The Tiny Prius kitchen that never was

Sometimes ideas are ahead of their time, like Da Vinci’s flying machines during the Renaissance, or Tucker’s seatbelts in the 1950s.

So it was at the beginning of this decade, with the Swiss Room Box. The concept was simple: make a small, modular unit that is multi-purpose. The design was close to flawless in simplicity and execution. Alas, the desire for minimalist camp kitchen options wasn’t as strong as it is today, and the price tag made it a hard sell. This beautiful micro kitchen would have been the best addition to Prius living/camping, especially if someone had made it affordable.

Like the beautifully integrated Ikea Kallax shelves, the Swiss Room Box is a system of modular cubes, where everything fits into small cubes, and the cubes can hold everything you need. The clever cutouts in the cubes allow shelves to turn into tables, so one cube turns into a stovetop, a table, even a sink with a faucet you can use to shower.

Fortunately, creative people are recreating the SwissRoomBox, which is awesome now that the company is out of business. In addition to copying the most essential elements of the room box, people are making improvements.

I look forward to seeing these creations on sale again by someone soon. And if that doesn’t happen, I’ll have to make my own!