Kitchen Zen! Kitchen Design Trends 2012 – Part 2.

To achieve kitchen design enlightenment you must first create a peaceful, functional flow within an arena of artistic conflict! 

Creating harmony out of aesthetical tension will deliver the best kitchen designs of 2012.

Teacup Kitchen

If you crave a nice cup of afternoon tea accompanied by assorted fancies it is somewhat appropriate that your rather refined refreshment should originate from a kitchen resembling a teacup!  A transforming teacup that is!

The Mogul loves this transforming; kitchen pod design by Vitor Xavier as it presents a commercial concept for tomorrow while tantalising the design possibilities of today.  Re-defining the social legacy and fashionable expectations of kitchen design is the biggest obstacle to making a design like this as overwhelmingly trendy as the iPad! 

We don’t buy computers or mobile phones on the basis that “bigger is best” we buy them because they are compact, functional and have been painstakingly well designed.  Very slowly, but ever so surely consumers are realising that these attributes are defining the modern kitchen.  The transforming, automated kitchen pod cometh…..or has it arrived?!!

High speed aerodynamic kitchen design!

Lately there have been many parallels drawn between the automotive and kitchen industry as both of the products created are functional, aspirational, driven by fashion and provide an immediate insight into the owners personal style choices and social position.  But the type of car you drive does not normally influence the architectural design of the garage it sits in; the same can be said of the modern kitchen. 

This design showcases how, like the car, the kitchen is totally independent from the surrounding architecture, becoming a functional and artistic centre piece to the modern home.  And it is obvious by looking at this concept that kitchen designers are now exploring some of the more fluid forms and shapes usually introduced to aid high speed aerodynamics....possibly to keep up with the pace of modern life!

Lovely job!!

The kitchen of the future!

You grab your coat, put on your shoes and run out the door.  As you turn the key in your heavily modified DeLorean watching as the flux capacitor pulsates with time travelling energy you breathe deeply trying to contain your excitement, as today you are going to see the kitchen of the future.  As you punch in the coordinates in time you notice that there is something wrong as the date you have been given is not in the future it is actually in the past!  Your driving gloves make a griping sound against the steering wheel as the speedometer hits 88 miles per hour and you reach your destination.  Welcome to the vision that is Tron designs Corian by Ernestomeda.

This concept design was created to showcase the design versatility of Corian and in doing so clearly illustrates that the only limitation to designing a kitchen is the human imagination.  The design is hinged upon aesthetical presence and uses electroluminescence to wow the viewer.  There is a celebration of unconventional and artistic shapes and it is claimed that the design encourages the development of a functional ecosystem by fusing a relationship between individual elements!

The Mogul approves!

Sitting on the dock of the bay!

This expanse of stainless steel is like a functional jetty reaching out into a sea of open space while asking for mainstream acceptance by tethering itself to an anchor of conventional cabinetry.  This kitchen delivers a powerful visual experience by allowing light to penetrate through the design maximising the feeling of space.

But the lack of storage would certainly be an issue here! The Mogul is guessing that the designers have submerged some adequate storage into the surrounding architecture so that it does not impose on the light and airy feel!

Impressive stuff!

Asymmetrical Visual Stimulus

The creators of this island have manipulated a kitchen design prerequisite, integrating functionality with social interaction and in the process have created something that is simply beautiful!

The sleek linear approach used here is nothing unusual but the addition of an off-set worktop frame to the front of the island is brilliant.  This frame adds an asymmetrical visual stimulus to the design and invites friends and family to pull up a stool.  This element gives the design depth and although the idea is simple it is extremely powerful!!

The Mogul approves.

Kitchen Void

Here we have some carefully designed living room furniture which is masquerading as a kitchen.  Only the sink, taps and scantily clad oven give away the identity of this furniture. 

The blurring of the boundaries between kitchen and living space is achieved by introducing low set cabinetry and the effect is amplified by raising the units off the floor.  The void between the lower cabinetry and the standard height worktop is a brilliant feature, misleading the eye and diluting the kitchen experience.  The void cleverly decreases the impact of the higher worktop allowing the viewer to focus on the lower units and subconsciously assume that because the worktop is lower and not ergonomically practical for food preparation the design is not a kitchen.

The Mogul loves that void...and the naked oven!!  Not sure about the open shelf unit which runs underneath the integrated lighting shelf! 

The Mogul loves that void!!

Playing with functional shapes

Some of the coolest kitchen designs are created by applying functional practicality to shapes.  This design certainly wets the taste buds of functional possibility!  The Mogul approves.

Stylish Small Kitchen

This is a really stylish small kitchen!  It is so good that the architecture is actually trying to absorb it!  The gentle embrace between kitchen and architecture is great with the designers taking care not to over design this space, instead simple abstract forms and contrasting colours create the impact. 

The elevated detachment from the floor only emphasises the kitchens mutually beneficial relationship with the architectural alcove!  Truly brilliant!

Frankenstein's Kitchen

Welcome to Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory!  An experimental and unconventional place where primitive looking mechanisms influence volumetric flasks and where functional enlightenment is occasionally allowed to bubble to the surface!

This is the latest solution to the green living conundrum by Phillips.  A kitchen that is a self contained organic converter, an advanced experimental processer of food waste to energy!  The Microbial Home concept features this bio-digester which turn's organic waste into methane gas which is then used to power the cooker and also converts solid waste into compost.

