Hosting a dinner party is seldom stress free. Trying to prepare a sumptuous dish in the kitchen while keeping guests entertained in the dining room is no easy task, but the impossibility of trying to be in two places at once could be eliminated by Electrolux’s Rendez-vous concept, which combines the functions of the two rooms. Guests sit on one side of the sleek table while the host rustles up a culinary masterpiece on the other.

Its sophisticated technology allows users to wirelessly recharge a mobile phone or activate a blender. The inductive cooking system uses sensor technology, meaning that heat is dispensed wherever a pan is placed. Cookbooks become redundant as a virtual chef programmed into the appliance guides the host through an A to Z of food skills.

After-dinner entertainment could come via more dual-purpose dining furniture. Shanghai-based designer Hunn Wai’s black lacquered rococo surface transforms into a ping-pong table thanks to a rectangular vase filled with cream blossoms acting as a net, while Aramith’s Fusion Table converts into a pool or casino table once its wooden veneered lid slides off.