Kitchen Design Think Tank

What do you see here?   Is this a kitchen, a piece of art or is this the blatant exposure of functional kitchen zones?   Each independent zone has a relationship to the other and can be universally configured to the meet the requirements of any individual.   This kitchen is a test, a means of establishing what is important to you!   Would you choose this kitchen because it is art or dismiss it because it is unconventional?   The answer you choose will have been determined long before the question was asked by considering how you were raised as a child and the social environment in which you now live.   Who said that kitchen design wasn’t interesting!

This island has a duel sided focus but can be accessed on all four sides by multiple users.   It contains the cleaning, preparation and cooking zones and is a powerful example of how the kitchen can no longer be defined or restricted by the surrounding architecture.   The tall units in the background appear more suited to a conventional living space and the mirrored panels create an architectural illusion reflecting the kitchen island and amplifying its presence.   It is also interesting to see how the 4 sides of this functional magnet have been given two different finishes with the doors rising up on two sides past the worktop edge to meet a stainless steel lip.    This lip detail prevents water or ingredients running off the worktop and onto the kitchen doors. Love it!!

It is argued that the kitchen has become the focal point of the home, the ultimate functional and architectural style influencer, the provider of family sustenance and the catalyst for human interaction.   It could be imagined that this mantle of responsibility needs an imposing kitchen superstructure in order to dominate the space and the humans who live within it.   But sometimes small and understated can be equally as powerful as carefully chosen words spoken softly.   The focus of this design is not its size but instead the quality, precision and focus of the design.   If this design had been manufactured in a different material it would not have had the same presence.   Using stainless steel gives this kitchen all the industrial authority of a precision tool and it modest size only makes the onlooker more curious about its potential! The gravity defying cantilever provides a social twist to the design and adds the appropriate amount of aesthetical contrast.   This petite kitchen

Who said that grey was dull!   It can be rich and warm and is currently quite trendy!!

Who said that kitchen design was simple!   Not only are the best designers considering functionality, interior design, architecture, technology, sociability and individual style preferences but they are also doing their bit for the planet and bringing the outdoors, indoors! This kitchen comes complete with a versatile herb garden which can be removed if necessary.   The design uses state of the art LED technology to promote photosynthesis, encouraging the growth of your kitchen garden.   It could be argued that this unique feature provides a holistic element to the design offering the ultimate personal satisfaction to green fingered clients and adding the colour and fragrances of nature into your own personal space.   That has to be good, with the successful garden encouraging a sense of achievement and calm!  

Having a designer kitchen is all about having the best, something that is well considered and effective in creating a symbolic reflection of what you like and what you aspire to be.   This design certainly ticks all the boxes in terms of impact and wow factor giving the owner the pleasure of showcasing their individuality.   The use of a black wood veneer with a super strong grain pattern framed with polished white lacquer and carrara marble means that any onlooker will take a second glance.   This is a designer kitchen and could have you salivating with expectation as the grain pattern used on the black doors reminds The Mogul of a piece of raw ribeye steak which is just about to be tossed onto the griddle. But is the grain pattern too rarely powerful and inconsistent to encourage those vegetarians in the audience to reawaken their primeval carnivore instincts?   It might be!!

The kitchen has actually become an island, and the island kitchen presents an opportunity for functional and artistic self expressionism!   The three arms of this design reach out towards the surrounding architecture longing for a physical connection to the structural boundaries that have historically manipulated and constrained its development.      But this metaphor of historical reflection is only a symbolic gesture, as this design is also expressing its new found freedom, its ability to stretch and control an open plan space and encourage the seamless integration between sociability and function!   This kitchen island has no sides and is coming out....with pride! It is also interesting that by looking back in time and considering the design path that has liberated the kitchen you are also seeing into the future!   Is it also coincidental that this island is shaped like a flux capacitor!?   Maybe the appliances run on 1.21 gigawatts of power!

If you read Kitchen Design Think Tank you might say that there is nothing unusual here!   Some classically styled architecture with a neutrally coloured monolith island and a transforming tall unit section in a flamboyant contrasting colour!   We have seen it all before!   But this is the first time that The Mogul has seen a kitchen with an integrated diving board!  

