Kitchen Essential

It was important though not to lose sight of the kitchen’s primary purpose. I have long disliked the placing of a hob or stove in a row of base units because it detracts from the symbolic significance and historical roots of the hearth. This partly explains the popularity of an Aga or giant solid- fuel stove comfortably placed inside a chimney breast. The stove is the focal point of any kitchen and wherever possible this should continue. Many families want to use a variety of built-in appliances, a composite stove was designed for the collection. This enabled the cooking appliances including an overhead canopy (containing an extractor) to be houses independently in one substantial piece of furniture, a little akin to the old ranges in Victorian kitchens. The stove could have its dignity back. Continue Reading »

I suggested to Smallbone of Devizes that they let me develop for them the concept I had been working on over the previous ten years — the unfitted kitchen; a kitchen made with furniture. The essence of the idea was to design an individual piece of furniture to suit each function. In order to help Smallbone retail the collection, I prepared a set of guidelines for their sales staff to use. Continue Reading »

The central counter is without doubt the recent biggest improvement in kitchen design that has come into its own! Its recent ancestors are those centrally placed ‘working’ tables found in most large kitchens in England from the eighteenth century until the 1930s. Their scrubbed sycamore surfaces coped well with all types of food preparation, and in the smaller farmhouse kitchens the tables were used to eat at as well. By the 1950s with the development of factory-made built-in units we were all put to work on laminated plastic surfaces facing walls, which was anti-social and in planning terms dispersive. By placing a piece of furniture in the middle of a room, activity is drawn towards the centre. Continue Reading »

Small is beautiful, but not too small. You cannot make a good kitchen out of a box room, but neither do you need an indoor tennis court. Over a certain size the kitchen functions become too dissipated to make use of a large space. A while ago I developed ‘the arm-stretch’ theory, expressed in this kitchen as a continuous circular counter where the maximum number of activities could be accommodated within the shortest walking distance. Worktop activity is defined by how far the arms stretch. Beyond that, assuming you do not wish to walk, it is appropriate to plan for another activity. Continue Reading »

Kitchen design starts with a good plan, the essence of which is for it to be as simple as possible with the minimum of furniture, leaving as much space as possible for circulation. Once the room has been drawn up to a scaled plan, the eye can see it in microcosm and in a detached way (by not being in the space), making clearer the do’s and don’ts and the areas suitable for creative input. The natural routes between the doorways and the main kitchen activities need to be established. The furniture should try and work in sympathy with these designated pathways. People move around a kitchen a bit like water flows over a rocky river bed; they divert themselves around obstacles, make use of and fill up all available space. Human beings do not walk around corners by following a precise right angle — they take the shortest distance between two points and not necessarily in a straight line. The concept of soft geometry recognizes the principle that of the hundreds of mini-journeys that are made in the kitchen everyday, many would benefit from furniture designed using curved or soft shapes which enhance the ease of movement in the room. Continue Reading »

Design as a discipline sits in between art and science. It has to wear two hats or many more if you sub-divide its constituent elements. The scientific part encompasses knowledge of materials, finishes, methods of construction, and the application of ergonomics. Under the artistic side comes the whole cultural input — information as far-flung as national characteristics, culinary traditions, indigenous crafts, social behaviour, a diverse range of cultural and artistic interests, styles of dress and whole local traditions of building construction. Continue Reading »

The creative process is fascinating and full of mystery. Quite apart from never knowing where the ideas spring from in the first place, how are the connections made between the many different aspects of the design process? Gradually like making a jigsaw puzzle, the easier shapes — the corner and edge pieces — are assembled and provide a sketchy definition. Then a few middle clusters appear and provide a hard centre. And bit by bit the rest falls into place after a lot of experimenting on the way. Continue Reading »

How can one find a balance between innovation and continuity?. The danger of concentrating too much on innovation is choosing new elements that don’t go beyond the fashionable. Fashion in clothes is a useful source of self-renewal and since clothes may only have a relatively short life, it is not an absolute disaster if you become tired of them or they quickly appear dated. Furniture operates on a different timescale, and is connected with a sense of permanence. Both its physical nature and its price call for longevity. You are going to have to co-habit with it for a good many years. Your ideas, lifestyle and the demands may alter, but your furniture will not. So designing and choosing it requires careful thought and needs to take its long life into account. Continue Reading »

Traditional or modern, useful labels or cliches. Most kitchens are marketed under one of these descriptions, and the results are predictable. A ‘traditional’ kitchen is made of aged or stained wood with raised panels, doors, a scattering of suitable mouldings, a bit of fretwork, china knobs throughout and brass-trimmed appliances. If it is expensive or up-market, a few extra luxuries may be thrown in. Its ‘modern’ counterpart will have a consistent melamine finish, probably white, chrome handles, stainless steel appliances, plus various special features related to whichever company’s products are on offer. The differences are only just perceptible. Continue Reading »

