Kitchen design is complicated. When successful, kitchens combine the highly practical with the emotionally appealing. Any design must consider both the room itself and the appliances, cabinets and furniture that furnish it. Just as we distinguish ordinary eating from elegant dining, kitchens operate with gadgets, but are also places of genuine creation. After all, it was Nero Wolfe who said that cooking was the kindest of the arts.
Having designed hundreds of kitchens, I begin by thinking about the room: the morning light, the connections to the garden and house interior, and the overall feeling of the space. Clients should analyze the way they cook and select appliances to support the desired experience. Storage can either destroy a kitchen layout or enable its smooth function. Items that are used occasionally should be stored remotely or in cellars which once were places to stockpile provisions promising a well-fed winter. Storing food, either cold or at room-temperature, should be in adjacent refrigerators and pantries. Before the inventions of electricity and central heat, the hearth was a place of thermal comfort and socializing. Now the cooktop or range serves this purpose. Perhaps influenced by watching cooking shows or sit-coms with friends gathered around an active cook, this is the Kitchen’s heart. Ample flanking counter space keeps cooking here safe and easier. A distinct clean-up area with sink and dishwasher allows preparation, cooking and clean-up activities to occur simultaneously, or at least to not interfere with each other.
Kitchens are also places of calm and reflection. There should be a comfortable place to read through cookbooks finding a recipe, or to sow herb in little pots set on south-facing windowsills, or to supervise homework. They can be rooms to display collections showing a connoisseurship of expertise or interesting travel.
Some cautions: the table and chairs must fit the space otherwise they are a constant annoyance; pick clear colors with no association to the color of spoiled food; replace dishtowels frequently as rags make everything seem run-down; and plan extensive artificial lighting with strong task lighting for every work surface, and dimmable or soft lighting for dining or just to make an inviting look. Selecting countertops is one of the more expensive decisions. Centuries ago, Pliny the Elder cautioned Pompeii villa owners about the audacity of cutting noble mountains and veneering their walls with marble surfaces; and then we use granite slabs for countertops. Granite is a porous material that stains, and there are few homeowners who enjoy the annual maintenance chore of re-sealing their kitchen countertops. Rather, there are several new sustainable products made from recycled materials, especially glass, which is hard, smooth, doesn’t stain, and sparkles with the light. Similarly, cabinets need not be chosen as if this room was a mahogany library, but rather select woods that are sustainably harvested and do not produce off-gases. New products for floors include bamboo and linoleum made from linseed oil. In the past, home economics covered techniques for making a clean and healthy home, and this found currency in hygienic kitchens with hard surfaces and ingenious ways of storing food to keep vermin out. This is still a priority, but with the potential pleasure of engaging in the culinary arts.
It is true that cooking is kind art. Few things are as giving as providing life sustaining energy to someone you love. This is why I am happy that kitchens have found their way into the center of many homes, rather than a separate building entirely. I understand that modern convenience made this possible.
ReplyDeleteYou mention using the kitchen as a place to read and eat. Do you feel that meals should be enjoyed within the kitchen, or should the dining room be a separate entity? I feel there should be a close relationship between the two spaces, but would rather that they not be one in the same. (By the way, this is Mike Boeck)