Pronto, a hot seller in the U.S. and Europe (where it goes by the name ErgoRapido), is a combination upright vacuum and handheld unit. It comes in an array of flashy colors and is so stylish that consumers will think twice about stashing it away in the broom closet. Best of all, it is cordless, making quick clean-ups easy.

The third-place winner in the Design Lab contest, Happy Feet, deploys charcoal and ultraviolet light to rid shoes of bacteria and kill off smell. Sang Hoon Park and Kim Jong Hyun, students at the Korea University of Technology and Education, designed the unit to look like a flower to reinforce the idea of freshness. Happy Feet has room for four pairs of shoes, and sensors activate the system when shoes are put on the device.

Here’s a look at some of the most innovative home appliances on the market today — and some being dreamed up for tomorrow

Appliance maker Electrolux thinks a sharper design is the key to a better bottom line. Senior Vice-President for Global Design Henrik Otto, recruited from Volvo, believes consumers shouldn’t have to waste time poring over instruction manuals to learn how to run their appliances. Features and control panels should be intuitive, he says.

To get there, the Swedish company has launched the Consumer Innovation Program, where teams made up of designers, engineers, and marketers work together from the beginning to create new products.

Johan Hjertonsson, director of the Consumer Innovation Program, says the number of new product launches has almost doubled since the program took effect. Notable hits include the Pronto combination stick/hand vacuum and the ICON wall oven.

While developing products for sale today, Electrolux also is keeping a sharp eye on the future. In last year’s Design Lab contest, the company challenged university students from around the world to conjure up the home appliances of 2020. Of the more than 3,000 entries, just 12 made it to the final judging. But don’t expect see any of these futuristic gadgets on store shelves any time soon.

For a look at some of Electrolux’s current winners and future prospects, check out the following slides.

Ariane Sains tracks Swedish business and economics for BusinessWeek in Stockholm