‘The Kitchen’: the heart of the home. For centuries the kitchen has been the source of all mankind’s joy (food that is), but recently it has taken on a far greater role in our daily lives. No longer just a place for our cherished home cooking, but more so a hub for entertaining. More and more homeowners are opting to transform their culinary chambers into opened-up lavish living spaces, complete with all the bells and whistles. We got in touch with one of Dorset’s leading independent kitchen designers to find out what is on trend for this and the coming year…
Since being established in 1987, the company has evolved enormously to meet the needs of their customers. What’s on trend in the world of interior design is constantly changing, both aesthetically and equally in terms of technology. Just look at the evolution of the stove: once a gas-burning ring, now almost 80% of hobs sold are induction. It’s an incredibly innovative industry in some senses and in others a wonderful homage to pure craftsmanship. Whilst catching up with Gary, he mentioned on several occasions that he took a lot of his influences from overseas – particularly from our German cousins.
“The kitchen market in Germany is huge. The scale of it is unbelievable”, Gary remarked. He went on to describe a state of the art showroom he had visited previously, which was three stories high, with well over eighty different show kitchens on display. Gary regularly visits Germany (as well as other European countries) to cultivate fresh and original products for his showroom. After all, who doesn’t love having visitors ooh and ahh over your beautiful home, beginning the question “where did you get that?”
“So much in this world is ‘virtual’ but what we do is actual. It’s a product you can fully enjoy on a daily basis and that’s worth investing in.”
I rather admired Gary’s dedication to originality. He isn’t sat flicking through catalogues heartlessly selecting a few new models for the showroom. He’s putting his heart and soul into his business by traveling overseas for research and it really shows in the vast and unique range of products that Kitchen House offer. I for one love independent businesses! I love the energy and individuality that they bring to over saturated commercial industries. They aren’t bound by the rules of an authoritarian head office, which for us customers means opening the door to a world of brand new options; things you probably would never have considered, if you’d visited a chain store.
As the interview continued Gary explained the coming ‘kitchen trends’ for the later part of this year, come the next. He explained, “Most people are extending their homes into these big open plan areas”. This interesting development is one of, if not the, reason for the extinction of the dining room and moreover, the evolution of the ‘island’ as a pinnacle part of the kitchen. Dining is far less formal than it used to be (at least at home anyway) and whether you like it or not you cannot deny the fact that the once treasured ‘dining table’, is becoming obsolete. It seems that the majority of people are investing more time and money into creating a less formal, more open eating space. It’s actually quite fascinating once you delve into the potential reasons why, but I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions. The point is, people are getting really creative when it comes to designing such a space and Kitchen House are extremely obliging when it comes to big ideas.
Ordinarily you might not get overly excited about a worktop, but when Gary went on to explain some of the new materials coming in, I suddenly wanted to buy up the lot. “Mixing up different textures and materials is also huge right now”, he added. Word on the interior design street is that we’ll be seeing a lot more concrete and metals, aiming for a kind of ‘industrial-lux’.
I managed to get a sneak peak at some samples and may I just say WOW! I can honestly say I haven’t seen anything like this in any of the main chains either. Rich brown (almost black) oak, ‘set lava’ surfaces with flecks of bronze – the entire range of worktops and doors were stunning! But it really is something to see with your own eyes.
Kitchen House’s slogan is: ‘Designers and suppliers of the ‘WOW’ factor’, and I can easily see why. Nothing they do is done in half measures and no two projects are the same.
I couldn’t help but ask the age-old question, ‘what makes you guys unique?’ to which Gary replied with, “People visit the high-street traders to begin with, for some initial research. They tend to gather three or so quotes and then come to us with their ideas. What we tend to find is that the high-street stores try and quash their ideas and go for the easier option. Whereas we are more likely to opt for a design that is likely to be more work for us, but will produce a far superior result”
Thinking about re-doing your kitchen? Bring us any competitor quotes and we’ll give you a FREE bottle of wine! (Something to open when your dream kitchen is completed).
If you’re planning a kitchen refurbishment in the near future, I simply can’t recommend Kitchen House enough. I was blown away by their range of products, their keen eye for detail and most of all their passion for truly stunning kitchen design.
By Charlotte Williams
Get in touch
a. 116-118 Castle Lane West, Bournemouth, BH9 3JU
t. 01202 546546
e. sales@kitchenhouse.co.uk
w. www.kitchenhouse.co.uk
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