When products work well you can take them for granted not noticing their efficiency or the level of convenience they offer.   However, if a problem arises it can become an iconic irritation in your life.   A dread that plays on your mind; a regret that can destroy your decision making confidence!   Imagine this scenario, you get up every morning for work, get dressed, have your breakfast and go outside only to find that your car won’t start!   Would you begin to regret buying it!     Probably!   And each morning, even after you have had it fixed you would still question its reliability and your own ability to make purchasing decisions!   So imagine how irritating it would be to find that even before you make it to your un-reliable car, your kitchen decides to let you down as well! Every kitchen design, no matter how artistic and aesthetically pleasing should have a natural flow, an unspoken pattern that assists the user.   The positioning of the sink and hob tops in this design means

This is an imposing kitchen, a dominant example of stylish functionalism that has the ability to cause gasps of social envy and cause the surrounding architecture to pale into insignificance in its presence.   The island dominates the space and the trendy timber bridge element sinks into the heavy set worktop as though it is a heated wafer and the island where raspberry ripple ice cream! The design ticks a lot of boxes offering sociability and visual gratification in equal measure but The Mogul must question several elements of the design.   The bridging element, although a marvel of technical achievement having concealed the services to the hobs within what appears to be a piece of solid wood, does divide the kitchen in two!   This imposing border effectively makes half of the kitchen inaccessible to the kitchen user.   There is a great deal of this kitchen, most of the foreground in-fact that is dedicated to servicing non-cooking activities.    Could it be argued that this design sho

Here we have an example of “thinking outside the box” – literally!   The tried and tested box wall unit has been replaced with an inspired array of stainless steel cylinders.     The varied depth and size of each individual compartment presents an interesting and artistic alternative to a flat panelled door. The only drawback might be the fact that your wears are on view and that spills might be difficult to clean....but this is an exception example of kitchen design evolution! Briliant!

This design presents the eye with a vision of contemporary elegance, a reminder that it is okay to mix materials and door profiles in order create the correct contemporary temperature.   Some of us still get chills at the thought of contemporary kitchen design, remaining steadfast in the belief that natural materials are best, more wholesome and heart-warming.   By introducing soft pastel colours and mixing high gloss white and oak shaker doors this design refuses to be categorised as classical or contemporary.   There is a great balance here offering a reassuring longevity to the design while still presenting a socially acceptable amount of kitchen fashion.   The white lacquered doors provide a trendy backdrop to the functional space and do not overpower the aesthetics. The Mogul particularly loves how the tall units provide the design with depth, wrapping the corner with stylish storage space while remaining introverted and unobtrusive against the classical architecture.  

Is this the ultimate fusion of architecture and kitchen?    Or d oes this intimate connection illustrate the dramatic suppression of kitchen design by the powers of architecture?   Neither!   This is just a really tricky brief!

And so behold the mighty hybrid kitchen; a shining example of what is to come and the epitome of style fusion.   This is a splinter cell approach to kitchen design, an amalgamation of opposing style tribes.     But as the conflict dissipates the impact of peace presents something beautiful! This design shows how contemporary kitchen designers are searching for a new avenue to explore and that in order to make progressive leaps forward some designers are actually looking over their shoulder.   They are reflecting on what has worked in the past and morphing significant design elements from each style generation to create a new direction.   It is simple really; by introducing classical elements like raised panel doors and beautifully turned posts, all finished in a high gloss lacquer this design reaches a whole new level.   Add to the mix sweeping worktop curves and this kitchen can be classified as a contemporary classic. Breaking a contemporary, linear design apart and introducing soft

This design is good but relatively unremarkable!   However the subtle introduction of vibrant colour makes you take a second look!   And when you look more closely you notice that this kitchen is actually an understated transformer.   The back panel of the peninsula has been cleverly designed to provide a trendy seating arrangement for unannounced guests or snacking family members.   This consideration adds the necessary social element to the design without the stools becoming spatially intrusive when not in use!   It is also wonderful to see how the citrus orange colour sits with the wenge veneer!   Great! Not sure if those stools look that comfy though, or if they would look just as nice or even be intact after the obligatory house warming party!  

This space is great, releasing powerful style statements and conjuring up feelings of warmth and safety all at the same time.  The island is not centred focusing the sight lines on the over-sized doors at the end of the room.  These doors reach up towards the ceiling giving the design an “Alice in Wonderland” appearance.  In this example the kitchen is used as an aesthetical channel of architectural focus.  Soft tones and light enhance the simplicity and effectiveness of the design. The kitchen is understated and consists of a very functional island with some free hung cabinetry along the back wall which helps to dilute the appearance of the kitchen.  The overall combination of architecture and kitchen is brilliantly spacious and delivers the kind of understated “wow effect” that everyone desires. Top marks!

