Kitchen Design Think Tank

The kitchen has evolved into a shape shifting, functional art installation and this conceptual showroom sculpture by Silestone proves that fluidity of form can captivate the human imagination! The domestic application of this fantastic design may need a little tweaking though! The Mogul approves!

This latest offering from Johnny Grey studios ignites the imagination and represents how kitchen design has developed since being released from its architectural confines. There is a shameless contradiction to this design that empowers the viewer to question how something so futuristic can be accompanied by Georgian framed windows.   But that’s the point!   This is cross over piece, an example of how the right designer mixed with the right client can create something that remoulds expectations, allowing functional requirement to overflow into artistic medium! The springboard island is the centre piece and defines the entire design; it has a looming presence which exudes the strength of steel with metal rivet detailing, more commonly found in a 19 th century shipyard adding heritage to the design.   But this glance into the past is overshadowed by the stellar ambience created by this kitchen.   Any potential user will certainly feel in control as though they are steering a motley

This design certainly encourages a second glance as the eye tries to decipher logic within the chaos!   But look past the aesthetic and instead try to grasp the inspiration!   This concept is abstract, asymmetrical, layered and artistic; it also appears to be intimately integrated into the architecture – or is that the other way around!   This is an example of methodical confusion driven by the human need to be artistically extroverted!   In a functional kind of way! The Mogul thinks that the fitters would have loved this one !  

Smooth infinite edges are impressive and soft geometry is certainly more approachable but here we see how cutting corners can potentially remove preparation space! This design oozes a space odyssey vibe and The Mogul loves the attempt to punctuate the design with an island that can only be described as a hovering dot of functional opportunity! Really different!   Top marks!

There is a fruity flavour to this design with the vibrant colours of nature being allowed to randomly explode over the back wall.    This abstract approach certainly brightens up this otherwise mundane design with variations in cabinetry size and colour creating functional niches and expressing artistic preference for all to see!   The Mogul wonders where the oven housing disappeared to and why was it placed so far away from the hob!   Fragmentation of kitchen zones can become problematic, reducing efficiency and functional flow! Remember aesthetic flamboyance is one thing but function efficiency is king!

At first glance it might seem that this is your average, run of the mill, been there, done that white monolithic kitchen, but upon closer inspection it seems that this design is attempting to raise the bar by creating division. The snow blinding whiteness helps to camouflage a deep functional gorge, an abyss that strikes though the heart of this kitchen like a hot knife through butter.   This worktop fracture acts as a docking station for contrasting walnut accessories which help stimulate the design and assist functionality.   It could be argued though that this unique feature could resist its intended functional programming, unwittingly attracting worktop elements in an invisible gravitational tractor beam and causing them to fall beyond the natural reach of the user.   The integrated induction technology, which is only defined by light worktop incisions, gives this design a futuristic and minimal edge while the perforated doors add subtle texturing to the design.  

A sobering reminder that within kitchen design artistic expression is only allowed to exist as a consequence of functional necessity!

There is a simple purity to this design that disguises a cunning technological complexity.    The designers have indulged our innate love of natural materials and geometric form to create a kitchen which can only be described as an exemplary functional art exhibit. This fantastic design has been lovely fashioned from solid ash boards and the functional services have been carefully entombed within the rich warmth of the timber.   The simple shape of the island defies convention presenting a minimal but highly functional preparation and cooking area.   The functional and aesthetical requirements are completely satisfied though the introduction of a socially inviting cantilever which naturally runs off the main surface of the island.   And if the island wasn’t enough, lurking in a background is a show stopping transformer with the visual and functional power to floor any onlooker! This is kitchen design supremacy!

It is interesting to see how this contemporary design has been softened by introducing more approachable geometry.   The underside of the impressive cooking zone displays the aerodynamic qualities of an aircraft wing and could even be likened to the hull of a sea fairing vessel which uses smooth and gradual geometry to cut though the ocean more efficiently. But having the hard edges removed may not only have aesthetical advantages, as cantilevers and breakfast bar areas are notorious hazards for small children who can be unfortunate enough to occasionally pay a painful price for their parents   pleasure of owning a designer kitchen. The breakfast bar of this design also appears to be counter balanced across the lover storage area so it may have been possible to create a fantastic free floating cantilever that could swivel between states of use, rotating 90degrees and resting upon the lower storage area when in a standby position and leaving the living area free from physical obs

People say that trends can go full circle and that fashions will re-emerge back into main stream popular culture!   Are we witnessing the re-emergence of a kitchen design feature that had been consigned to the history books? Open shelves in kitchen design have been perceived as dust collectors, impractical voids that attract unwanted items of everyday clutter.   But increasing in modern kitchen design these features provide the necessary aesthetic imbalance to present the required asymmetrical design trend!   Even though the description used is the same, the design of the modern shelf is very different.   Originally these open shelves would have been manifested as fancy wall quadrants, complete with decorative rails and fancy spindles.       But these were times when the kitchen was shackled architecturally!   Now the boundaries between kitchen and living space are blurred and these dust collectors actually serve a practical purpose!   Your kitchen stores everything you need to prepar