This might seem like a weird idea, but what if people stopped living with kitchens? What if modern kitchen design fell out of existence and people simply ordered in every night using drone delivery? Well, the idea isn’t as far-fetched as you might think.

A Guardian article discussed a study four years ago that suggested that kitchen design might be as good as gone by 2030. The article discusses how the majority of kitchens used to have walls before 2000. By 2010, those walls had been knocked down in favor of creating space. If you walk into any city apartment built in 2000 and 2010 you’ll notice this immediately.

Property prices haven’t stopped growing since then. House sizes continue to shrink and the kitchen has reduced further and further. Now, it’s debatable whether it’s even a room in a lot of apartments. The islands have also been sacrificed to create space. Which brings us to the point of this article. What is the future of food? Can drone delivery replace the need for kitchens? Read on to find out.

A Growing Fear Among Kitchen Lovers

The kitchen used to be the gathering center of every home. Family meals, laughter, and jubilee rang through the halls. But what happens if there is no more dining table? The report published by UBS titled “The End of the Kitchen” suggested that by 2030, we could be in a scenario where people don’t cook home meals, but instead, order all of their meals online and have them delivered from restaurants and other kitchens. Shared kitchens could also see an uptick.

Food delivery apps were growing rapidly during the time of the study. Since the pandemic, they have grown even more. Millennials and Gen Zers are driving the shift and home cooking could disappear as a result. Ordering in is also becoming more cost effective than it was before, causing some to believe that ordering could cost less than home-cooked meals.

There has also been a rise in dark kitchens, which are prefab kitchens that takeout restaurants outsource meal prep to. This can further reduce the cost of professionally prepared food.

Do Americans Like the Idea of Never Having to Make Their Food?

With all of this talk about drones and never having to leave the house, many people wonder whether Americans simply want to stay at home without cooking. Kitchens aren’t the only thing at stake here, then. Americans seem to want to buy everything they own from outside their home and have it delivered. Toiletries, flowers, the American dream wrapped up in a plastic Amazon bag.

Where does the kitchen fit in the environment of relentless space-saving and convenience? The good news is, innovators aren’t only thinking about how to make deliveries faster. They’re coming up with ways to modify kitchen design. In the next section, we detail how kitchens are changing by responding to the call for sustainable kitchens with smart technology.

Is There a Future with Kitchens? What Does It Look Like?

The future for kitchen lovers isn’t all doom and gloom. The following advancements are exciting ideas for the future of kitchens.

Interactive Induction

Interactive induction stoves are the future of kitchens. Induction heating uses magnetic pots and pans. However, instead of heating the bottom of the pot, induction heating warms the entire pot, cooking your food faster and more evenly.

It also allows you to place the pots and pans anywhere on the cooking surface instead of a particular heating area. There is also an overhead projector that displays recipes, cooking info, and other valuable notes onto the countertop.

Smart Refrigerators

Designers are creating refrigerators that will replace the refrigerator as we know it. Inductive cooling containers will sit on induction shelves to cool your goods. Set the container on your induction cooling table and your food will chill instantaneously.

Manufacturers are facilitating cooling zones so refrigerated goods can be stored at optimal temperatures. The fridges of the future will likely be able to keep track of what’s inside your fridge. The technology for this already exists but in the future, the fridge will be able to determine these items without any user interaction. Barcode scanners and pressure sensors built into the fridge shelves will accurately register your items.

Green Sinks and Dishwashers

The most pressing function of the future kitchen is line with the green movement. Sustainable, modern kitchen design is carving out their place for the future. For example, discarded water from sinks and dishwashers will not be flushed immediately following the cycle. Instead, they will divide the water into safe and unsafe water used freely to feed plants. All food waste will be composted and devices will have functionality in smaller packages.

Porcelain and Quartz Countertops

Homeowners can have strong opinions when it comes to countertop materials. QUality surface material doesn’t only provide your kitchen with improved aesthetics. It also equates to longer lasting durability and less maintenance. It’s also easier to clean. Granite and marble countertops have always been the most popular countertops but porcelain and quartz countertops are on the rise.

Engineered quartz combines natural quartz and resins to create a top with the same strength of granite with better impact and resistance. You also don’t have seal quartz, which makes it a popular trend in kitchen design. Porcelain hasn’t traditionally been thought of as a popular kitchen design material. Porcelain can’t be scratched, burned, or stained. Porcelain also doesn’t show any fingerprints.

Conclusion- You Might Have to Live In a Home Without a Kitchen

The future of kitchens isn’t bleak. In fact, it’s bright and the good news is, you probably won’t have to live in a world without kitchens. With constantly evolving technologies aimed at sustainability and intuition, you could be prepping meals using smart meals as soon as you want to. There’s a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to kitchen design waiting for you. It’s up to you to decide which ones fit your preferences best.