Project inspir ation
From the latest tech innovations to the most radical surface solutions, we reveal what’s hot in contemporary kitchen design
With smart appliances and gorgeous new textures now hitting the shops, the kitchen of the future has arrived
1 The hero ISLAND
Put everything, including the kitchen sink (plus the fridge, freezer, cooker and dishwasher) into the island and you have one seriously hardcore unit. The most cutting-edge examples, such as Massimo Castagna’s new K-IN/K-OUT kitchen for Italian brand Rossana, see the worktops glide out to reveal the sink and hob beneath and provide extra usable prep/dining space in the process. Up to three metres long and as wide as a bus, an all-in-one island unit will literally put the chef centre stage, but it does require a particularly large room to succeed. For more modest spaces, a more practical layout will include a wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinetry that works as back-up support to a monolithic island. Behind these unobtrusive doors, a breakfast cupboard can keep the toaster and blenders hidden away, while food larders and integrated cooling appliances meet the storage needs that a fully loaded island can’t manage.
Get the look An off-set breakfast bar boosts the performance of Cesar’s Elle standalone island unit in heat-treated oak – buy it at Espresso Design, from £25,000. For more fully loaded modular islands, check out Bulthaup and Boffi.
2 PRO CHEF COOKING
The line between the professional and home kitchen is blurring. One particularly successful example is the sous-vide appliance – namely a vacuum machine and immersion circulator (or water bath) – which is fast earning its place next to conventional ovens in the home. Best for tender meats, fish and sturdy vegetables (not leaves), a sous vide coaxes out flavours you never knew existed. Blast chillers, used to fast-freeze food to retain optimum nutrients, but also to make instant sorbets and keep meats exactly how you like them cooked, are another pro-chef import set to make the move from luxury to essential kit. Make sure you check out Thermomix’s table-top appliance, which cooks, steams, blends, chops and weighs in one unit. It was originally designed for domestic use, but can now be found in Michelin-starred kitchens worldwide. Complete your
Masterchef-ready kitchen with an isi whip (isi.com), loaded with nitrous oxide, which creates foams and espumas guaranteed to impress the most nonchalant of dinner guests.
3 TAP Technology
Like a dishwasher, a boiling water tap is something that, once you’ve experienced its speed, ease and efficiency, you’d sooner sell a kidney than give up. it was originally a solo system that sat beside your regular kitchen taps, but the two were soon merged to create a three-in-one unit offering boiling, hot and cold. now meet the four-in-one tap, which brings filtered drinking and/or sparkling water to the menu. Quatreau’s super-advanced version also adds chilled water to the equation, while many of the latest launches feature a clever safety key that ends any anxiety about scalding young children. expect designs to get sleeker and with increased options for finishes as these futuristic taps become a kitchen essential.
4 BLACK IS BACK
Stainless steel and aluminium have dominated the face of built-in appliances for so long, it’s hard to recall the days when black, white and brown were stock options.
But while the latter two are yet to resurface, black is back in a big way. As a major design decision, black works on two levels – it ticks the ‘neutral’ box that’s a prerequisite of any product you expect to last and it has serious impact. The majority of the latest black-clad collections are achieved using glossy black glass fascias – often with virtually frameless fronts. By contrast, matte black appliances offer a subtler option that’s sexy as hell. Made from powder-coated steel and like suede to touch, you’ll find matte black from Baumatic, LG, Kitchenaid and Smeg.
5 BLEACHED TIMBERS
smashing plain white kitchens out of the park, bleached-timber doors were everywhere we turned at this year’s eurocucina – Milan’s fashion show for kitchens. Less folksy than reclaimed timber and far fresher than the dark wenges and walnuts that have long ruled the contemporary wood scene, the bleached look is modern but timeless – a winning formula in any kitchen design. There are many ways to whiten wood. You can actually bleach it, apply an oxalic acid-based paste or treat it with various white oils and lime washes. Wire brushing the doors or using rough-sawn timber serves to open the grain, creating more distinct white striations. Whatever the method, the results are scandi in their paleness, with a whispered hint of nantucket beach house.
6 fab faux stone
in the battle of natural surfaces versus man-made wannabes, Mother nature wins, right? Maybe not. The solid-surface industry has seriously upped its game and is producing ‘stones’, primarily marbles, with such incredible realism that only a geologist could spot the fake. instead of laser-printing high-res photos of stone on to the surface, this new breed is achieved by mixing different coloured quartz and pigments to re-create the uneven veining that makes the real deal so appealing. even genuine stone – as in the new sensa by Consentino collection (see below) is getting the man-made touch to improve its performance – a much-prized quality in a kitchen.
7 SMART Appliances
networked appliances, which are wirelessly linked and can be controlled remotely, are finally moving past concept stage. the tangible benefits vary from miele’s induction hob, which automatically controls the extractor above, to ovens that can be pre-heated before you get home. you can anticipate ‘connected’ collections from all the major appliance brands in the coming months, with varying degrees of usefulness. tech is also working its way into worktops, literally so, with the advent of induction-fused surfaces. by cooking directly on the worktop, this tech is tipped to be big news for small kitchens, as you don’t lose precious prep space. it works by sandwiching induction plates between layers of aluminium and ceramic, with only discreet touch controls visible on the worktop’s surface. also look out for virtual worktops that have control panels projected on the surface – grundig and Whirlpool are leading the way. Wireless-charging worktops, which can keep phones and devices powered up without trailing cables, are a genuinely smart innovation that will help cut down on clutter.
8 RAW DETAILS
even hardcore minimalists are cooling on clinical kitchens, which is why we’re seeing moments of texture and ruggedness amid modern, handleless designs. Worktops are an obvious target – a chiselled-edge stone or rustic battered timber can be all it takes to mellow a modular island unit. or consider an unexpectedly trad apron-fronted sink in cast concrete, where everything else is flat and featureless. look for materials that will age beautifully, such as burnished copper, where the golden core grazes through to a warm patina over time. Moderated imperfection is key to this trend – go too far and you’ll end up in chaos or, worse, risk shabby-chic territory.