How Samsung Is Reimagining Home Appliance Design

CUSTOMIZABLE DESIGN

HOW SAMSUNG IS REIMAGINING HOME APPLIANCE DESIGN

Ahome is more than a roof over our heads. It’s not just a place for eating and sleeping but also a vessel through which we express ourselves. And objects in the home are not merely functional tools; they are symbols that help us communicate to the world who we are.

From architectural elements right down to the materials we use for furniture, almost everything in the interior can be changed and adapted to fit individual lifestyles and aesthetic preferences. Except for our appliances. Even as new trends appear and styles continue to evolve in interior design, standardization remains the dominant approach when it comes to consumer electronics.

Why can’t flexibility and personalization be the standard in home appliance design? Driven by the vision to help everyone create homes that provide everything from comfort to connectivity, designers at Samsung developed a design philosophy that’s redefining the boundaries of appliances: Bespoke Home. Reimagining Customizable Design Flexibility is at the heart of the Bespoke Home vision. The design team at Samsung recognized the importance of this principle as they heard time and time again from consumers about the difficulties of finding appliances that resonate with the interior of their homes. By bringing customization to home appliance design, the Bespoke approach makes it possible for individuals to create harmonized spaces with unified aesthetics.

The Bespoke Home project began in the kitchen—a space that has evolved to become the hub of social activities and self-expression in the modern home. With panels that can be customized with various colors and finishes as well as a modular design, the flagship Bespoke refrigerator empowers users to create appliances that match their tastes.

The Bespoke refrigerator range has been received enthusiastically by users since launching in Korea in 2019.

The freedom given by the customizable design led to an explosion of creativity, sparking new styles that are worlds apart from the exteriors of standard white goods.

Maximizing Minimalism in the Home The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes to how people view their home. As consumers spend more time indoors, many are looking for ways to reduce clutter and expand their living spaces.

With a modular system that can be adapted to different spatial arrangements, Samsung’s Bespoke Home provides a new paradigm for achieving minimalist interior design by reducing extra surfaces and lines that usually come with home appliances. At the same time, the design approach seeks to maximize continuous surfaces between home appliances and furniture while also creating flowing lines in the interior.

Regardless of the layout of a kitchen, the Bespoke refrigerator can blend seamlessly with existing furnishings, such as doors and countertops. By extending this design principle to appliances throughout the home, Samsung’s Bespoke Home promises to reshape the contours of modern living spaces.

Lifestyle-Focused Home Appliances In Samsung’s Bespoke Home vision, the design and features of home appliances should not be developed in a vacuum. Instead, every aspect should be built to suit the spatial and social context in which they are used.

Home appliances are different from regular machines. Their features and designs not only need to deliver specific functions and capabilities, but they should also serve as building blocks of people’s lifestyle aspirations. With Bespoke Home, Samsung is giving users appliances that are perfectly adaptable to their routines and preferences.

Multifunctional open spaces are becoming more popular in today’s homes. The boundary between the kitchen and other living areas is often blurred or combined. In response to this emerging trend, designers at Samsung developed the Bespoke AirDresser to help users build spaces that coordinate with their Bespoke refrigerators. And with the Bespoke Jet, a slim, minimalistic vacuum cleaner, the team offers a home hygiene solution that balances usability and design for changing lifestyles in the post-pandemic era.

By moving away from the mass-production approach, Samsung’s Bespoke Home is bringing a lifestyle-focused philosophy to modern appliance design, transforming living spaces into places that are truly in sync with consumers’ ever-changing needs.

—Harry Choi

Harry Choi joined Samsung in 1994. He is the senior vice president and head of the design team for the Digital Appliances Business.