By sailing into the West and ending up in the East Columbus may have been partly responsible for proving that the Earth was round and the popular notion about falling from the edge of the Earth was consigned to the history books.   At this stage in history popular culture had discovered the truth; that we were actually clinging onto a spherical mud-ball, shackled into an orbit around our closest star and hurtling through space! Heavy stuff! So who said we couldn’t have a kitchen like this.   This spherical transformer is a magical glimpse towards the far reaches of kitchen design, a shadow land which can expose the designer to professional danger and acclaim all at the same time.   A place where the imagination breads concepts and raises the bar of possibility!   But some designers, just like Columbus dare to question the accepted norms and parameters set out by their predecessors, and it is by doing this that kitchen design will develop into a fundamentally accepted influence over ar

To some this design may only be worth a second, nonchalant glance but The Mogul feels that this kitchen is quite noteworthy!   There is great use of contrasting materials and textures here with the design displaying some great contemporary features; but the real centre piece of this particular design is the stainless steel cooking zone. The stainless steel bridging element with inset domino hobs is chunky and masculine against the slender and arguably more feminine worktop being used along the sink run.   The thickness of the bridge is used to conceal the services but it also causes a dramatic step in the cabinetry as the kitchen gravitates away from the wall and moves towards the island.   Upon meeting the island the bridge again displays its dominance by embedding itself and dislodging a corner of the island!   This aspect is brilliant adding real aesthetic interest to the design.   The Mogul also loves how the bridge doubles up as an informal eating area, inviting conversation and

There are several exceptional elements to this design.   Not only does it flaunt some fantastically trendy design features like split level, varied thickness worktops, the ever essential, zone busting open shelf unit and a very smooth social area, but it also presents a visual runway to the absolute show stopper. This kitchen is a tease, it tempts the eye to look further and just when you think you have gorged yourself to capacity on kitchen fantasy you realise that the sensual hotspot of this design, the ergonomic erogenous zone, is presenting itself to you at the end of the island runway!   It is so stylishly sensual that it is blatantly revealing itself through silky glass, inviting you to enter the hidden chamber!   And w hat a party you would have in there!   All that stainless steel and champers!! I think most kitchen designers would love to have clients who desire something like this! Great design!

The modern kitchen can no longer be described as being fitted!   It has become an important independent influence over its surroundings, becoming detached from architecture and a sea of interior design, the modern contemporary kitchen has actually become an island! And why not!   The popularity of open plan living has allowed kitchen designers to explore their imagination and discover new ways of providing functional style solutions.   Designing a modern kitchen is like creating a freestanding, independent sculpture of function, a quietly imposing statement of personal style and taste.   When you are not restricted by the architecture you can create anything....you can play with shapes, colours and lighting   allowing the building to become the backdrop to your creation, a stage onto which you have poured your knowledge and expertise for your ever appreciative clients. So the kitchen island now comes in all shapes and forms and this T-shaped design is certainly one that catches the e

This design is elegant and simple offering uncomplicated functionality and an interesting formation of rectanges and textures.   Material contrast is used to subliminally showcase and separate each functional zone providing an understated but powerful affect! This kitchen is under-designed to create maximum impact!   The Mogul loves this!

Every maestro needs a stage and The Mogul feels that this one is set for a flamboyant entrance; a fusion of functional expressionism that satisfies artistic and musical tendencies! The islands of this design can double up as functional podiums designed to invite extravagant gastronomic indulgence and becoming the perfect hedonistic preparation zone for the previous night’s meat dress!   Every client is different and their individual requirements are built upon personal tendencies and idiosyncrasies.   If Lady Gaga decided to tenderize her meat dress she may not require a mallet, instead she may choose to climb up onto the third island (the piano) to gyrate and grind the meat into a pliable submission!   This unique preference is why the kitchen designer has specified the piano!   Watch you don’t slip! Music and fashion is art but so too is kitchen design and this kitchen does present an opportunity for Lady Gaga to add another string to her wonderfully outrageous bow!   There is potent

Every kitchen designer must consider lighting and how the kitchen will interact with its environment at different times of the day.   The lighting here makes with space interesting and inviting, enhancing the user experience and giving the design a holistic layer!   Top marks!

This is fantastic!   A brave and bold statement which challenges accepted design boundaries and proves that deliberate style contradictions between architecture and kitchen work really well.   It is interesting to now see this type of conscious design juxtaposition becoming more common illustrating how clients and designers are being subconsciously chaperoned towards the evolutionary channel of kitchen design!