These range and stovetop designs from KitchenAid are the stuff dreams are made of, to paraphrase the last line from “The Maltese Falcon,” because, really, when you think about it so much of good kitchen design is fantasy.

Alpes Inox has come up with the most innovative stovetops that absolutely ever were. Start with the material these stovetops are made from, stainless steel.

Dacor is one of the leading manufacturers of ranges and cooktops, and when one explores a bit on their website, it’s not hard to figure out why they have been one of the industry leaders for so many years.

It’s a very clever concept, but it is also practical, because that, as always, is the one irreducible aspect of kitchen design. Part of what those who are on the cutting edge of kitchen design most want to achieve is to make something different from what has gone before, but only to the extent that it is possible to do so. The one thing ever in their minds is that a kitchen design that is not functional is a kitchen design that will ultimately fail—and do so rapidly, perhaps as early as the first time the kitchen is used.