Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Kitchen Appliances
Top Ideabooks
Special Report: Kitchen News from Cologne
Blended Kitchen-Living Rooms, Super-Skinny Counters and Hidden Appliances Are Headed This Way
The German city of Cologne is rapidly becoming the place to watch when it comes to cutting-edge design. Last week I was honored to attend Cologne's 2011 Internationale Möbelmesse (IMM) design show. A highlight was a kitchen-specific section called the Living Kitchen — the largest kitchen design trade show I've ever attended. As somebody who's been to more kitchen design trade shows than I can count, that's saying something.
I was one of six U.S.-based design bloggers brought to IMM and the Living Kitchen by Blanco, a German sink and faucet manufacturer. What I saw is nothing like what I know is going on in the design scene in the U.S. As a kitchen and bath designer, I'm curious to see how quickly these trends and ideas end up in the U.S.
The photos in this ideabook are images I photographed as I walked around the show Jan. 20-21. There are also some show-provided images that help make the points my own photography can't.
As you look at the photos, resist the urge to reject the ideas outright. European kitchen designers are solving the same problems any designers are, but many of them come up with unique solutions that will end up being used by the rest of the world eventually. Can you see any of these designs working in your own home?
I was one of six U.S.-based design bloggers brought to IMM and the Living Kitchen by Blanco, a German sink and faucet manufacturer. What I saw is nothing like what I know is going on in the design scene in the U.S. As a kitchen and bath designer, I'm curious to see how quickly these trends and ideas end up in the U.S.
The photos in this ideabook are images I photographed as I walked around the show Jan. 20-21. There are also some show-provided images that help make the points my own photography can't.
As you look at the photos, resist the urge to reject the ideas outright. European kitchen designers are solving the same problems any designers are, but many of them come up with unique solutions that will end up being used by the rest of the world eventually. Can you see any of these designs working in your own home?
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Kitchens that integrate into the rest of the home are big — huge — in Europe right now. Every kitchen seemed designed specifically to blend into the rooms that surround it. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Can you see this level of kitchen integration ever working and becoming popular in the US and Canada? |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Without a doubt, the biggest trends I saw in Cologne last week were textured, naturally-stained wood and skinny, skinny counter tops. Count on that skinny counter top trend showing up in the US and the rest of the world very quickly.
In two solid days of walking around the show, I could have counted on one hand the number of 3-centimeter "American" counters I saw. There was very little granite but a lot of laminate and a porcelain counter material that's unavailable in North America. These 1-centimeter skinny counters stood out because they're in such stark opposition to what we see in the U.S. and Canada these days. What would it take to get you to embrace the 1-centimeter counter? |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This sink and faucet combo by Blanco shows something we never see in North America. This is a ceramic sink undermounted in a laminate counter.
The conventional wisdom in North America is that we can't undermount a sink in a laminate counter. European designers do it all the time, and it looks terrific. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Europeans use laminates in kitchens in ways their North American counterparts never would. It makes sense though. Laminates are sustainable and long-lasting and they look terrific when they're used properly.
The current European version of the Great American White Kitchen is a white-and-wood-tone laminated kitchen. What do you think of this white-and-wood-grain combo? |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Most European kitchen sinks have integrated drainboards. Drainboards are a a feature that's utterly missing from North American sinks. Why do you suppose that is?
This mirror-finish counter and integrated sink from Blanco is what's called a floating counter. In a floating counter, the 1-centimeter counter sits on a smaller deck to enhance the effect of the skinny counter. This is the exact opposite of everything we see in the U.S. right now. I applaud this direction and I wonder how it will play in this side of the Atlantic. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Another interesting think I noticed in Germany last week is that most kitchen sinks are drop-ins as opposed to the undermounts so popular in the U.S.
In looking at this photo, I see skinny counters, laminate surfaces and a drop-in sink. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Integration is the key to European kitchen design. Large, professional-size appliances were no where to be seen. Every appliance. it seemed, could be folded away and hidden when it wasn't being used. A lot of this comes from the smaller average size of a European home, but not all of it.
