They are known in the industry as “white goods” because of their basic me-too design, but there’s nothing generic about the latest generation of household appliances. Whether you’re updating the washing machine in the laundry room or scouting out the microwave for your brand-new kitchen, your next home appliance purchase will be anything but ordinary. Bold new colors, innovative engineering and high-tech features are transforming everything from the oven to the side-by-side fridge.

Appliances aren’t the only household fixtures getting an upgrade. The bathroom shower is experiencing a renaissance too. The avant-garde bath is a full multimedia spa experience that takes singing in the shower to a whole new level. Here’s a look at a new generation of home products that could change the way we cook, clean and even bathe.

THE HIGH-TECH REFRIGERATOR. Remember the Internet refrigerator? It was going to be the household hub that managed everything from family scheduling to sending grocery lists to your local grocery. But merging technology that changes every six months with an appliance you expect to last for a generation turned out to be a mismatch, and the category disappeared.

Now Whirlpool wants to try again with the centralpark™ Connection, which bridges the two worlds. The centralpark Connection is an electronics dock for the refrigerator door. Rather than locking you into say, a model 2007 TV or tablet PC—when you might not purchase a new fridge again until 2022—the centralpark Connection serves as a holding station for a variety of tech gadgets. Doubling as a recharging station, the Whirlpool dock can hold a flat-panel TV or tablet PC and accommodates the cables and wires you need for electrical power, cable TV and Internet service. You could even swap out gadgets as the need arises, plugging in a PC in the morning to check traffic, weather and email, and then switching to a flat-screen TV to watch the nightly news. Here are a few devices you might be plugging into your Whirlpool refrigerator in coming years:

• Flat-panel LCD TV


• Tablet PC for email, Internet access, family calendar, handwritten notes
  


• DVD/CD player to show movies or play music
  


• Digital photo frame that displays a memory card full of images
  in slide-show style
  


• MP3 player showing album art and the name of the song and artist
  


• Satellite radio with more than 100 channels of programming
  

MICROWAVE MAKEOVER It’s hard to imagine how we ever got along without the microwave oven. Where to put the microwave, on the other hand, has always been a challenge. The standard placement options have typically been over the range or on the countertop. The former places the range at a height that’s not conducive to cooking, while the latter swallows valuable counter space. And both scenarios require you to pull out a dish when you want to check or stir foods. Although we’ve adapted, it’s not a convenient way to prepare a meal.

Sharp Electronics has a new twist on the old microwave. The Sharp Insight Pro Microwave Drawer ($799) mounts into a cabinet at a height that’s accessible for virtually anyone, including wheelchair users. Tap the oven door and the drawer glides out, offering easy access from above. Here’s why you’ll want to consider the Microwave Drawer:

• Easy-open drawer opens and closes with a touch of the handle


• Simple access to food without the need to pull out a dish


• Angled Controls facing upward for convenient viewing


• “Keep Warm” feature maintains serving temperature for 30 minutes
  

HOME AND THE RANGE The microwave oven has spoiled us into thinking we can cook anything in a jiffy. So how can the household range keep up? By cooking food faster and simpler. Enter induction cooking. Wolf brought induction cooktops to the kitchen two years ago and now offers 15-, 30- and 36- inch models. Induction cooking doesn’t use direct heat or electricity to cook food. Instead it relies on the transfer of magnetic energy from pots and pans, so it’s the cookware—not the range elements—that actually heat food. The induction process gives greater control over the way you cook, especially during delicate procedures. You can melt chocolate without fear of burning, and simmer sauces for hours without scorching. Here’s what induction cooking means for your kitchen:

• Spills don’t become soldered to the cooktop, so cleanup is a snap.


• Induction cooking can be more than 50 percent faster than other stovetop cooking methods. You will spend more time enjoying the meal and less time preparing it.


• Less heat generated by the induction process translates to safer cooking.

THE RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE COMES HOME A heavy-duty industrial range is a must-have for the dedicated home chef. Restaurant-style ranges, clad in easy-to-clean stainless steel, play starring roles in many new kitchens and remodeling projects.

Blame it on TV’s celebrity chefs. Wannabe cooks watch their idols whipping up gourmet delights on professional ranges, and they crave the same cooking performance at home. More and more, Viking and Wolf ranges that used to cater only to the restaurant elite are now doing duty in suburban kitchens.

What do you get with those heavy-duty stovetops? Commercial-grade ranges are all about control and options. Precision controls allow you to dial in the exact temperatures required for delicate sauces and slow simmering. Optional griddle plates and infrared charbroilers let you customize the cooking style down to individual menu items. You, too, can sear a sirloin as well as the local steak house.

You have to plan ahead, though. Ventilation requirements for restaurant-grade ranges can be stricter than those for standard models. The hood and blower need to be matched properly whether you’re looking at a standard cooktop or a dual-fuel range.

THE WASHING REVOLUTION Everyone knows that washing machines are always white, and they load from the top. Oops! Some rules beg to be broken.

Visit an appliance store these days and you’ll see that color and style have become influential in a category that used to compete on performance alone. And you’ll find front-loading washers that are winning over green-minded consumers with better cleaning power, lower water usage and energy savings.

So what’s not to like about the fashionable front-loading washing machine? The noise. Enter Samsung’s VRT front-loading machine, with Vibration Reduction Technology, which takes much of the shake out of the washing machine’s spin cycle when handling unbalanced loads. Now you can put the laundry room where you want it without worrying about the rumble. You may even want to make a design statement with your VRT washer, thanks to the palette of available colors: red, blue, gray and white. Three more reasons to like the Samsung VRT ($1,299 for white, $1,399 for color):

• Highest Energy Star rating available


• A cold-water wash feature that removes odor-causing bacteria without the fading and tattering effects produced by hot water


• Extra-large 3.8-cubic-foot capacity

SHOWER THE PEOPLE With spas popping up everywhere from resorts to the suburban mall, why not bring one a little closer to home? Say, your own master bath?

Kohler is making the idea all the more tempting with its DTV II Custom Showering Experience, which combines hydrotherapy, multimedia and lighting to create a complete sensory event. Up to eight 4×4-inch WaterTile® elements deliver a combination of steam and massaging body sprays that you control at the touch of a button on a nearby panel. The same interface controls music piped in through marine-grade speakers, and a light show from a 21×21-inch LED module mounted in the shower ceiling. The speakers, designed by Polk Audio, match the size and shape of the WaterTiles to present a uniform, understated appearance. Customize your DTV II shower using these features:

• Water massage. Select water motion from up, down or wave pattern in temperatures moving from hot to cold or cold to hot.


• Music. Tune in a radio station from the Internet or a personal playlist on an iPod®


• Lighting. Customize the lighting to fit your mood. Choose a favorite color, cycle through a rainbow of hues or select a sunny day or sunset effect.