KitchenAid’s New Design Series Mixer Has a Glass Bowl That Illuminates

KitchenAid released its newest Design Series stand mixer on Tuesday with a distinctive feature created specifically to pair with the brand’s new built-in LED light: a transparent glass bowl.

The Luminaire debuted in a brand new color, blue peppercorn, but the icy blue shade isn’t the only thing that makes the mixer stand out. The redesigned glass bowl allows the built-in LED light to shine through. The light is a feature KitchenAid introduced earlier this year, and is the true focal point of this launch. 

While this isn’t KitchenAid’s first glass bowl for a mixer, the 3.5- and 5-quart glass options you can purchase separately from the mixer have been due for a redesign. Brittni Pertijs, design manager of color, material and finish at Whirlpool Corporation, KitchenAid’s parent company, said in a statement shared with CNET that the design team hadn’t touched the glass bowl design in nearly a decade, until now. 

How the Luminaire’s design differs

The Luminaire’s bowl design is entirely different from both the older glass bowl options and its stainless steel counterparts. It features hardened glass for extra durability and a fluted design in a light blue color. Instead of having a single handle on the side of the bowl, the handles were moved to the top, creating more visual appeal. 

“The bowl was a big focus,” Pertijs said. “We wanted it to feel just as functional as it is beautiful. We were inspired by traditional pieces like vintage china, cut crystal and French influences and explored a wide range of how decorative we could go. There were many iterations around the fluting, the depth and how the pattern interacts with the glass, as we worked to find the right balance between decorative and modern.”

The glass bowl idea was partly inspired by KitchenAid’s launch of the Artisan Plus stand mixer, which introduced a precision speed dial, a soft-start feature and a built-in LED light that automatically turns on when the tilt-head is lowered. These features help make the Artisan Plus CNET’s favorite stand mixer.

When testing the Artisan Plus, the light quickly became my favorite new feature, since it seemed like a practical improvement for visibility while using the appliance. But I can see how pairing it with the textured glass bowl can elevate the mixer even further, turning the renowned countertop appliance into a centerpiece in your kitchen, too. 

Will Luminaire be Evergreen?

This isn’t the first time KitchenAid’s design series has put extra focus on the bowl itself. In 2024, the Evergreen Design Series model featured a walnut wood bowl that quickly went viral on social media.

KitchenAid seemed to launch Evergreen at exactly the right time, when green was one of the most popular paint color options (and the trend is still going strong with paint brand Behr naming Grounded, a mossy green, the 2027 color of the year). But KitchenAid is no rookie at choosing colors that make a statement, and the brand may be onto another big color trend with the Luminaire. 

Paint brands Glidden and Valspar both chose shades of blue for their 2027 Colors of the Year. Let’s wait and see if other brands and consumers follow suit.