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 »

A modern miracle, the microwave’s potential is hardly ever met in the mere mortal’s kitchen. It stands in the corner forlornly hoping its owners will use it for more than pizza leftover warm-ups. As we are also maniacal reheaters, we went in search of the holy grail — or in this case the Best Kept Microwave Secrets.

In many instances the general reluctance to make the most of your microwave oven may well stem from a secret fear that it will blow up and take you and your home along with it. So let’s start with some golden rules: Continue Reading »