But unlike Frankenstein monster this creation should not be feared, after all, kitchen designers are not that scary!  This design should be celebrated as a huge step forward along the evolutionary path of kitchen design.

Unorthodox translation of residential kitchen design!

Enter an unorthodox translation of residential kitchen design.  A creation that is inspired by simplicity and has been adorned with a free hung underbelly of function! 

This design is abstract and edgy and may have been inspired by the no nonsense approach needed in a professional kitchen.  No need for frills or complicated social layering, just a desire to get the job done!

Arguably artistic, certainly commercially limited, this design is not for the faint hearted!  Especially considering the questionable extraction system which appears a little unrefined and clumpy for this particular approach.

Origami Kitchen

Way back in September 2010 The Mogul featured Karim Rashid’s Origami kitchen http://bit.ly/szUtsR .  This design explores how 3D door profiles can create a fascinating visual illusion which disguises the primary functional role of the kitchen. 

Functional kitchen art is fast becoming a new, trendy medium for artists and designers who do not normally operate within the KBB sector.  Their freedom of expression and unharnessed enthusiasm is changing the evolutionary path of kitchen design.

Kitchen design is changing and The Mogul loves it!!

Image courtesy of  http://www.dyk360-kuechen.de/blog

Tattoo

The kitchen you own and use can be seen as a reflection of who you are and what you aspire to be.  And just like receiving a tattoo, the permanence of this outward and artistic expression of self can be the result of a lengthy and considered design process. 

Having faith in your style convictions will determine whether or not you choose a personally expressive kitchen like this.

That's SICK!

This kitchen is compact and trendy conjuring up thoughts of hedonistic luxury and causing those with a soft spot for design to salivate with tactile anticipation. 

The rich timber doors have been lovingly trimmed with stainless steel and the design is off set and brilliantly asymmetrical.   Using the machined splash back as a token balancer underneath the wall unit is great and creates the perfect spot for a decanter full of port!  The elevated hobs also give the slender stainless steel worktop a third dimension.

The Mogul feels that this kitchen would be well suited to a hip London club, the kind of place that attracts affluent, upwardly mobile clientele, the kind of people who would call this kitchen “sick” by way of a street cred complement!

This kitchen is cool....this kitchen is SICK!

Pale into Insignificance!

This design is striking because it has potential to pale into insignificance.  There is a deliberate lack of contrast in this image that dissolves some of the best features so much that they are in danger of not being noticed at all.

The kitchen itself is striking, creating an unusual blend of crisp linear lines and softer geometry.  The kitchen doors are thick and wide with a polished lacquer finish which gives the design a contemporary edge, but this edge has been blunted by the introduction of a scooped, raised panel profile which is reminiscent of a more traditional door shape.  Add to this some quadrant posts a curved breakfast bar area and splash back and the blended look is complete.  The Contemporary Classic style is emphasised further by the kitchen being framed with classical architecture and resting on a beautiful herring bone floor!

If you look really closely you will see some really nice lighting above the island!  More contrast may be required though to make these features shine!

Scholtès - Cathedral of Change

It can be argued that those who have vision for change can see in the dark, an ability to stand on the precipice of acceptance, stare into the black abyss of the unknown and gain inspiration from what others cannot see. These inspired moments of insight are rare and the people and institutions that experience them are few but it only takes one inspired thought to wipe the slate clean and create a movement for change.

The kitchen industry in one such area where change is beginning to occur and there is one company in particular that appears brave enough to invest in a new ideal.  Is it possible that premium appliance brand Scholtès could be putting its money where its mouth is and inciting a revolution within the kitchen industry? 

Like many companies they claim to stand for professionalism and excellence but where they are different is in the pursuit of their ideals.  Instead of opening a flagship showroom they decided to open a “Centre of Excellence”, a space that challenges what we know and presents some serious new questions.  It is clear by looking at the images released by the press office that Scholtès and designer Patricia Urquiola have taken the existing showroom model, shredded it and rebuilt the mangled wreckage into a Cathedral of change! 

Stumbling upon Scholtès for the first time it merely seemed that this was a company marketing themselves in a different way, but upon further investigation by The Mogul it appears that Scholtès actually get it!!  They understand the important role kitchen designers play in the enrichment of people’s lives.   This is a company who seem to appreciate the complexities of kitchen design, promoting a multi levelled approached which manifests itself in all kinds of ways.  Scholtès youthful approach demonstrates a passionate desire to do things differently, consciously ignoring tried and tested methods in order to encourage new ideas, models and processes.

Their unorthodox investigation into the influence of kitchen design has recently led to a dramatic performance in their Centre of Excellence.  A specially commissioned theatre piece entitled “A Moment on the Lips” explored how the kitchen can be seen as a metaphor for life!  To The Mogul this performance was a “light bulb moment”, a point of realisation, illuminating the dark design shadow lands where kitchen design had been banished and presenting a new path of recognition and understanding for kitchen designers to walk.   Brilliant! 

So here we have a company who are seeing past the products they sell, past the cabinetry and past the bottom line financials, actively exploring the social complexities of the kitchen and in doing so reshaping the commercial interface between manufacturer and end user.  Is it also possible that by doing things differently and having the ability to see answers in the dark Scholtès will become a catalyst for industry change; unwittingly educating the public and other design disciplines about the power and influence of kitchen design. 

If they manage to pull that one off The Mogul will be the first to give them a pat on the back!