Marie Claire – Interior Design: The connected kitchen, making life easier and freeing up time

In the May 2026 edition of Marie Claire Switzerland, Renata Koglin, interior architect and founder of RK Interiors, explores how connected technology can quietly and sensitively transform the kitchen — the heart of the home — into a space that restores time, presence and quality to family life. Through the lens of neuro-architecture and biophilic design, she proposes a vision in which embedded intelligence does not impose itself, but rather accompanies, supports and sets us free.

The invisible intelligence at the heart of the home

For Renata, contemporary luxury can no longer be measured solely in square meters or the quality of finishes. It is counted in minutes regained, in authentic presence and in conversations that the urgency of daily life does not interrupt. Home automation and artificial intelligence are deeply reshaping our relationship with domestic space, especially in the kitchen — that central place where family life is woven together.

Today, brands such as Miele, Siemens and Samsung are developing connected appliances that integrate discreetly into the architecture of the kitchen. Their ambition is not ostentatious: it is functional and sensitive, designed to free up time and ease the mental load.

The silent orchestration of everyday gestures

This revolution takes place far from spectacular gadgets. It lies in the ability of these technologies to anticipate our needs and orchestrate certain tasks. When the Miele DGC 7860 HC Pro steam combination oven automatically adjusts temperature and humidity according to the selected dish, when the Siemens iQ700 HM778GMB1 oven allows cooking to be monitored and controlled remotely via Home Connect, or when the Samsung Family Hub RS6HA8891 refrigerator suggests recipes based on the ingredients actually available, a coherent ecosystem places itself at the service of what truly matters.

The new Miele KM 8000 cooktops embody this evolution with unprecedented embedded intelligence. Thanks to their interaction with the “M Sense” cookware range, fitted with integrated Touch control and temperature sensors, the cooktop automatically adjusts to the ideal power level. Communication between the elements becomes fluid, almost invisible. Combined with the Con@ctivity function, the hood also adapts its intensity in perfect synchronization.

In the background, home automation systems such as Crestron or Control4 coordinate lighting, sound atmosphere and temperature. Appliances talk to each other, notifications become discreet and automations flow naturally. This technological autonomy does not seek to replace the culinary gesture, but to remove its superfluous constraints. It supports the act of cooking without altering its creative or emotional dimension.

Around the table, time regained

The modern kitchen thus becomes a true space of reconciliation between technological efficiency and human warmth. Around the table, stories finally reclaim their place. Children share their school day without their parents being forced to stand up to check a cooking process or adjust a temperature. Dinners naturally extend, carried by conversations that are no longer fragmented by domestic urgencies.

Embedded intelligence here plays its noblest and most discreet role: that of invisible guardian of our attention. By stabilizing temperatures, by sending an alert at the right moment, by adapting the lighting to the atmosphere of the meal, it restores to us that precious mental and emotional availability that makes shared family moments so rich. 

Luxury redefined by presence

This transformation paradoxically reconnects with the old values of the art of living. Just as the great houses of the past knew how to create environments where every detail facilitated social life, today’s connected appliances orchestrate a comfort that is invisible yet ever-present. True luxury today means sitting down without guilt, savoring a moment without being torn between multiple urgencies.

It resides in the ability to be fully present — whether to pass on a family recipe or simply to observe the face of those we love. Technology, when designed with care, replaces nothing. It simplifies, accompanies and frees us, restoring that rare gift: time to live together.

With this publication in Marie Claire, Renata once again affirms her distinctive approach to interior design: one where emotion, well-being and conscious living are at the core of how we inhabit our spaces.