Over the holidays, I decided to renew the painted finish on our modest showroom’s concrete floor. After almost 13 years of wear, it was overdue. So I moved the workstations (most of our independent pieces of Kitchen Workstation Furniture are on wheels) from one side of the 20’ x 26’ room to the other side and back again to clear each half of the room for painting. When it was all done, and everything was back in its place, the room was as fresh as its initial debut.
But I realized that it wasn’t just the paint that made it fresh. It was the initial, classic design of the workstations that has enabled the showroom to endure all these years of changing trends. Each piece of finely crafted furniture, featuring a blend of natural materials and extreme functionality is as beautiful and relevant today as when they were created. It was one of my goals to create timeless, sculptural pieces that would endure any design trend that came along. Hiding all the hi-tech appliances was key to preserve the character of each piece, but the beauty is attributed to the wood grains, stone countertops and proportions of the pieces themselves and how they relate to each other. No picture tells this story, you’ve got to stand among the workstations to see these attributes.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am still surprised at how I react every time I walk into the showroom. I almost want to hug one piece or another because they are so unique and work so well. I can still see that though the whole design world is so enamored with stainless steel appliances, continuous countertops and room height top cabinetry, the workstations in our humble showroom still offer such a refreshingly unique alternative.
Today, when the buzz word ‘Green’ promotes renewable resources and energy efficiency, the workstation concept continues to allow homes to become smaller, saving raw building materials and energy, and that is the single most ‘green’ idea there is. The ‘non-kitcheny’ look of our workstations promotes smaller, cozier, multi-purpose living rooms, eliminating the square footage of single function rooms by allowing the kitchen to become both formal and informal at once.
Even now, after the introduction of our Stealth and Mini-Kitchen lines, our showroom is as valid as ever. Our newest line of Stealth Kitchen Modules is based on the best efficiency and appliance hiding ideas that have made our furniture pieces relevant for so long. Our new Stealth line will show how built-in kitchens can blend into multi-purpose rooms by hiding ALL of the functions of a kitchen. All of the appliances (large, small, hot and cold), countertops, sink areas and storage systems can be concealed behind door and drawer panels that can blend into any room’s décor. Extreme minimalism as well as period styles can be achieved like never before. A Module kitchen can even completely disappear behind Trompe l’oeil paintings on the door and drawer panels. The Modules can even become the discreet background for our island furniture pieces or other custom sculptural islands!
Since our workstations are made to heirloom quality standards, it is important for them to have timeless styling so they can weather the passing trends as well as blend into more (or less) ornate room styles that surround them. If we had created pieces that emulated any of the trends that have passed by recently, our pieces would already be dated and irrelevant. And if that had happened, perhaps they just wouldn’t get as many imaginary hugs from me.
