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For some, kitchens are to be shown off, with vast stoves and the latest gleaming gadgets on display. But for others, the open-plan integration of living room and kitchen is carving a new niche, with cooking spaces that are dramatically dialled down. In some cases, these kitchens are almost invisible.
Copenhagen-based Garde Hvalsøe creates cabinets that look more like artisanal chests of drawers than practical kitchen units. With detailed joinery in oak, ash and Douglas fir, they are “built to last and age gracefully”, says chief executive Søren Lundh Aagaard, “steering clear of fleeting kitchen trends”. Its OEO range, inspired by Japanese craftsmanship, is fronted with vertical wood slats; for a project in Aarhus, Denmark, the company created slim smoked oak-base units that were hung from the wall rather than rising from the floor. A sideboard, essentially, but with plumbing and a hob.
Similarly, plinthless islands manage to conceal plumbing and wiring. A nightmare for your builder, perhaps, but very easy on the eyes. Customers include architects, designers and artists from Tokyo to Nairobi.
“The trend now is also to hide small appliances — toasters, mixers and coffeemakers — in ‘appliance garages’: floor-to-ceiling cabinets that blend seamlessly with walls or flooring,” says architect Nadia Palacios Lauterbach, of Nadia Palacios Residential Design, based in Texas. In a recent local project the company created a special door to hide a toaster beside the sink. “All the appliances are concealed behind panelling, to make the space feel as tidy — and therefore minimalist — as possible,” says Palacios Lauterbach.
“Kitchen design has evolved towards seamless integration with adjacent living spaces,” says Sarah Brady, founder and principal designer of Salt Design Company, based in New Jersey. In her own home she hid appliances and prep space in a scullery.
“Push-to-open cabinets, single shelves and concealed storage contribute to an uninterrupted visual flow, making the kitchen feel less utilitarian and more like an extension of the home’s overall architecture,” she adds. It’s an extension of hardware and inbuilt appliances being “designed to recede rather than stand out”: take boiling water taps dispensing with the need for kettles cluttering up worktops, and extractor fans integrated into hobs. Gaggenau’s new Essential Induction cooktop can even heat pans from beneath a Dekton worktop surface, so the only thing you see is the control knob (a small light glowing through the countertop indicates when it’s on).
Designers are taking things further still, concealing sinks, hobs, worktops — or the entire kitchen — behind retractable sliding doors or shutters. Christian Bense is an advocate of the “anti-kitchen”. In one of his projects in London, instead of allowing the kitchen to dominate one side of the compact open-plan layout, he concealed its glossy teal units and granite counter behind dark wood folding doors. “When closed, the space reads like a panelled wall rather than typical kitchen joinery,” he says.
But with aesthetics taking priority over practicality, can you still do some heavy-duty cooking in them? “It is entirely possible to prepare meals in a minimalist kitchen,” laughs Palacios Lauterbach. “They may look simple, but they are highly efficient.” Garde Hvalsøe has fitted out the homes of chefs, as well as installing oak and copper units with exposed finger jointing for the open kitchen of Michelin-starred restaurant Kadeau in Copenhagen.
“The success of such a kitchen comes down to balancing aesthetics with usability,” says Brady, citing hidden prep stations, deep drawers instead of upper cabinets, and streamlined pullout features such as spice drawers and concealed paper towel holders mounted just below the countertop. “When done right, these kitchens can offer both beauty and efficiency, enhancing the cooking experience rather than hindering it.”
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