Nonstick electric griddles and I are frenemies. No matter how much I avoid metal cooking utensils, scratches inevitably render each griddle's nonstick surface unusable within five years.

So concur many of the hundreds of pros who helped us identify today’s most in-demand kitchen-design trends. Beiges, soft browns and even dark wood, long considered dated, have crept back into vogue.

The Dreo ChefMaker Combi Fryer was my favorite new kitchen appliance of the year when I first got it back in 2023. That’s saying a lot when you consider how many different products I test.