Gone are the days when the kitchen in the house was a walled off area filled with dust, grime and the leftovers of dinner parties. The modernistic kitchens are more about creating a space where people can gather around rather than simply having meals. These kitchens focus more on integrating the essential cooking and storage activities with other family activities in a single, large living space. Days are over we used to call it the great room kitchen or the eat-in-kitchen. Today, we are ready to call it the live-in kitchen.
The Floating Approach
The newer age kitchens do not enclose within walls. Rather, they have crossed boundaries and connected to activity centers and family gathering areas in the household. Professional space planners today, also emphasize on the need to move the kitchen out of the corner and place it in the center of a larger living space, a concept they call the “Floating Approach.”
This floating approach would enable the kitchen to become a center of other activities rather than just cooking. These activities occur either in the food-focused spaces or along their perimeter. Whichever be the case, the floating kitchen concept would allow the kitchen to be more open and welcome for everyone in the house rather than the person cooking the dishes. Here are some contemporary live-in kitchen concepts to look at:
Concept by Lisiane Scardoelli and Joao Pedro Crescente
Interior designers Joao Pedro Crescente and Lisiane Scardoelli displayed their amazing live in kitchen concept at the 2013 Mostra Casa and Cia interior design exhibition. The kitchen starts with a space defined by two volumes, a dark volume and a lighter silver one. The dark gray volume acts like a monolith, which highlights the individual functions and appliances of the kitchen as well as the apartment’s service entrance and seating area. The silver volume on the other hand acts as a floating body extending throughout the room with metal surfaces adding a daring lightness to the space.
The live in kitchen concept showcased by the designers has two separate entrances. While one is embossed through the bar, another one looks like a tunnel carved directly into the furniture. Fun elements lighten up the room while the kitchen equipment is arranged carefully to maximize space. The seating area is highlighted using neon art and LED lighting. A contemporary canvas by renowned artist Lou Borghetti also highlights the entrance to the kitchen, adding more flair to the entire look.
Modern farmhouse Project
The modern farmhouse live in kitchen concept comes with a kitchen that beautifully blends in with the living room while maintaining its own aesthetic appeal. The kitchen is fitted with dark wooden beams and a wooden ceiling for a laid-back country look, while the living room right next to it features lighter color. Common flooring between both rooms enables the kitchen to flow right into the living space. The kitchen bar serves to act as a common area for both meals and other family activities. The use of ample cabinets in the kitchen enables one to store all the appliances away, thereby achieving a minimalistic, clutter free look.
Breezy Brentwood Project
Another contemporary live in project titled the Breezy Brentwood Project has the kitchen and living room sharing the same space again. The open plan carries the same colored paint throughout and is light and airy throughout. The wide use of cabinetry again enables one to hide away appliances for a clutter free look. The kitchen island featuring a white base flanked by a dark wooden tabletop and accessorized by quaint bar stools is the perfect place for meals and family gatherings.
Summary
A contemporary live-in kitchen would enable one to opt for an open plan that would seamlessly integrate the kitchen with the rest of the home. These ideas are some of the popular live-in kitchen concepts we have come across so far. You can either choose from them or opt for your own custom designed live-in kitchen.
