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JennAir flashes the leather with its brand-new line of luxury appliances

JennAir is looking to blur the line between art and appliances with a series of new products that seek to bring a touch of luxury to your kitchen. The Michigan-based company has long maintained a commitment to what the company calls “provocative design, masterful execution, and exceptional performance,” and in its latest product unveiling, has introduced the world to a new leather column refrigerator and freezer panels, a professional-style range, and more.

First up is the Cuts leather column refrigerator, which look nothing like the fridges found in your grandmother’s or even your mother’s kitchen. Rather, these column refrigerators are covered in leather sourced from Italian tanneries. The columns can even be installed with a dual-leather look to distinguish between your fridge and your freezer. These columns won’t be made available until later in 2018, and it’s unclear what pricing will look like.

Then, there’s the Smoke and Brass 48-inch professional-style range, which boasts two-tone accent colors atop blasted surface to create a distressed, dark range. Only 50 of these ranges are planned to ever go on sale, and each will be stamped to certify its hand-crafted origin. Similarly, this range will be made available later in 2018, and with only 50 to speak of, we can only imagine that the price will be quite astronomical.

But the range isn’t even as exclusive as the Burlesque refrigerator, for which JennAir only has 13 planned for creation. The interior of this fridge promises to be burgundy-hued, and can be customized with stainless steel panels or just about anything else. It’s unclear exactly why you would need a refrigerator whose interior looks like a jewelry box, but really, to each her own. These refrigerators will each go for $30,000.

JennAir is also introducing a new so-called “design expression” known as Rise, comprising kitchen appliances that are paired with connected technology. For example, you’ll be able to check out new JennAir Column Refrigerators from this line that come with an obsidian interior, ecliptic lighting (there are more than 650 LED lights in these fridges), precision sensors for maximized food preservation, and an all-metal bin and shelf system.

There’s also a new series of ranges and rangetops that promise cast iron grates, backlit knobs, dual-fan true convection plus steam, as well as more than 30 configuration options for the ultimate in customization. You’ll of course want to check out the company’s untethered wall ovens as well, which come with convection towers, dual fans for steady heat, and a generous 5-cubic-foot capacity. And if that’s not enough, there’s also the future of luxury dishwashers with the JennAir Trifecta Wash System, whose three-stage filtration, pressurized wash arms, and alternating wash action in two wash zones will clean your dishes much more efficiently than you could yourself.

And it’s not just hardware that JennAir is unveiling. Rather, the company is also showing off its new JennAir digital platform, which is said to lead to a “fluid, frictionless experience.” You’ll be able to optimize refrigerator temperatures, remotely start your dishwasher cycle, and keep tabs on your whole suite of appliances with real-time notifications. The JennAir digital platform is compatible with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, the Apple Watch, as well as Nest. With the first two smart home assistants, you’ll be able to talk to your kitchen appliances, whereas the Apple Watch will allow you to always keep an eye on your kitchen through wrist-bound notifications. Nest, on the other hand, will provide alerts when the dishwasher has completed its cycle, or will adjust your home’s temperature to be a bit cooler when you turn on your oven.

Moreover, JennAir has synced with Yummly, which makes grocery shopping and cooking much easier via advanced image recognition technology and the capability of recommending recipes based on ingredients you have on hand. It’s not entirely clear where the Yummly integration will live, though we would assume that it would be with a JennAir refrigerator.

And finally, JennAir is making customer care much easier with one-touch access to the brand’s customer center, as well as monthly comprehensive insights into their appliances’ status and behavior. So even if you do pay an arm and a leg for JennAir appliances, the company wants to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.

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Lulu Chang
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