Smeg is one of those companies that likes to bring in big name designers for their new appliance ranges - and the most recent one is Marc Newson. He's an Australian designer and he sounds like an ideal choice. Smeg quote him as saying "good design has always been about creating objects that stand the test of time, that don't date ... that have a sense of quality". Quite right! That's exactly what's needed in the design of appliances ... and I like Smeg's Newson range of ovens and hobs.

The ovens have a simple style to them with a soft feel ... and they're functional too, they have quadruple glazed doors - to keep the outside cool - but the inner glass can be removed for cleaning. The ovens have pyrolitic cleaning and ten functions - with neat touch controls, or retro silver knobs

They're available in the colours shown above as well as black and stainless steel:

There's a choice of a large gas hob - in matching colours - or an induction hob - in various sizes. The gas hobs are 75cm wide with 5 burners and are made from a single sheet of steel (or there are white and black glass versions). The pan supports are small and easy to clean. The induction hobs are black glass but with coloured controls/graphics; they come in a variety of sizes from a slimline 2-ring to 3, 4 and 5-ring versions. The controls are also positioned - on both - so that you know exactly which ring each one connects to.

The Newson ovens and hobs have won a "Good Design 2010" award in New York and were originally available in the UK exclusively from John Lewis - where they're still on sale - but they should become more widely available this year.