Home for the Holidays
Pavan Shamdasani rounds up hip new home gadgets
The New Year is mere days away, and you’re still stuck in your crummy apartment, hand-washing your clothes in front of your 20” TV, shaving with your old razor while downing that mud-tasting instant coffee. Here’s a resolution: stop being such a bum and fit your house with these new home appliance gadgets.
Washing Machine
Samsung WF337AAR Y
Remember those college laundry days? Mommy was long gone and half your wardrobe was destroyed on the first-cycle-away-from-home – if only you had Samsung’s latest clothes cleaner, a marvel of modern-day technology that automatically uses the precise amount of detergent every time. This whisper-quiet frontloader cleans almost 4 cubic feet of your dirtiest rags with just a third of the water of a regular washer. And all you OCD clean-freaks can finally take solace: Samsung claims their innovative SilverCare technology kills off 99.9 percent of all bacteria, so that never again will the word “bleach” ruin that well-aged Van Halen T.
Recommended price: $10,000
Electric Shaver
I Braun Pulsonic 9595
Don’t believe the hype – nothing beats a close wet shave with a sharp razor. Nothing. But some days, you just don’t have the time. Like that hangover this morning. Thank little baby Jesus then, for Braun and their team of German geniuses have recreated the closeness and comfort of a razor in their electric cutter. At 10,000 vibrations a minute, this pulsing half-pound monster hugs your face “Alien”-style, with its patented Power-Comb system lifting and positioning hairs for easier cutting. Plus, the alcohol-based docking station self-cleans.
Recommended price: $2,000
Toaster Oven
T-Fal Avante Elite Y
One of the most underrated of all appliances, the toaster oven is like The Beatles’ “White Album” – not considered the basic, much-loved favorite toaster (“Revolver”), not the innovative experimental microwave (“Sgt. Peppers”) and not the giant send-off (“Abbey Road”). But what it lacks in size and speed, it more than makes up for in variety. Because why should you settle for simple burned bread when you can have a machine that toasts, bakes, broils and heats up those little dinner rolls all at the same time? The multi-purpose Avante Elite does just that, with its 1,600 watts of electricity able to combine the greatest hits into one perfect package. It makes food taste better than “Rubber Soul.”
Recommended price: $800