The Heart of the Home

For many of us, the kitchen is the heart of the home. In today’s world, lines blur between the kitchen as a practical service area for cooking, and the kitchen as a creative space used for dining and entertaining. It is now central to many a special occasion. It is where memorable meals are whipped up. It is where friends and family love to gather.

Within our contemporary lifestyle, it has become de rigeur for one’s kitchen to become an inspiring space. You can achieve just that with the latest kitchen trends as spotted by Asia Tatler in this year’s Eurocucina during Milan Design Week (Culinary Edge, p. 78). Pepper that with a range of cool and clever kitchen aids to make party prep easier and more fun (Kitchen Kool, p. 136).

Amongst the homes featured in this issue, several epitomise this growing trend. An 18th-century château in France, for instance, has been lovingly restored by its current owners and now sports a modern kitchen in sleek matt black steel, a striking counterpoint to the original limestone flooring which dates back to 1750 (Beyond Imagination, p. 142).

Entertaining, of course, is never complete without the essentials and this issue is chock full of them—from precious tabletop luxuries and unique floralscapes to cocktail-inspired furnishings and accents—plus wonderful recipes for pure, natural, and nutritious dishes like the delightful amaranth orange porridge with roasted apples on this page (Sister Act, p. 212).

Please enjoy!