Kitchen Culture

Johnny Grey is a leader in the field of kitchen and home design. An architect by background he has been called the World's best Kitchen designer and celebrated by in the media by House and Garden magazine, Met Home, New York Times and countless others. After spending twenty years designing kitchens in the UK, America and Europe, he has developed a following as an original designer and trend setter. He has been responsible for developing the "Unfitted Kitchen" and for steering us towards new thinking with concepts such as soft geometry and dedicated work areas. In this new book he takes the kitchen one stage further by looking at the future through the prism of his work over the last seven years. He provides practical advice, plenty of new thinking and offers visually rich examples of how to create wonderful kitchens with the shell of your own home. He lives in West Sussex, UK with his wife and four children and works from his studio with a team of skilled designers and travels regularly to San Francisco where he has a showroom and design studio.

6 Foreword by Alice Waters; 7 Introduction by Johnny Grey; 8 Chaper One: Kitchen Culture - Reinventing Home Space; 10 History of the kitchen - Historical role models; 12 The Experience of Space - Social use of space; 14 Food and Foreign Influences - The rituals of mealtimes revisited; Something of the cafe culture at home; Food, travelling and cookbooks; 16 New Life in the kitchen 'Slow food' and family culture; 18 The Psychology of Kitchen Culture - Personal psychology, social prestige, media impact, appliance icons; 20 The Cooking Business - Ergonomic comfort; More leisure time to share in the kitchen; The role of design; 22 Influencing design in different ways - How environment intercepts our moods;Design and hospitality: examples of restaurants as mood enhancers; 24 The Kitchen of the Future; 26 Chapter Two: Kitchen Design explored in a real context; (each kitchen design story comprises an architectural plan and loose line artwork sketches); 28 Design 1: Good use of light; 36 Design 2: Space: dissolving boundaries; 44 Design 3: Soft geometry; 50 Design 4: New materials in sympathy with a traditional setting; 58 Design 5: Accommodating kitchen traffic flow; 66 Design 6: The unfitted kitchen in a new build; 72 Design 7: Fitting a kitchen within a small space; 78 Design 8: Releasing design energy in a large space; 86 Chapter Three: Communicating between space and people; 88 Design 9: Creating the right atmosphere; 94 Design 10: Mixing international influences; 100 Design 11: A sense of place: how the outside affects kitchen design; 106 Design 12: Taking on a challenging design; 113 Design 13: Using modern and traditional sources; 122 Design 14: Conveying self-expression through design; 130 Design 15: Design eccentricity; 138 Chapter Four: Kitchen Works - design analysis; 140 Working up the design; 142 Lore of basic measurements (Loose line artwork); 144 Body ergonomics; 146 Soft geometry; 148 Style and aesthetics - design details (cabinetry, marquetry); 150 Style and aesthetics - design details (pan racks, plate racks, handles); 152 Style and Aesthetics - design details (countertops, paint finishes, flooring); 154 Planning for sociability; 156 Unfitted kitchens; 158 Design for cooking; 160 Furniture as design tool; 162 Storage; 164 Small kitchens; 166 Appliances and new technology; 168 Maintenance of the kitchen - durability of materials; 170 Chapter Five: Whole Environment - Architectural opportunities; 172 The purpose and definition of a room; 174 Home extensions; 176 Removing walls; 178 The architecture of light; 180 Lighting design; 182 Further reading; 183 Suppliers, manufacturers and artisans; 188 Index; 192 Acknowledgements