New styles, characteristics for a modern kitchen
Large, small, sleek, homey, with or without dining space, kitchens have been the center of the family home since way back! In fact, I can personally remember the Italian kitchens of my childhood where a lot of important stuff took place — not just the meals! I think those memories are part of the reason I enjoy designing kitchens for clients! My Nonna would be proud of me — the kitchen was where she spent a lot of her time, wrapped in the warmth of Family. The kitchens of our homes are nearly the most important rooms — right up there with bathrooms for a cool shower on a hot Summer day!
The kitchen forms a neutral base in our homes from which spring many of those comforting elements we cite as markers for daily actions, morning coffee, special family celebrations, certain holidays — and can’t forget some comfort food sessions and
comforting scents when we are feeling low.
You can definitely get major clues about the members of a household by visiting their kitchen! It is easy to tell who does what, where and even how often. No chairs? No lingering. No table with chairs? No one eats in that kitchen — except maybe eating a sandwich while leaning against the counter, when running late for something.
So, as an Interior Designer, why indulge such memories and speculation? Well, because designing a residential kitchen is just that personal. You kind of have to worm your way into your Clients
kitchen paradigm! You have to sneak into their kitchen habits through a trapdoor in their answers to your questions. It’s a technique — a trade secret.
If possible, it is a real bonus to be invited into a Client’s existing kitchen — maybe for coffee and a scone — and to listen to the complaints as well as the dreams, in situ. Some of the best family stories I have heard were told while speculating on a Client’s ideal dream kitchen.
Some kitchens are not even intended to be cookfriendly, because the Client doesn’t cook! That Client might want a kitchen that is friendly for easy pre-prep warm-ups, takeout, frozen-pop-in-themicrowave-and-zap or a guest Chef. The personality of that kitchen only has to match the one who will be the user!
Thinking about a kitchen remodel? Then, think about putting together a Yes-and-No list. If you call on your local Interior design team, it will help them a lot to know your speculations. There are many elements to be considered for a functional, modernized kitchen: power source and load, updated lighting and refrigeration needs, as well as your planned activities for that environment. Flooring is very important in a kitchen where almost every prep job is done while standing!
Your future planned use may differ greatly from your present situation. Maybe you have taken up gourmet cooking and want a kitchen set up to accommodate doting friends for tasting and before dinner cocktails! Kitchen design brings extra perks — to both the Client and the Interior design team. There is something about it that just makes it a lot of fun! The venue has changed radically in recent years, to keep up with evolving social trends.
A kitchen today may embrace new styles and characteristics, but some things have not changed at all. In most homes, the kitchen is still the hub. In the workplace, the little corner with a coffee pot, a one-coil burner and some sugar packets has expanded into an actual, functioning kitchen with lounge amenities where creative employees can have more for lunch than a cold sandwich.
Some folks believe their kitchen holds almost all the family history — including the secrets!
Robert Boccabella, B.F. A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@ earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@ BusinessDesignServices. com or visit www. BusinessDesignServices. com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.