A kitchen awards ceremony has highlighted the effectiveness of several smart kitchen products that make things easier for users of the room.Kitchen Innovation of the Year awards judged new products against criteria of technical function, safety, innovativeness, ergonomic function, ease of use, aesthetic function and design, finding German manufacturer Liebherr to excel on many grounds.The groups ICBN 3066 fridge freezer won a gold award, benefiting from an automatic door closing device that shuts from a 30 degree angle, as well as its versatile settings.The model uses BioFresh technology that keeps temperature just above 0C and allows adjustable humidity between 45 and 90 per cent, allowing many different types of food to stay simultaneously fresh.Many homeowners are currently investing in new and more sophisticated models of traditional kitchen appliances, such as fridges, ovens and sinks, while a new trend is also seeing new product types installed in the kitchen.Home entertainment appliances such as stereos are increasingly finding a place in the kitchen, with advanced home automation techniques making it easier to integrate the kitchen into wider household systems.