How classy's YOUR kitchen?
This minister’s FOUR ovens aren't the only sign he's keeping up with the Joneses when it comes to aspirational must-haves. So..
ONCE it was your choice of car or the time you served your evening meal that marked you out as middle class. Today, anyone attempting to assess social status needs to look in the kitchen. For Cabinet minister James Brokenshire and his wife, Cathy, it was the sight of the two double ovens in their extended kitchen in South-East London that left no doubt they are keeping up with the Joneses. Here, ANTONIA HOYLE guides you through the minefield of acquiring those perfect accessories. Credit cards at the ready . . .
FORGET THE AGA, COOK WITH AN APP
WheTher feeding a growing brood or wowing dinner party guests, size matters when it comes to cookers, with homeowners who have space — and spare cash, of course — splashing out on not one, but two double ovens.
That’s because as the middle-classes increasingly socialise inside the home rather than go out, being able to cater for supper (note: not dinner) parties of ten or more has become a serious brag. The craze for extending also means kitchens are bigger than ever — and increasingly the social heart of the home in the way living rooms once were.
size isn’t everything, however. ‘Most popular nowadays are ovens with multi-functions,’ explains Paul O’Brien, brand director of independent kitchen designer Kitchens International, who says that such appliances might look like ‘old-fashioned double ovens’ but be blessed with newfangled technology.
‘steam ovens are very popular now,’ he explains. ‘They retain the flavours of vegetables and are a much healthier way of cooking.’ Prices range from £2,000 (Jenn-Air) all the way up to about £8,000 (Gaggenau). Neff’s ‘slide and hide models’, as featured on Bake Off, are also desirable.
The once fashionable Aga appears to have been displaced by heat-up-in-an-instant induction hobs and ‘smart’ ovens such as The stoves sterling Deluxe s900eI (£1,849) that allow users to adjust the temperature from an App on their phone. Microwaves are built-in, not freestanding.
The most fashion-conscious kitchen dwellers can even order custom-made ovens to suit their colour scheme from Britannia Delphi, from £3,499. Coral cooker, anyone? Of course, more oven space means more washing up, meaning the multiple dishwasher kitchen is now a trend — Marina Fogle, wife of explorer Ben, has four.
Modern dishwashers stack differently. O’Brien adds: ‘Cutlery is not put in a basket but on trays.’ The smart set prefer ‘drawer’ dishwashers rather than drop door.
Don’t have room for so much machinery in your kitchen? Make way by moving your washing machine out — as TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp pointed out last year, washing your clothes in the kitchen is positively vulgar.
A REALLY COOL ESSENTIAL
DAVID CAMerON’s £2,000 stainless steel American fridge-freezer from German manufacturer Neff certainly caught the eye in his Cotswolds kitchen — a prime example of the rise in two-doored monstrosities which are currently in fashion.
In fact, a 2015 survey found designer fridges to be the most sought-after kitchen appliances.
There are also ‘smart’ fridges now: samsung’s £2,999 model will send a picture to your phone of its contents, then helps you create a shopping list along with playing music and even TV clips.
Alternatively, the fashionably retro — and astronomically priced — smeg is still a bestselling brand, with samsung similarly popular, while O’Brien says his company’s hot property is the £5,589 A Cool by siemens, which contains an automatic icemaker, telescopic rails and electronic temperature control to allow different temperature zones throughout the fridge.
BOILING WATER ON TAP
NO KITCheN enthusiast would forego a tap that provided instant boiling water — a gadget so integral to the modern kitchen that, O’Brien says, 80 per cent of all his designs have one.
Not that they’re cheap. Insinkerator 4N1 Touch Taps, which provide hot and cold filtered water at the touch of a button, and are available in brushed steel, polished chrome or ‘on-trend velvet black’, cost around £1,249 each.
Most flush kitchen fanatics also lay claim to a pop-up kitchen extractor fan — a fancy device also known as a down- draught extractor, costing upwards of £1,000, that emerges at the push of the button from behind the hob and pulls unwanted cooking smells down through the foundation of a building.
SLEEK STONE WORKTOPS
GONe are the days when a glistening slab of granite formed the ultimate kitchen worktop.
‘ engineered stones’ — which are a granite composite and come under names such as silestone, Dekton and Corian — are now favoured by experts on account of their less porous nature.
‘They are more heat-resistant, hygienic and less likely to stain,’ says O’Brien. spacious sinks (double, of course) are de rigueur, with the ‘Belfast’ or ‘butler’s sink’ — a traditional, deep, rectangular design with the front visible — being among the most popular.
When buying kitchen units, concealed storage, space- saving floor-to-ceiling units and long drawers are key, and don’t even think of getting anything with a handle on.
The contents of those kitchen drawers has also got decidedly more exciting, with a ‘proving drawer’ (right) now a must-have thanks to its prominence in BBC cookery show Bake Off in which contestants use the drawer to help their dough to rise. The drawer can be heated to temperatures from 30 degrees to 80 degrees and can also be used to defrost foods, keep plates warm and cook meringues.
Glass splashbacks in trendy aquamarine meanwhile, are a budget- friendly £111 from Wickes.
