink top to make space! They would be great in my apartment, anyway. Right next to a washer/dryer combo, of course.

Great for small urban apartments ... and people rich enough to afford Boffi ... fyi, these were designed in 2004 by Alberto Colonello and introduced to the market place in 2005 ...

Extra temporary counter space for non-cooking activities. When you're cooking, they'd both need to be opened up.

Give us a ballpark figure, please.

ballpark? $8495. each.

jk

I like it - it looks pain, clean and simple - very Zen!

ugh. looks cool but.... Am I the only one tired of seeing these outrageously expensive things on a blog whose stated mission is to help us achieve harmony in our homes without it being expensive and reducing our reliance on "stuff"?

i applaud them - someone has to lead these trends. by the time some lesser manufacturer knocks them off, it will be affordable to the masses - for now, it creates a dialogue and pushes the envelope of design. this has happened time and time again with companies that cater to the highest end of the market - it is one of their roles in the design continuum...

snot--
It's all relative (especially matters of money). I read this blog to (among other things) see what's new, even if only aspirational to me at any given time. Someday, god willing, it won't be.

And cost on this is really relative, since it (to a degree) reduces the role of a contractor and installer in the mix... all thing sthat do indeed offset the price tag (again, to a degree).

A reduced reliance on "stuff" is only part of the mission (as I interpret it), and I don't really recall a "without it being expensive" clause anywhere, either.

I imagine they look great in a kitchen done in the same cabinetry. The appliances would simply vanish. If the tops slid to the left or right instead of lifting up, it would afford more "counter space." Because they lift, you would have to clear them off every time you want to use the sink or stove. I would imagine that could grow tiresome.

Something else that grows tiresome is the coyness of a company like Boffi when it comes to revealing the price.

Good point grunion.

Aren't most of Ikea's designs inspired by the high end?

But even though Boffi is so astronomically expensive, the materials that are used are expensive as well and you do notice the difference. Solid acrylic doors are not inexpensive to produce and the look and feel of them is very unique. Of course, the price is jacked pretty high after the cost of materials but who else is using them in such an innovative way? Innovation can be priceless.

Some people don't think twice about shelling out tons of cash for artwork. Some people think the same about furniture which is what these pieces are. Art can inspire and so can furniture. Both of these things open people's eyes to new ways of interpreting things they may have taken for granted. Keep the high end designs and thoughts coming.

These would be nice in stainless, and then perhaps they could charge even more?

Some vintage stoves also have lids that close down. . . .

Maybe it's true about the gorgeous materials, Art, but even at their own website, this can't be seen and appreciated. Have you by any chance seen them in person?

Aulaire,

I haven't seen these pieces in person but I have been to the Boffi showroom several times and so I am familiar with their work. You are absolutely right, you cannot appreciate such products without actually seeing and touching them.

They really are the design equivalent of Lamborghini or Maserati. Yes, we can appreciate these cars because we see them in movies and magazines but seeing them on a street or sitting in one is to appreciate them on a whole different level. For a kitchen some of these websites are a little ridiculous and impractical, there is no substitution for seeing them in person. And then passing out when you realize a kitchen will cost 90k.

I'll bet that was a Boffi kitchen in Mikhail Baryshnikov's apartment on Sex and the City. I like to try to match design with the personality (of the character) like that--sorry I'm a geek.