Kitchen Design Think Tank

It takes a pretty spectacular building to compete with a pure white kitchen of this magnitude!   Complete with three separate islands, three sinks, a super charged extraction system and more storage and high spec equipment than a professional kitchen this design has some serious functional and aesthetical presence. The Mogul is sure you’ll agree that the exterior of this building meets the very high expectations set by the kitchen!

This kitchen design is so incredibly powerful that it actually exudes its own blue aurora.   This is a triumph of kitchen influence as neither architecture nor interior design will ever be able to overpower the stature of this heavenly creation. The Island is obviously the centre piece of the entire design and its unrestricted form flows outwardly from the sink area.   It is as though one single droplet of water has fallen from the tap and upon making contact with the island top has caused an undulating ripple effect which moves outwards and away from the functional epicentre of the design.    It could be argued that this island design has been inspired by nature as the heavy set worktop reminds The Mogul of snow which has yet to succumb to the fluid, water like, softer geometry below.   The soft LED lighting bathing the floor and the ceiling also brings the end of the rainbow right into this architectural space. There are many kitchen designers working today who have the artistic ab

There are some serious style contradictions happening here in this duel island kitchen.   The style polarity is so purposeful that it has to be described as art!   Check out the matching stools in the foreground!!   And was it a gutsy or foolhardy move by the designer to place a tall bank of unit’s right in front of the window!   Then again there are a lot of windows ......and curtains!

The Mogul loves this design as it flies in the face of convention!   Concept kitchen design can test our preconceptions and challenge the accepted norms of design.   T he idea of having a mobile and highly versatile kitchen island is great but in  order to ensure a tentative acceptance it is important that new concepts do not appear overly clinical.   In this instance the island could be likened to a hospital trolley and it could be argued that the tethered waste and water feed may limit the mobility!   Every new concept will receive a post-mortem, but it is important to realise that by pushing the boundaries we will deliver the designs of tomorrow!

This is a fantastic image with lots of drama.   The triple depth island is fantastically indulgent and presents the user with lots of preparation space.   It is only fitting that this island which has an elevated skyline backdrop mixed with some flamboyant fiery elements has been given a rather dramatic runway.   The runway stretches out towards the living area, feeling for a human connection and inviting sociability.   Having the seated area centred on the island in this way allows both of its sides to be used by guests and draws focus to the main stage of culinary performance.   However, although this is a beautiful kitchen with lots of preparation space, any chef worth their salt may find their performance dampened by having the cooking and cleaning zones positioned on opposite sides of the stage!   Performing gastronomic precision under the pressure of time, for a runway of hungry guests requires a little functional planning.   The scale of the island mixed with the polar positioni

Is this kitchen art or did someone leave the window open?   The kitchen is primarily a functional product but it does occupy a very personal space and could be seen as the functional theatre for life’s little dramas.   So why not express yourself!!   Notice how the handle recess follows the worktop down the side of the base unit...subtle touches like this can really make a design! Love it!

Here we see another example of a classic contemporary kitchen.   Symmetrical clean lines, a handless appearance, stainless steel worktops and some free hung cabinetry all give this particular design a contemporary appearance.   Using mirrored plinths also help to create the illusion that the island and tall units are floating; having this type of determined detachment from the surrounding architecture could also be perceived as a modern design trend. However, the door profile used and the integration of natural timber allow this design to straddle between descriptive classifications.   The doors used display a 45degree mitre at the point where the rail and stile meet and it could be argued that by having this joint set at an angle as opposed to being straight compromises the contemporary edge of this kitchen!   Oh and are those quadrant posts on the corners of the island?!   Enough said......this is a hybrid!

