Junior Year | Fall 2022
Alternate Storage Solution
A solution to easier access to kitchen corners, opening opportunities for organization and accessibility.
Fit for a Variety of Kitchen Styles
Opportunities to style the Coreleva to fit perfectly into your dream kitchen.
Sneaky Storage or Vertical Assitance
Access hard-to-reach corners with ease or hide away special & important items
Finances
Data gathered surrounding cabinetry and the economy. (Secondary Research)
$160 Billion
According to Mordor Intelligence, a company conducting in-depth Research Analysis, the cabinetry and cabinetry-related devices market is a massive, continuously growing market. They estimate the total value of the market to be around 160 Billion USD by the year 2025.
$49.7 Billion
According to Cision PR Newswire, distributor of press releases, the overall estimated retail market value for products surrounding kitchen remodels or replacement project activity is $49.7 billion.
$15,000 +
Cision Newswire also states that 48% of kitchen remodels and replacement projects cost over $15,000. Kitchen remodels usually cost between $10,000 and $40,000.
Accessibility
Data gathered in interviews and surveys involving 20+ indivuduals from various backgrounds. (Primary Research
33% of respondents under age 30 stated that they required assistance with accessing taller cabinetry
83% of respondents over age 30 stated that they required assistance with accessing taller cabinetry
91% Of respondents listed enjoying cabinet add-ons and/or would want to own them
100% of respondents listed using their cabinetry at least once a day, a majority listed using them 2-3 times a day
With Kitchens and Cabinetry being an essential part of a home and the daily lives of many individuals, cabinetry can become a very personal part of people’s lives without them realizing it. When homeowners spend thousands of dollars on creating their perfect living environment they want to have the best options at the most affordable price.
Custom and semi-custom cabinetry together amount to almost 50% of cabinetry sales in kitchen projects. Hundreds of cabinetry additions and inserts are currently available to create a more efficient and livable kitchen environment and kitchens are able to be adapted and changed over time to keep up with the changing needs of the occupants.
Cabinetry Percentages
Common adjustments for custom cabinetry are for adjustments to fit the available space. Common additions to cabinetry focus on increasing the quality of life surrounding areas of interest such as:
– Organization
– Accessiblity
– Personalization
How might we assist all types of users in the kitchen environment?
User: Mary Westington
Occupation: Retired
Age: 86
Interests: Hosting family gatherings to see relatives and keep up with all of the changes and excitement of everyone’s lives.
Most Significant Struggles in the Kitchen: Has a tough time at her age being able to take her appliances out from the cabinetry, whether they are low or high. Has a hard time reaching the upper levels of her kitchen without assistance, such as a stool.
Would greatly appreciate a way to store and access larger, heavier devices so that she can continue cooking family recipes and meals for large gatherings
Needs: Safe access to tall cabinetry, assistance lifting/moving heavy appliances
How can we make a solution to fit changing needs that is available at a fixed income?
How can we extend accessibility to even the most uncommon places?
User: Tyler Zubriki
Occupation: General Manager
Age: 52
Interests: Lives an active lifestyle training his show dogs and likes to keep an intrinsic eye on other interests such as art and cinema. Loves to gather the newest technology surrounding life, including the latest kitchen gadgets
Most Significant Struggles in the Kitchen: Has a hard time managing where to place all his cooking appliances and finds some of his lesser-used cabinetry to be a hassle to fit appliances into.
Would greatly appreciate a way to utilize the lesser-used areas in his kitchen in order to fit all types of devices.
Needs: Better ways to utilize space, more optimized cabinetry storage
What areas can we look at that have no present solution?
How might we create a solution that withstands the test of time?
User: Susan C.
Occupation: Yoga Studio Owner/Instructor
Age: 29
Interests: A passion for yoga, dogs, and relaxing and taking in her surroundings and being in the moment. Loves settling down with a good book and a glass of wine. Explores new recipes to cook with her fiance at least twice a week and never shies away from adding some spice to the pot.
Most Significant Struggles in the Kitchen: Currently looking to own their first home and wants to include only the best cabinetry accessories to make navigating the space with a partner as easy as possible.
Would greatly appreciate a device that improves their quality of life in a small (and potentially larger in the future) family and would last a lifetime.
Needs: Affordable life-long products and solutions
How can we make a solution that belongs in the kitchen and stands out from the competition?
How can we design a device that fits into an extremely customizable space?
User: Christopher Murtz
Occupation: Professional Kitchen Designer
Age: 45
Interests: Loves spending time on the gold course or watching college/professional football. Always makes sure to stay on top of the newest design trends surrounding household products and home improvement projects. Makes sure to always have an open eye for designs and inspiration in order to consistently deliver only the top-of-the-line designs to his customers.
Most Significant Struggles in the Kitchen: Has a rough time designing with corners, especially with upper corner cabinetry. Sometimes completely eliminates corners in his designs to avoid the hasle and preserve the quality of his designs.
Would thuroughly enjoy a solution to the kitchen-corner conundrum that would be marketable, stylish, high-quality, and potentially be ahead of the trends.
Needs: A kitchen-corner solution that fits into the multitude of kitchen designs and is a viable option for designers and buyers alike.
What can we add to a kitchen design that promotes unity and functionality in a kitchen space?
Ideation
What to keep in mind
In order to effectively utilzie the upper corner of a kitchen without eliminating the cabinetry or creating a deads space, we have to keep several things in mind.
User Accessibility
It has to be accessible from the bottom. Deep-upper cabinets are much harder to access than the already hard-to-reach deep-lower cabinets. However, deep lower cabinets let the user reach from above, making designs such as lazy susans, half-moons, and large pull-outs viable. A top corner is easiest to get to from below and not all users are comfortable using ladders and stools to get above, especially with heavy kitchen equipment.
Installation & Maintanence
The design has to accommodate installation and maintenance. If this device were added to a pre-made kitchen with a dead space in the corner, it would be harder to install a larger device (Corners average a 12×12 inch space). If the device received any wear, accessing the parts for repair must be as easy as possible. An electronic system can provide many benefits but would have more moving parts and would require access to power. Harder to manage, but may be worth exploring in the future.
Reserved Space
The structure must leave as much open space as possible. You are working in a very limited space and must create a stable mechanism that leaves as much room for storage as possible. It would be inefficient if the final device took up most of the space it was trying to save for storage.
Variable Styles
The designs themselves must be adaptable to the increasing variety of kitchen styles, ranging from traditional to modern with finishes such as wood, metal, and even brick/tile. Fitting into these styles is a must, potential to hide away in certain use cases would be beneficial and can be worked into the design.
The Coreleva is an alternative cabinetry accessory that enables the user to have another angle of access to reach the tall corners of their kitchen while giving them a variety of other uses such as hidden storage and appliance lifts.
Accessibility around the kitchen was the main focus of the device as well as finding an area in which many cabinetry companies lacked options.
The final design is for a pull-down shelf that inhabits the upper corners of kitchen layouts, featuring two gas-springs to assist with opening and closing that can be removed and replaced and an additional middle shelf that can be removed to increase space. With minimal components and a removable middle shelf, the device takes up as little room in the kitchen and the user’s mind as possible.
Device Interaction. Several options to life and lower device.
Additional shelf removal & installation.
Designed for ease with kitchen styles in mind, match the body to the style of your kitchen to maintain unity. Finished options blend completely into a kitchen even when the device is not visible. Dark metallic hardware avoids drawing the eyes away from the rest of your kitchen and the base knob can be replaced with whatever style is needed to match your kitchen. Classic wood styles are available for those who enjoy a more old-fashioned style while colorful finish and material options for those who want a more modern pop!
