Elle is a compact dishwasher shaped like an elephant that’s designed to clean the dishes used during a small family meal.

Even if you’re one of the few who enjoys doing the dishes, cleaning up after a big meal can get tiring. In a perfect world, we’d take care of the dishes as soon as we’re finished using them. But following a big meal, all we want to do is cozy up on the living room couch and enjoy the consequences of our food comas.

Designer: Stalin Jr.

Alas, the dishes still pile up in the sink and we must tend to our most human of responsibilities. To help make the chore feel a bit more approachable, industrial designer Stalin Jr. conceptualized Elle, a miniature dishwasher shaped like an elephant that scales down dishwashing to its most compact size.

Inspired by the bathing rituals of elephants in the wild, Stalin Jr. designed Elle’s silhouette to resemble the shape of an elephant’s rump. Scaled-down from the size of an actual elephant’s rump to around the same size as an air dryer, Elle is compact enough to fit right on any kitchen countertop.

In conceptualizing Elle, Stalin Jr. explored the possibilities of what a dishwasher could look like in regards to its unique shape and compact size. Primarily conceived for the nuclear family, Elle is compact enough to remain out of the way when not in use and big enough to clean all of the dishes and utensils needed for an intimate family dinner in one wash.

Elle functions as the go-to appliance in between meals, when there aren’t enough dirty dishes to use the full-size dishwasher, but you still want to keep the sink free of dirty dishes. Equipped with all of the functions needed for a thorough cleaning, Elle comes with a touch-automated control panel and wall-mountable water inlet valve.

The post A compact, countertop-friendly dishwasher is inspired by elephant bathing rituals first appeared on Yanko Design.