This kitchen may well give you chills, the kind of uneasy feeling you get when nervously waiting your turn, able to hear the whirring of the dentist’s drill through the door!   The sanitised nature of this design is prepped for carnage with physical comfort taking second place to artistic preference. This kitchen is exposed and bare, an artistic and functional mannequin that is waiting to be dressed.   Natural materials and textures have been removed making the design appear cold and clinical.   But is the harshness of this design the very point, the reason it should be celebrated? This kitchen may work for some, those who like to step beyond the norm, who feel that fashion and art should be functional, becoming integrated into everyday life.   But for many this design lacks the mass social acceptance and physical warmth that mainstream kitchen design offers.    However, The Mogul feels that this kitchen is a showcase, a shining example of how kitchen design has become much more than t

The I-Food Kitchen concept by Chiara Daniele is a classic example of how designers are exploring kitchen design, taking influence from other design disciplines like set design and fusing ideas into functional concepts for the future.    This concept design boasts an array of gadgetry that makes the kitchen into an automated terminal of convenience!   There are integrated electronic controls that allow the hob to weigh added ingredients, the sink can shape shift into a washing machine, everything is touch control and all of the appliances are on the same electrical grid so that they can efficiently share power and reduce energy wastage!   But although this concept looks and sounds futuristic The Mogul would argue that many of the ideas and concepts here are already in the mainstream market!   Touch control, automated, mobile, shape shifting, kitchen pods are being designed and manufactured every day....maybe concept kitchen design is actually becoming a reality, driven by the human

The Mogul loves that architectural frame that this kitchen art has been given.   The step up and stainless steel worktop frame in front of the ovens is pretty cool too, adding interest and depth to the design. The kitchen is art!

It is interesting to see how the stainless steel worktop is set lower here, plunging into the cabinetry and creating real aesthetical impact.   However, The Mogul must question having the hob positioned at this lower level for several reasons!   Firstly, having the hob set at this height may increase the danger of small children accessing the potentially dangerous cooking zone.   Secondly, by lowering the hob you may have to drop the extraction system in order to achieve the optimum performance.   For an individual of average height this may impede the view of the cooking zone.   There is also the possibility that your head may come into contact with the fan when trying to observe the cooking area....especially the back rings!!   Finally, The Mogul asks if the functionality has been compromised by having the stainless steel worktop embed itself into the cabinetry?   Does the unification for these two elements mean that a drawer, positioned within a hot functional zone gets replaced w

There is some very cool contemporary elegance on display here.   A kitchen that just oozes superior style and that has avoided being clearly categorised!   The designers have resisted the urge to create a clear boundary between the kitchen and the open plan living space by not including an island.   Placing a long island in the foreground with the tall units, appliances and shelving behind, would have created a more condensed and potentially more efficient working environment; but as it sits the island becomes a peninsula and the working environment is extremely open!   This open access feel presents a different approach, diluting the appearance of the kitchen and allowing the open plan space to gel.   Traditional room definition has been removed, being replaced with a free flowing, social environment; in many ways achieving this can be seen as the Holy Grail of contemporary kitchen design!   However the Mogul would question several design features.   Firstly the housing provided for t

The air removal force delivered by those Elica Grace extractors must be pretty considerable in order to prevent this kitchen island touching the floor!   A truly gravity defying marvel!

The Mogul would have to question the inclusion of a social deflector shield on this island.   Making the cooking zone a secluded and private space is one thing but this design surely has its limitations.

This is a thing of beauty, a kitchen that can mesmerise the viewer into a hypnotic state and deliver the kind of wow factor that will cement the owner’s position within the elite style hierarchy.   This is a dark destroyer that demands some serious attention having the ability to dominate any architectural space.   You are initially led into a false sense of security by familiarity of colour and texture.   The glossy lacquered panels are not peculiar to you as you have seen this before, but their polished perfection presents a mirrored finish that excites your narcissistic tendencies.   The tall units in the back ground tell a deliberate story of how the natural ebony wood has lived, with each individual panel telling an elaborate story of survival against the elements and how its perfect beauty has now become immortalised in this piece of functional art.     This timber book is certainly not matched and The Mogul is grateful for that. You will also notice that this particular kitchen

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!