Sweet Surface! A Stylish Corian Countertop That Charges Your Phone

Recent innovations in kitchen design have largely been focused on appliance upgrades: a fridge that knows when milk goes sour or an oven that likes to chat.  But rarely are there strides forward in materials, the elements of the most important room in the house.

DuPont has launched a new line of Corian surfaces with built-in wireless charging capability. Transmitters with electric coils are hidden out of sight below the countertop and transmit magnetic fields through the slab, activating the surface as a charging platform. This transfer of power to any smart device is called inductive coupling. Kitchen countertops that are smart and sexy?  File this under "Cool S*** I Want In My Dream House."

The charging surface is available in more than100 Corian solid colors and more than 50 Zodiac quartz options, meaning for once you don't have to sacrifice aesthetics for smarts. Without a bevy of tangled wires hanging out in your kitchen, you can actually see those pristine countertops whose swatch samples you agonized over for weeks. So cut your cords, my friends. Wireless charging is here to stay, and it looks damn fine.