Small but Mighty

Jen DeRose -- Interior Design, 3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

The high-tech Minikitchen won Boffi a gold medal at the Triennale di Milano in 1964, but Joe Colombo's all-in-one kitchenette trolley hardly shows its age. In fact, while most products conceived with futuristic optimism had a short life span, Colombo's ahead-of-their-time designs continue to look beautiful and function beautifully. (His Boby rolling storage unit, 1970, is still manufactured by Bieffe, too.) Miniature the Minikitchen may be—measuring 3½ feet wide by 3 feet high by 2 feet deep—but it's maxed out with functionality. There's a fridge, of course, and small appliances can plug into the two electrical outlets. The teak chopping board and pullout work surface stand ready for slicing and dicing. A cutlery drawer is among the storage compartments.

For the reissued version, Boffi added a touch-control ceramic-glass induction hot plate and cladding of Corian. The only thing missing is the kitchen sink. 70 Via Oberdan, 20030 Lentate Sul Seveso, Italy; 39-0362-5341; boffi.com. circle 365