Well, I sure hope you have been following along in this wonderful showcase of the 2007 NKBA Design Competition finalistsfor 2007 in a variety of categories. There are probably two or three small categories to come after this one.
Open plan kitchens have been a fixture now, at least in my design practice, for quite some time. The early thinking at the time this trend started, was that the family could be in closer contact with one another, ending so many decades of the kitchen being isolated, cut off from other parts of the home. It was a concept that was very well received, particularly as we moved into a more casual way of life in our homes, households becoming much busier, and so on, and walls continue to be torn down today, as a result of this thinking, still very much a factor in kitchen design.
Not everyone wants an open plan kitchen. I don't have one, nor did I feel the need for one. Yet, I still wanted my kitchen to reflect what was happening in the rest of my home and incorporate "living room" features into my kitchen, which make me very very happy to be there.
We have seen kitchens, whether they are closed off or open, become more integrated into the decorative theme, including detailing, of the home. I see that moving even more in this direction, which I think is very exciting, and I'll talk about that another time. I got a bit carried away thinking about open plan kitchens! Enjoy!
