Future of Kitchen Design

For many of us, our kitchens are an integral part of a larger living area that we might define as a social gathering area. This is the kind of place that should draw in friends and family with a sense of warmth and comfort. The implication is that kitchen design needs to move out of the kitchen and into the larger space.

The video CAD walkthrough is from a current project and illustrates the point well. The owners want to improve the look and function of their kitchen, but their prime motivation for remodeling is to change the larger living into a space that will be more welcoming to friends and family.

Construction won't commence for a couple of months, but most of my visits to the home have found the two owners seated at the same table which now serves as an eating area. This accounts for less than 12% of the larger area and the remainder goes largely unused. When we finish we will have a new living space that changes these dynamics with better flow, visual excitement, and a new sense of belonging.

Kitchen design will always be tethered to cabinetry and its proper arrangement but it needs to broaden its scope if it is to help narrow the growing gap between how a space works, how it looks and how it feels. We need to start measuring a kitchen's success by how well it draws us together and how good it makes us feel.