A curious phenomenon has taken place in the past decade of kitchen history. If it could be summarised by a single event, it would be a *smash*. Personally we have taken a hammer to the melamine and facebrick walls that used to separate the kitchen from where the rest of life happened. After what seemed like a never-ending cloud of dust dissipated, we were left with a redefined space. The stove was moved from the backdoor to centre stage; the new 2-metre island, splattered with soup stains, coffee cups and homework books, became the hub around which family and friends converged. I guess you could say, we made the home our own.
Gone are the days when Ma se kos is handed through the little hole in the wall. With the average new homeowner’s appetite for open space, the kitchen has become a seamless area of equal access. Nooks, crannies and awkward little rooms have been busted open to accommodate a more fluid and honest architecture; and the kitchen is the ultimate expression of it all.
Your kitchen should foster an ease and flow of mindspace, as the realities and demands of life are invited to happen all around you. Multipurpose elements like the island create the essential zones of cooking, eating, socialising and working. Their finishings should be as streamlined as their functionality: upmarket counter tops that can be diced on, sat on and eaten on; top-of-the-line hinges and spring-back drawers that make stuck little fingers a thing of the past.
It’s important to cultivate an authentic interpretation of space, when designing your kitchen. Anything is possible, so feel free to be as unconventional – or as traditional – as what suits your family flavour. ‘Modern’ is no longer synonymous with cold and minimalistic, but can mean anything from farm style to industrial to a combination thereof. High gloss counter tops like caesar stone can be the perfect complement to raw pine. When subtly repeated throughout the final aesthetic, materials like copper and stone can offset the vintage style very effectively.
Your options to personalise your space are endless. Our design team will introduce you to a wide variety of textures and materials. When choosing your built-in cupboards or tops, consider blending textures that range from gloss to natural, smooth to rough. Allow us to cultivate your own creative eye, as we explore ideas around custom design. Perhaps a feature wall would work well? Or the simple addition of greenery to a high gloss modern kitchen would round off the aesthetic? With over a decade of experience, the Kitchen Frontiers team will help you to forge that sacred space in which you can breathe (and cook, clean, host, tie shoes, wipe noses and do homework) easily.
To contact one of our design experts for more information, visit our website at www.kitchenfrontiers.co.za. Also come chat to us personally at the Decorex show at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand between 5-9 August. When it comes to professionalism and a cut-above-the-rest design, the Kitchen Frontiers exhibit and friendly team will speak for themselves.