TREND the anti kitchen

Kitchens looked decidedly un-kitcheny this year, with cabinets so stylish it was easy to forget they were designed for storage, appliances so sleek they disappeared before our eyes, and so many touchable textures we thought we were in the living or dining room. More and more, designers are giving us the ability to hide or camouflage parts of the kitchen at our own choosing. There was a big push towards creating concealed work areas, like the Inside System by Ernestomeda (below) and Logica Celata by Valcucine, which boast sliding doors that close and hide the entire kitchen structure. Paradoxically, open storage that blurs the line between kitchen and living space was still very much on trend. At Arrital (left) rows of grainy timber shelving made a case for arranging and displaying prized crockery as you would your favourite books. Meanwhile, designers extended the notion of the breakfast bar with dining tables built onto islands, executed beautifully at Veneta Cucine (above).