Open kitchen – a modern typical kitchen
Open kitchen first came to live around the late 50s. This was the time when kitchen area went through a huge changes. The heavy workspaces and solid hardwood cabinets were finally replaced with lighter designs and structures. Materials reminding of a country kitchen like wood and ceramic floors became the things of the past and were replaced with modern materials like metal or engineered surfaces. Apart from changes in materials and furniture, kitchen for the first time lost its position as a separate room with door. The 50s is the beginning of open kitchen overlooking the living room. Finally, kitchen lost its independence and become incorporated into the living room area.
Nowadays more than ever kitchen isn’t a separate room but an open space. Partly it’s the result of general trend on saving up on space. Modern apartments are becoming less and less. What’s important, is to accommodate as many apartments in the block as possible. Hence, the best solution to save up some space without any drastic damage is to incorporate kitchen into the living room. For some people it’s even better solution than separate room. In this way it’s easier to serve dinners and generally service your family and guests. To access the living room you no longer need to open the kitchen door, move all the way to the living room and open another door. Simply take what you need and put on the table which reaches to the living room.
Open kitchen – is there really a future
Although, open kitchen seems to dominate contemporary house design it doesn’t really mean it’s the only way to go and the only possible future. There are still traditional kitchens with separate spaces and door. To tell the truth, open kitchens have disadvantages as well. When it’s open there is no real place to peacefully prepare dinners. Some people need an air of intimacy when making meals and open kitchen where everybody can see them can be a huge problem. Hence, as architects try to meet their clients’ needs it’s rather impossible for traditional kitchens to suddenly disappear. This seems like a highly unlikely scenario.
