“Kitchen-Centric”: The New Standard for Home Design
The role of the kitchen in the house and in the family has changed. Where kitchens of the past were rooms of utility, hidden away in the recesses of a home, now designers and families are recognizing the beauty and function of this space as the core of a home.
Almost any host can attest that, try as they might to prevent it and encourage guests into other rooms, the kitchen draws us in. We gather around islands and the kitchen becomes the emotional center of the home. Kitchen-centric design reflects this feeling and creates a space that is as comfortable and well lived in as any living room.
In the late 20th Century, the idea of the open kitchen came about, and the walls between family rooms and kitchens were torn down. Now, this idea has evolved, and kitchens are becoming integrated rooms that are completely livable as architecture comes to reflect how Americans live their lives.
There is the notion that kitchen and home design should be holistic; a kitchen is not one element, but part of a working whole. This creates that feeling of security and comfort in the home; it gives kitchens spirit and nurtures all who live in it.
The kitchen-centric design should emphasize space and light as well as function and durability. Kitchens not only shape families, but communities too. School-aged children gather around kitchen tables to share ideas, and so do community leaders. It only makes sense that this important room is designed in a way that makes breaking bread and sharing ideas effortless and beautiful.
Adapted from “Kitchen Centric” by Mick De Giulio and Karen Klages Grace, (Balcony Press, 2010)
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