Kitchen Design Think Tank

And so cometh a colossus; an incredible hulk of design which pulsates with functional superiority causing onlookers to drool with adoration and competitors to go green with envy! This kitchen (or kitchens) has more visual hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box and the sensory layering is certainly focused on stimulating those who are worthy or wealthy enough to sign on the dotted line!   This superhero of kitchen design has custom curves, integrated mood lighting, multiple luxurious wood veneers, glass, mirrors, solid acrylic doors and a super sexy scallop shell breakfast bar area!   Although the images technically show two separate kitchen concepts the impact is tremendous and the two could easily become one! Top marks Stoneham!   The Mogul approves!

Amid this eclectic and somewhat impulsive outpouring of personal and artistic expression lies a kitchen, a kitchen that is small and practical but equally as powerful as the surrounding art. Its reflective qualities give this kitchen a cloak of many colours allowing it to become absorbed into its artistic and subjectively chosen surroundings.   This cloaking effect allows the colours, light and changing spatial moods to interact with this versatile kitchen canvas! Who said kitchen design wasn’t artistic!   The Mogul loves this one!!

Red is an evocative colour, a colour that is passionate and dangerous with the ability to trigger a basic instinct!   By dressing the ovens in a peek-a-boo red glass transforming element this kitchen is desperately trying to seduce its viewer.   But the allure of this design stretches beyond the tantalising see though red doors!   The heavy set breakfast bar envelops the island giving it a semi-recessed appearance and the patterned texture introduces some much needed contrast to the design. This kitchen also offers suggestive seating for one and some contemporarily regressive architecture!

Undisputedly contemporary in appearance this kitchen has some seriously understated presence.   T he unorthodox use of polished brass and textured stone allows this kitchen to transcend the ages and exude some basic, primeval qualities! The stone is just beautiful with an almost fluid texture that could be compared to shifting weather patterns above the earth.   This fluidity is matched by the strength and earthy power of engineered brass which caresses the stone in a reassuring embrace! Great Design!    Fantastic Materials!

So you fancy yourself as a kitchen designer, an empathetic translator of human functional need!   Or maybe you would like to be considered an artist, a visual and sensory interpreter of the human soul.   Or should you just reject main stream capitalist society, embrace Mother Earth and become an eco warrior?! Recycling old cabinetry or using waste packaging such as wooden crates may allow you do solve this professional descriptive dilemma!

This herbal kitchen by Steininger was designed in collaboration with award winning chef Toni Morwald and attempts to bring the outside inside!   It has long been accepted that the modern kitchen is a metaphorical design sledge hammer, knocking down walls and architectural boundaries and causing us to rethink our living patterns. Bringing the herb garden into your kitchen and therefore your living space not only adds an additional level of convenience and freshness control for the chef but it also adds a new holistic element to the design.   High octane city dwellers may find this really therapeutic allowing them to become detached from the city upon entering the private living space! Why buy artificially scented candles to induce a feeling of calm and wellbeing when you actually nurture and consume the plants that create the aromas! Interestingly one of the nicest aesthetical features of this design is the gable end of the island.   There is depth and contrast here an...

A good meal will have various courses, strategically planned culinary layers that although different in texture and taste will work together in a way that amplifies the sensory pleasure.   The layers and textures in this kitchen work in the same way, it is only the human sense that is gorging on each visual morsel that is different. Great design!

A wooden kitchen can sometimes come with a certain amount of design protocol, particularly if the design is contemporary!   Clean simple lines and slab door profiles can expose clients to a complex world of functional art where the kitchen itself becomes the pinnacle of social and fashionable desire.   Wooden furniture evokes a hidden primeval instinct that makes us want to get tactile with the timber; there is a quiet reassurance in touching the warmth of wood than soothes the human spirit.   Up until recently it was thought that the crisp linear lines of contemporary kitchen design required a consistent wood grain pattern so that the viewer’s eye would not become confused, and in better economic times investing in a book-matched veneer to achieve the look would not be unreasonable.   However, lately The Mogul has noticed an increasing about of wood grain chaos appearing in the best contemporary kitchen designs.   It appears that the contradiction between th...

The colours and natural textures of this monolithic island are simply sublime!   The smooth sandstone suggests some serious tactile temptation and the seamless definition amplifies the purity of the design.   It is also fitting that something so beautiful should be allowed to wallow in self adoration and this is probably why the backdrop of this kitchen has been given some seriously modest transforming elements. Check out that cool handle recess running along the front of the island.... makes you wonder if there is anyone inside peering out!   Trojan horse kitchen?!

Okay!   It is an eclectic mix of mind bending styles but the current kitchen in the UK celebrity big brother house does illustrate how the modern kitchens functional presence has become diluted.   There is a considered trade off here between kitchen and interior design with both disciplines showing a mutual understanding in order to create the desired bigger picture.   Could it be argued that this kitchen has been un-naturally neutralised or does this design showcase the ultimate compromised integration?   YOU DECIDE!

The legacy of kitchen design has lead to us making certain assumptions.   We assume that a kitchen is a collection of materials which have a functional resilience to everyday use and a comfortable tactile relationship with human skin! Contemporary kitchen designers still make these assumptions but refuse to comply with the conventional order of placement!   That is why stone is becoming a popular material for cabinetry frontage!   And look at the results! An unconventional material hierarchy mixed with brilliant colour choices, clever finger grip recesses and transforming elements allows this design to bridge the gap between creative concept and commercial gold! The Mogul also loves the gap that has been left between the tall cabinetry and the architectural alcove as this creates a fantastic shadow line and gives this design an untouchable persona!   The kitchen is certainly become more un-fitted!

This is great!   A kitchen that is frozen in time! Even with the rather sensational transforming element in the back ground of the image the cabinetry still doesn’t manage to steal the show!   It has been left to the worktop to provide the drama in this design.   Although the worktop appears thick, its form has a lightness which resembles a silk sheet which has been left adrift, floating through the air and upon making contact with the cabinetry the soft fluid form has become frozen, creating a strong, angular and artistic element to the design.   The separation between the cabinetry and worktop creates voids and interesting depth variations which certainly increases the visual impact of the design! Check out the matching table with the very impressive cantilever!!

Modern kitchens are focused and concentrated; it is as though the sprawling designs which were the legacy of the industry for years have been placed into a giant compactor and have been squeezed into functional submission!   The added benefit of having smaller, more efficient kitchens is that they don’t eat the floor space, so even if you live in a smaller house or apartment you can still experience open plan living! The challenge for designers is making this metaphorical lump of crushed kitchen aesthetically interesting!   The answer?!   Add layers, depth differentiation, tactile texturing and lighting! Easy!  Right?!

We live in a time when technology is changing design and designers are impacting upon our society by making things more accessible, adaptable and efficient.   The Liberty Project by Whirlpool is a modular kitchen design which embraces ergonomics, kitchen zoning and technology to deliver an effective and adaptable kitchen solution for doth disabled and able bodied users.   The zoned modularity means that the zones can be reshuffled making the design totally adaptable to each individuals set of circumstances and it comes complete with a water recycling system and a work surface which can be easily adjusted to different heights! This is a brilliant design and the video is well worth a look if you want to fully appreciate this concept!!   See Below: