I cannot do this article justice without using the luxury British cabinet company, Clive Christian, as an example.  Almost 30 years ago, the man behind this brand, Mr. Clive Christian, was an interior designer struggling to fill his client’s requests for more elegant  kitchens than were around in those days.  Mr. Christian began designing his own kitchens which led to the launch of the mega brand we have today.  One of the most notable things that he did to knock convention on its ears was to hang two lavish crystal chandeliers over the kitchen island.  The idea of an ornate light fixture in a kitchen isn’t all that uncommon today, but 30 years ago, it was utterly shocking.   However, it caught on gradually because it touched the right note with people.  They wanted to live in their kitchens just like they did in the rest of their home.  Why should this one room be treated any differently when it comes to warmth, style, and sophistication?

With the average price of a Clive Christian kitchen costing over $100,000, the company must continually offer something with enduring value and timelessness to keep its appeal to luxury consumers.  Even today, when the market flocks towards extremely simple white kitchens, Clive steers his ship in the opposite direction, offering his clients a vision of a more decadent lifestyle.  This approach has kept him safely out of the way of becoming a time-warped brand.

Your kitchen will likely be the single biggest expenditure of your home and you should not need to overhaul it every ten years or you’ve simply done something wrong.  Since the media and the internet are full of advice on how to emulate the best kitchen trends, I’m taking the opposite approach by showing you how to avoid some of them:

The “Professional” look:  By this I mean a kitchen full of the latest and greatest appliances for a professional chef.  This look entails all stainless steel appliances - and the bigger the better.  I would like to clarify that I think stainless steel, in and of itself, is a classic.  However, we all know someone who has remodeled their kitchen and spent every penny they had on appliances…and they don’t even cook.  I think this has always been a bit gauche, but I think it will be seen more and more that way in the future.

Two’s of Everything: Two dishwashers, two ice makers, two refrigerators, etc.  Certainly, many homeowners do need these additional items because of large families, or frequency of entertaining.  I’m not necessarily knocking any of these things specifically, it’s just that occasionally I have clients that want so many appliances that they don’t have any room left over for cabinets.  Get what you need and what you’ll actually use.  Don’t let the magazines tell you that a luxury kitchen requires every appliance available on the market.

Specific Cabinet Finishes: White is a classic and will always be a classic, however, other wood finishes and painted finishes do have peaks and valleys in their popularity.  This is where it really pays to observe what everyone else is doing and then try not to do it.  Over the last few years, stained cherry cabinets have been very popular.  I can’t help but think that in another ten years, you’ll be able to walk into someone’s house, see cherry cabinets, and know exactly when that kitchen was done.

Mega Kitchens: I think this trend may be on its way out.  For quite a while, homeowners just wanted to have larger and larger kitchens.  With the economic changes of the last year, I’m now predicting that people will return to a greater appreciation of quality over quantity and this will impact the size of the kitchen.

Ultimately, the kitchen has become the center of all activity in the home.  As such, people want their kitchens to be just as stylish and comforable as the rest of the house.  Kitchens will probably start to look less and less like heavy work zones and more and more like family rooms with cabinetry integrated into paneling and sleeker, less obtrusive appliances.  In fact, Clive Christian’s message on this point is pretty relevant today:  Why should our kitchen be different from any other room in our home?

]]> http://www.luxurykitchendesigner.com/2009/03/avoiding-trends-in-luxury-kitchen-design/feed/ http://www.luxurykitchendesigner.com/2009/03/top-5-tips-for-designing-a-luxury-kitchen/ http://www.luxurykitchendesigner.com/2009/03/top-5-tips-for-designing-a-luxury-kitchen/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:08:26 +0000 admin http://www.luxurykitchendesigner.com/?p=764 The internet is full of articles and sites that are crafted by people or companies claiming to represent the luxury kitchen market.  However, luxury is an over-used word these days.  Now that “luxury to the masses” is a common marketing concept in everything from handbags to kitchen tile, it has become difficult to wade through the plethora of information to find what the true luxury consumer is really looking for….to be set apart from the mass market.  As a kitchen designer for a high-end British company, I seldom engage in projects that cost less than $100,000 (often the cabinetry alone surpasses that amount), therefore I consider myself to be on the front lines of engagement with the real luxury consumer.  If you are building, remodeling, or designing a luxury kitchen, (or perhaps you just want to emulate one), then consider these suggestions.

Framed Cabinetry with Inset Doors/Drawers

1.  Understand the difference between a framed cabinet with an inset door and a cabinet with an overlay door.  A framed cabinet with an inset door is considered to be the higher-end option while cabinetry with overlay doors are the most common type seen on the market today.  Many of my clients are not familiar with this difference when they visit my studio and if you are unfamiliar as well, I encourage you to view cabinetry from both categories in person.  It is a little bit difficult to visualize, but essentially a framed cabinet with an inset door is  a cabinet box with a stationary frame mounted to the front of this box.  The cabinet door then sits inside (flush with) the frame.  Traditional English cabinetry was bench made in this manner and it still holds appeal today.  An overlay cabinet can have a frame or be frame-less, but regardless, the door overlaps the frame or box.    A frame-less cabinet with overlay doors can be very desirable in a contemporary kitchen where clean smooth lines are desired, but in terms of traditional cabinetry, this is seen as an inexpensive way to produce a lot of cabinets.  A framed cabinet with an inset door is a lot more work to manufacture and requires a great deal more craftsmanship to get everything properly aligned in its aperture.    If your home value is over $1.5 Million and you are desiring a traditional crafted cabinetry look, then you really should be purchasing framed cabinetry with inset doors.  There is simply a perceived quality associated with it.

Fully Integrated Refrigeration

2. Spend your money on high-end refrigeration. Most of my clients still opt to conceal their refrigerators behind custom cabinetry panels, however, even if you want the professional look of stainless steel, I would encourage you not to skimp on your refrigerator.  A few years ago, Sub Zero had a firm corner on the market for fully integrated refrigeration.  By “full integration”, I mean that the refrigerator can be designed to sit flush with the cabinetry (24″ deep) without the need for a stainless steel grate above it, and without an exposed stainless steel frame.  Now, however, there are several more manufacturers offering this feature, including Miele and Thermador.  While not all of my projects utilize a fully integrated refrigerator, the vast majority of them do.  Luxury kitchens frequently feature a pair of refrigerators that are paneled and trimmed out to look like an armoire or beautiful piece of furniture.  In fact, this can be your kitchen’s best focal point if done well.

3.  Design a space to conceal all of your counter top appliances, such as coffee makers, toasters, blenders, etc. Most high-end kitchens that are well designed allow the homeowner the luxury of having “uncluttered” counter tops.  After all, aesthetics are a big part of what you’re paying for.  Sometimes this can be a large walk-in pantry with built-in cabinetry.  Alternatively, I have often employed a method of creating a tall larder cabinet in close proximity to the sink and refrigerator.  This larder cabinet, with pocket doors,  can have an internal counter top with outlets affixed to the back of the cabinet for plugging in an assortment of small appliances ranging from the microwave to the stand-mixer.  The idea here is that everything is easily accessible and already plugged in.  No luxury kitchen should require the homeowner to pull out a heavy appliance from a base cabinet.

A Wood top on the island

4. Consider using a mixture of counter top materials. In large luxury kitchens today, a single marble or granite on all counter tops can look quite cold.  Perhaps it is because these large kitchens simply have so many square feet of counter top material.  Regardless, this is a careful line to walk because using too many different materials can quickly look like a trend.  To be easy on the eye, consider using your stone of choice around the perimeter counter tops  and then opt for a wood top on the island.  This breaks up the coldness factor of stone  while not conflicting with the pattern of your marble, limestone, or granite.

Use Two Islands in a Large Kitchen

One might think that designing a kitchen for a large space would be easier than a small space, but actually, it’s the other way around.  When designing a large kitchen, it becomes difficult to incorporate functional work areas and tie them all together so that the homeowner doesn’t need roller skates to get from one side of the room to the other.  Frankly, I think that many industry professionals struggle with this problem quite a bit.  In an effort to bring cohesion to large spaces, many professionals and homeowners simply settle on having an over-sized island.  There are a number of aesthetic and functional problems with this arrangement.  Therefore, when a client visits my design studio for the first time, I usually spend quite a bit of time talking them out of having a monstrous sized island.  I would like to share with you a few of my objections to this approach, along with some alternative suggestions for conquering these large spaces..

1. First, consider that the purpose of an island is to enhance the functionality of your space.  However, when the island becomes too large, it can quickly become an obstacle.  This is particularly true of very long islands.  If you have to walk a great distance around your island to get to your refrigerator, sink, or family, then it is no longer adding value to your space.
2. If you make your island too large in both width and length, then it becomes difficult to clean your counter top.  (Imagine a large square island) You or someone in your household will need very long arms to reach to the center point of it!
3. Aesthetically speaking, an over-sized island will often look like a dance floor in the middle of your kitchen.   This is particularly true if you have a large island that is one consistent counter top height.
4. If I’ve failed to convince you on all other points, then consider this…  Granite, marble, and other natural stone slabs have size limitations.  Generally speaking, you can expect granite slabs to be roughly 120″ x 60″.  Marble slabs are frequently a little bit smaller.  Also, keep in mind that the slabs have irregular shapes and edges, which make a certain portion of the length/width unusable.  Therefore, if you have an island that exceeds the size of a slab, you will require a seam in your counter top material…not very attractive.

Break up large counter tops with varying cabinet heights

What size island is too large?  Well the answer is subjective.  It depends on many criteria, most importantly of which are the client’s aesthetic preferences and lifestyle.  While I cannot provide you with a definitive answer, I can provide you with some alternative ideas to help you avoid the negative impact of a large island.

First, you can create varying counter top heights so that you avoid the problem of counter top seams. This also has the added benefit of making a large island feel a little less massive.

Secondly, if your plans still call for an extra large island, you can consider the use of a wood counter top.  While granite, marble, and other stone slabs are limited in size, wood counter tops can be ordered in just about any length or width.  They are stunning when used on an island and hold up quite well.  Many of the wood types that are used for these work tops are very good around water, resist staining, and can also be configured as chopping blocks.

A wood island top “warms up” a kitchen

Finally, consider using two smaller islands instead of one large one.  If your design currently calls for one large square island, then you probably have room to make two smaller islands instead.  This solution works surprisingly well and I have employed it a number of times with great results.  With two separate smaller islands, one can avoid the issue of needing to walk around a large obstacle.  In addition, it creates more accessible cabinetry and defined work zones.    In the example at the top of the page, the homeowner uses the  main island as her prep area (small sink, pull-out trash, and pasta cooker), while the secondary island (bar stool seating and warming drawer)  is great for entertaining and keeps her family out from under foot while she’s cooking.

If you would like to view more photos of the islands shown in this article, please click on the image links.

Resources:

Clive Christian (cabinetry)

Spekva (wood counter tops)

Clive Christian is a world renowned luxury designer of home goods, cabinetry,  and perfume.

View Video

Designed specifically for the  larger luxury home, this new kitchen blends the classic look of a Clive Christian kitchen with the newer Architectural Division of the Home Company.  Paneling elements, traditional cabinetry, and a coffered ceiling  have  merged to create a grand space which feels like an architectural work of art.

View Press Release

For more information on this kitchen and additional photos of this room please select this link.