What we have been through the past and have spent some time in the present. My next few articles will deal with the kitchen of the future. Most of what a kitchen is has to do with storage. Over the last fifty to seventy five years it is storage that has really changed the most. Consider that the refrigerator has evolved from the lowly icebox and that our shopping has evolved from daily to weekly or even biweekly, and you will get the picture.
Cooking hasn’t really changed in the general sense but in terms of the microwave, defrosting and warming up leftovers has certainly advanced. I am not totally convinced that a great percentage of the population uses the microwave oven to actually cook whole dinners but I’m open to discussion. Also, if you consider the Aga oven, it may seem like time has stood still for decades as far as cooking is concerned.Over the next few weeks I will consider all areas of the kitchen of the future. I will also illustrate some of the dreams of the future from past generations and we can figure out together which ones actually made sense.
We can also take a look at trends in the way food is transported into the home, as well as the types of food that is consumed.
What does all of this have to do with Kitchen Design? Well, a kitchen is, in it’s simplest form, a room where food is prepared. In it’s most elegant form, it is the centre of the home, the command centre where all action in the modern family is planned. The way food is prepared and the way in which it is stored combine to give the designer a basis on which to plan his design.
Since I’m always hoping for some interaction with my readers, I will again ask you for your input. What do you think the kitchen of the future will resemble? Will it be a molecular re- assembler like something from Star Trek, where a cheeseburger is ‘created’ from chemicalsand elements stored in a computer? Or will it be a simpler or more complicated version of what we have today? There have been many innovations that have come and gone in the past. Do you remember some that you would like to share with everyone else? Let me know, please.