A TOAST TO NIGELLA
AlsO popular thanks to Bake Off is the KitchenAid mixer (second right) — a glistening extravaganza which can cost up to £799 but
appears unrivalled in its popular - ity among the well-heeled for both bread and cake making. A Nutri-bullet is a no-brainer for those ubiquitous green smooth - ies, as is a V itamix blender (approx £449) for healthy soups. The £159 Magimix toaster with transparent exterior has a lso become famous after Nigella Lawson espoused its benefits (you can see if your toast is burning). Coffee capsules are out, on account of the environmental damage they can cause, and coffee grinders, such as Sage the Smart Grinder P ro (£199.95), are in. A recycling bin is a must and a wine fridge obligatory, but a ‘spiral cellar’ dug into the floor and covered by a glass trapdoor is truly the thing to have — prices start at £20,000.
If you insist on shop -bought plonk, you’ll need a wine purifier to get rid of the sulphites which can make the drink taste bitter (Üllo Wine Purifier, £69.99).
USB ports have replaced oldfashioned plugs on kitchen counters to charge iPhones — or, O’Brien says, ‘the charger is built into the underside of your worktop so it can charge your phone wirelessly . It gets rid of clutter.’
Music is essential to create that chilled out mood and Maestro Kitchen by Harman Kardon is one of the most popular systems. Discreetly built into the back of doors and visible only in the form of a black glass display panel, it wows guests with music from your smartphone.
Lighting is essential. ‘Y ou need the room lit well when you’re cooking, but don’t want to sit at a dining room table with a kitchen lit for service,’ explains O’Brien, who says the ideal is ‘a six to eight- zone lighting controller’ to emphasise different areas of the room when needed.
‘This could be via ceiling spot - lights or decorative lighting below the plinth in the cupboards.’
50 SHADES OF GREY
YeS, yellow and coral have been touted as kitchen colours to watch. But experts say conservative neutrals still preside.
According to Simon Bodsworth, managing director at furniture company Daval, ‘nutty browns, milky whites and powdered greys with highlights of black’ will dominate in 2019 kitchens, with matt finishes infinitely more popular than glossy paint. ‘Shades of grey are still most popular ,’ says O’Brien. ‘Dark blue and rusts have been brought in as accent colours, but aren ’t used throughout the whole kitchen.’
An industrial feel replete with bare brick walls, or a chalkboard one if you have children, with concrete and rusty finishes is more fashionable than chintz, and according to Bodsworth, splashes of ‘ rustic wood, glass, metal, leather and stone’ add texture.
Retro station clocks (Rosendahl, £178) have survived changing fashions. Not that 2019 kitchens are devoid of razzmatazz — increasing numbers of fashion designers, from Ralph Lauren to Dior, have incorporated homeware lines while Dolce & Gabbana has teamed up with Smeg to make a range of appliances, such as a £499.95 kettle (which makes the hot water tap seem a bargain).
SOFA SO ESSENTIAL
THINK a kitchen is just for cooking? Pah! Nowadays most of us want a space in which we can socialise, work and entertain — so sticking a sofa in the mix has become ever more popular.
‘Kitchens are more open plan and are the hub from which living space extends,’ says O’Brien.
Of course, putting a delicate fabric within spitting distance of a kale chip pan is not without its problems and experts recommend buying sofas in dark colours with stain- resistant fabrics or removable covers if they’re kitchen bound.
ISLANDS ENDURE
THeY’Re not new , but islands are as coveted as ever, with up to 80 per cent of clients requesting one.
O’Brien says: ‘It creates a barrier so the functionality of the kitchen can still be maintained, but it also becomes a social space, when you add bar stools. It no longer has to be a rectangular box either . It can integrate fixed seating and breakfast bars.’
One major design trend is the extra-long kitchen island, or one which extends at a different level to become a dining or seating area.
WE LOVE LE CREUSET
IT IS an expensive cliché but, when it comes to the most popular pots and pans, most Brits are a stickler for Le Creuset, the enamel cast iron kitchenware introduced on our shores in 1961.
Temperatures were raised by the brand’s decision to sell to the masses at reduced prices in stores such as QVC and Debenhams.
Some analysts were concerned discounts would dilute its highend image while fans who couldn’t afford to spend £275 on a casse - role dish or £15 on a mug breathed a sigh of relief.
When it comes to cutlery, French company Lagiuole is still one of the most popular to add the finishing touches to intimate kitchen dinners — a set of six Laguiole by Jean Dubost Iridescence Steak Knives will set you back £45.
Also smart are Japanese knives such as Global (£139 for a three - piece set).
And even though you’ve spent a small fortune on top -of-the range accessories, your mugs must be ‘ironically’ mismatched. A Union jack design paired with a ‘world’s greatest dad’, for example.
PANTRY PERFECTION
OF COURSe, anyone with all this kitchen finery will need suitable food to put in it. Organic is a must and online Abel & Cole fruit and vegetables is a good place to start.
Sourdough bread seems just about acceptable among a demographic that doesn ’t favour carbs: gluten- free pasta and avocados a bonus.
A carton of oat milk for those dairy allergies and some aged balsamic vinegar would work well, as would a packet of chia seeds and an emergency supply of pomegranate molasses.
Throw in some organic wine and a couple of slabs of Green & Blacks chocolate and you’re a fully fledged member of the middle - class kitchen club.
THE BUDGET BRAND WE CAN’T RESIST
AMID the minimalism and extor - tionate tech there is one cheapie brand that slips into every discerning kitchen dweller’s list: Ikea, as David Cameron revealed with his £22 Ikea kitchen lights from its Foto Pedant range in 2015.
The popularity of the Swedish furniture company’s sleek white £130 Docksta table and £12 Stockholm bowl prove posh folk still adore a bargain.