Without doubt the farmhouse kitchen is the strongest and best loved image of a kitchen. A possible description goes like this: ‘with views of rolling countryside through latticed windows, one appreciates a large inglenook fireplace, a plethora of blackened oak beams, a large open- racked dresser stuffed with china and homely ephemera, a well-worn flagstone floor, a comfortable armchair or two, a generous-sized food cupboard, a scrub-topped refectory table, and fragrant smells issuing from an Aga which announce that something wonderful is about to be served.’ Continue Reading »

The English have a long tradition of follies. Perhaps our love of eccentricity is partly responsible. The Gothic style is at its heart. It has had as many revivals as centuries and many disguises too, secular and ecclesiastical. In the nineteenth century there was a strong connection between privacy and Gothic. The newly rich industrialists built themselves mansions or pseudo castles fortified in the Gothic style. The phrase the Englishman’s house is his castle suggests the strong sense of security derived from Gothic, since that is how castles are perceived in our imagination. Continue Reading »

The kitchen also unintentionally shares some other similarities of attitude with Biedermeier — emphasis on veneered surfaces, use of simple lines, distinct metal handles, use of inlay and no nonsense detailing. It also has, I hope, in common with Biedermeier, a sense of quiet fun, including unexpected elements such as cupboards linked into a series of intriguing repetitive small lockers, funny hats on storage pillars, doors with miniature glass windows, Continue Reading »

Country-style kitchens had become so popular that no other seemed possible. Many people, including myself, were sickened at this lack of choice and paucity of imagination of the bigger English and American kitchen manufacturers. So I began to develop ideas that could form the basis of a kitchen suitable for and inspired by the city.

Images of country life provide nourishment for us and are reflected in the styling of many of the products we buy. Rural life has an appeal as a place of refuge and a liberation from the pressures of a hectic and crowded urban existence. It is a major component of most people’s idea of a ‘good’ life. Continue Reading »

Inlay provides an ideal source of decoration in a kitchen. It helps to focus the eye, emphasize lines either horizontal or vertical and enhance the randomness of wood by contrast to its crisp geometry; it is relatively inexpensive to make and easy to clean. Inlay creates structural order in the absence of traditional panel-frame construction. What could be more ideal. Every kitchen could use some. Continue Reading »

Plate racks are great inventions. Mistakenly many people think of them purely for draining plates and so on, when their function is as much to do with easy access and storage. Having designed around ten different versions, I am beginning to get to grips with their problems as well as advantages.

Initially I started off by holding the plates in position with dowels at the back and location slots at the front. This allows the rack to be used for thick pottery plates and soup plates. A little more care is required when storing the plates because you have to fit the plate into the front slot. Continue Reading »

The impact of the final surface finish in furniture and interiors can never be exaggerated. It is greater than it deserves to be. Using colour through paint not only provides a flexible and powerful way of determining the atmosphere and mood of the room, but also allows a closer involvement with the more emotional aspects of a client’s needs. Continue Reading »

9 Cut the second shelf smaller, 980 mm wide by 250 mm deep, with a return coming out the left-hand side, 780 mm x 250 mm. Fix the shelf at 1810 mm from the floor on 150 mmx 125 mm brackets fixed to the wall by screwing as before. Once again, the shelf should then be primed. The third shelf is the smallest at 980 mm wide and 150 mm deep, with a return of 780 mm out of the left wall. Fix the shelf 1510 mm from the floor on 100 mm x 125 mm brackets. Continue Reading »

Although this project was built in a specific location, it incorporates many options and can easily be modified to suit individual needs and available space.

Not for nothing is the kitchen called the heart of the home.

The family tends to gravitate towards the kitchen at all times of the day and, while it must serve primarily as a food preparation area, it’s good if it also has a comfortable, companionable and welcoming atmosphere.

If there are children in the house, try to incorporate a space in the kitchen where they can play, paint and draw and, when they’re older, do their homework. It will allow you to keep an eye on them while you get on with your own tasks and, at the same time, provide them with occupation, education and company. Continue Reading »

Dishwashers are no longer considered luxury appliances. They are near-necessities in the modern kitchen.

If you still feel traces of guilt about using a dishwasher, take heart: it is a much more hygienic method of washing up – tea towels and dish cloths are perfect breeding grounds for germs – and, if you choose the model with care, it uses no more power and water than washing up by hand.

A few checks will make sure you are happy with the model you buy. First, find out the length of the shortest and the longest cycles, and the amount of water used – the lower the numbers, the kinder it is to your pocket and the environment. Continue Reading »