For most of history, the kitchen has been a dark and out-of-the-way space hidden from public view. In the grandest of homes, it may have been housed in a separate building. In everyday homes, it was situated in the basement or, at the very least, at the back of the house.
This has all changed in the past 40 years or so. Today, the kitchen is the place where we want to spend most of our time and it’s fundamentally changed what we need from the space.
In our experience, clients are looking for three things from their kitchen.
The first is a multifunctional cooking, dining and sitting space where the whole family can be together.
In a home extension project, it’s tempting to think this will involve a large kitchen extension. However, in a typical project, a better way to achieve it is by removing internal walls to bring rooms together and perhaps adding a small extension. (For more on this, see our article How to design a successful kitchen extension.)
The second is a sociable entertaining space that welcomes friends and relatives.
This means we need to reorient the space. In a typical kitchen of the past, everything was on a wall. It means when you are preparing or cooking, you always have your back to anyone else in the room. By incorporating an island, you turn the space around. You can face your ‘audience’ and create a much more friendly and welcoming space.
The third is a light, bright space that connects with the outside.
A wonderful way to realise this is to have a double height room with an expansive glazed wall. It’s also beautifully and simply achieved with big, glazed doors that open onto the garden.
If you’re exploring ideas for a new kitchen, you might like to take inspiration from a few of our projects where the kitchen was at the heart:
- Reimagining an Ancestral Home
- Future-Proofing a Gatehouse
- Creating a Light-Filled and Sustainable Home in Herefordshire
- Reconfiguring Two 19th Century Cottages in North Herefordshire
- A Handsome Georgian Residence in Herefordshire Re-imagined to Transform Family Life
- Reimagining a Kitchen to Make a Lasting Contribution to the Heritage of an Historic Farmhouse
