Developing a systematic design strategy for kitchen furniture integrating functional materials

Despite the growing advancements in material science and smart home technology, traditional kitchen furniture design remains primarily driven by conventional materials, lacking a structured framework to assess diverse user needs and to select appropriate functional composites such as antibacterial laminates, heat resistant coatings, and self cleaning surfaces. This absence of systematic integration between user requirements and material properties limits innovation, restricts product upgrading, and constrains the sustainable development of the kitchen furniture industry. This research aims to formulate a systematic design strategy for kitchen furniture that incorporates functional materials through the comprehensive identification, prioritisation, and translation of user needs into design and material attributes. A mixed method approach combining observation, interviews, and questionnaires was adopted to collect user data, followed by analytical modelling using the Kano model, AHP, QFD, and FBS frameworks to establish logical correlations between user expectations, product quality characteristics, and structural functions. The analysis revealed that heat resistant, antimicrobial, and easy to clean surfaces were the most valued material features across different user groups, while ergonomics and safety were dominant design concerns. When applying functional materials to kitchen furniture, Screening can be conducted from aspects such as functional needs, performance needs, usability needs, etc. And comprehensively consider factors such as regional application, prioritizing core demands, modularization, comprehensive material performance and aesthetics, cost, and green sustainability for evaluation. The study contributes theoretically by proposing a multi model integration framework that links user behaviour with material performance and by offering a strategic guideline for applying functional materials in intelligent kitchen design. These outcomes provide valuable references for the sustainable advancement of kitchen furniture design and the improvement of modern living quality.