Space Time
Form and function coexist in kitchens from tiny to expansive.
The Klein A45 tiny house, by BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group, represents the best of Nordic design, distilled down to its essence. Based on a traditional A-frame, the house can be customized and assembled in four to six months. The kitchen includes a sink with faucet by VOLA through Hastings Tile & Bath, and a range by Gaggenau.
No matter how beautiful it is, a kitchen is really only as good as it is useful. In some rooms, function can be sacrificed for spectacular form, but not so in the kitchen. But that design restriction doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to devote maximum square footage to the busiest room in the house. The tiniest kitchen can still provide functionality perfect for the space it lives in. Likewise, expansive square footage might not make a workspace more functional, just bigger. In a large kitchen, more counter real estate can be had, but even in small quarters, strategically placed appliances, countertops, and cabinetry make all the difference.
When it comes to the kitchen, size doesn’t matter as much as good, logical design.
This contemporary kitchen in Austria, by Foley & Cox, is kitted out with modern technology. Miele wall ovens and a Gaggenau induction cooktop blend beautifully with the blonde, untreated wood cabinetry. A futuristic ceiling fixture by Luke Lamp Co. provides illumination.
Left: Designer Christa O’Leary created a beautiful bar, adjacent to the kitchen, that is small in size but big on style. Beverage cooler by JennAir, faucets by Kohler through Ferguson. Right: Designer Julie Dodson worked with Eggersmann designer Micky Nguyen to renovate this kitchen in Austin, Texas, giving it more storage, but keeping a streamlined, modern look. Microwave by Wolf.
“You know you have reached perfection of design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away.”
In this BT45 XS kitchen, the ceramic basalt gray, leather-finished island top creates the ambiance of a modern bar, while the pocket-door system provides the ability to keep counter space free of clutter.
For a modern apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, designer West Chin of West Chin Architects & Interior Designers, created a loft-like kitchen filled with spectacular architectural details. A staircase, cantilevered from the kitchen wall, rises magically and, on the other side of the room, a bronze feature wall divides the prep and dining areas. Chin wanted a clean, spare look for the kitchen, to accent the open-plan space. Appliances by Gaggenau fit perfectly with the modern aesthetic.