This Kitchen is Designed to Cook

Today we design kitchens for lifestyle as equally as we do for ergonomics and safety. Beware only thinking about the former, and dismissing the latter. We believe that paying close attention to key functions of the kitchen will allow you to have a space that works great for cooking as well as for everything else. 

For example, your lifestyle items may be that “the kids like to do their homework at the island every day” or “my sister and her family often visit and we all cook together.” These lifestyle requirements may require an extended island to keep the olive oil off the homework or an additional sink for those extra helping hands in the kitchen.

In this edition’s featured kitchen, our client’s 2 teenagers are often using the kitchen as the rendezvous point at the beginning and end of their day. The family addressed the lifestyle needs by making sure they used a large farm table as a place for family time at meals as well as Sunday morning websurfing.

You’ll notice we featured an open space for bowls stored below the island and for a pot rack above. The client often cooks from scratch after returning home from her day job and likes everything “tout proche” (French for “near at hand”).

As the client’s husband boasted, “My wife is an excellent cook — everything she makes is fresh. Her soups and stews are incredible.” As a planning note, knowing your daily cooking habits should dictate the amount of prep area along with adjustments for their location as well as the choice of appliances. This client belongs to a CSA Crop Share so they selected a Sub-Zero refrigerator that has higher humidity levels that keep vegetables fresh for about a week longer than typical refrigeration. Thanks to Andres and Liz of Newton for another fun and unique kitchen project. Bon appetite!