A bigger presence of integrated appliances is something I know we'll be seeing more of in North America. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The right wall of this kitchen vignette show sliding doors that make the working parts of this kitchen disappear when they're not in use. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| For every integrated kitchen design that included a kitchen table and a sofa, there was at least one that tried to fit against a wall and be beautiful for its own sake. A kitchen this minimal and streamlined is enough to make me want to purge all of my kitchen gear so that I could live with this small space. |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This kitchen covers all the bases, from the floating, skinny counters to the integrated appliances on the back wall.
The island in the center of the room is as much a coffee table as it is a kitchen island. Could you ever use an island like this? |
|
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This kitchen from the appliance manufacturer Gorenje integrates a refrigerator, two wall ovens, a steam oven, a microwave, a dishwasher, a cooktop and a hood. That's a lot of appliances, but this room doesn't feel at all appliance heavy. What do you think about this level of sleek and minimized appliance integration? |
by Paul Anater
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
What I found most interesting were the U.S. manufacturers who were at IMM's Living Kitchen and showing new appliances they don't sell in the U.S. This is a stack of built-in appliances from KiitchenAid, a brand made by the Whirlpool corporation. Shown here are a steam oven, a small dishwasher and a wall oven.
Can you see any of these trends ever making it on this side of the Atlantic? I'd welcome them, but then again, I'm a designer. I'm fascinated by all of this and I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the skinny counter on these shores. What about you?
More: The latest in furniture design from Cologne
Can you see any of these trends ever making it on this side of the Atlantic? I'd welcome them, but then again, I'm a designer. I'm fascinated by all of this and I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the skinny counter on these shores. What about you?
More: The latest in furniture design from Cologne
Ideabook updated on Jan. 27, 2011.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
That is a really interesting product from KitchenAid. I do not even know what a steam oven is, but I do believe the concept of that design is on to something!
Very intersting article as a designer who has worked in the USA and New Zealand and Australia. The intergrated living space has taken hold in both NZ and Aussie this involves opening up the rooms and blurring the lines .This is a reflextion of how we live and entertain in a more casual life style.
I have travel the Kitchen fair in Milan four times and been to KBIS twice and i feel the intergrated kitchen will become part of the America way of life in about 4-5 years.
On the West and East coasts it could take a lot longer int the Mid West where traditional Kitchens seam to be the way of life there.
I have a house featuring in New Home Trends out 8th Feb which blends the Traditional with a modern interior.
Love the images.
Mal
As for undermounting sinks into laminate tops we have been doing this for 30years down under.
Ther is some very clever design coming out of Australasia .
I go to a lot of trade shows, and I mean a lot. What I saw in Germany last week was unlike anything I have ever seen on this side of the Atlantic. I'm in Canada now, at another tradeshow, and I'm seeing a lot of what I saw in Germany. Next week finds me in Spain at yet another design tradeshow. By the time I get back to the US my head'll be ready to explode. I'll be sharing my findings here on Houzz so stay tuned.
I think for a lot of Americans, there are practical reasons to undermount sinks (easier to clean) and choose non-laminate counters (mine are currently sporting several burn marks.) As for integration, I think that's already a winner - "open concept" is repeated like a mantra, and has been for years. I'm not sure people even know what it means anymore.
To hide the appliance is a rather old trend, at least in Germany. It started with fridges, then came fully integrated dishwashers, and now it seems that even wall ovens are being hidden behind cabinet doors. That's only logical when you think about those kitchens that are completely integrated into the living area.
It is very interesting to see the difference, between the two continents, in every way (at least kitchen design wise).
Most (if not all) of these things are available already, to American consumers, via the different European manufacturers in the US (I know we have them all for a while now) and yet the American consumers take these looks and elements and insist on Americanizing them - they'll put clunky granite counters and enormous appliances, all over these slick kitchens and simply 'kill' the look they originally were drawn to...
I believe that the reason for all of the above is that when European clients shops for a new kitchen, they ask "show me what's new". The want to see the latest and greatest, so they can pick their new kitchen. Clients on this side of the pond usually know what they want before they start shopping and it is usually something resembling the kitchen they had at home, growing up... Even when they shop for a slick Euro kitchen, they must incorporate something old, something blue, something borrowed and very little new...
This was an eye opener and it will be interesting to see how all of that makes it's way over here.
keinnod
Also, I think North Americans would have a tough time converting to smaller appliances.
For those after a thin stone benchtop, here in Australia I've seen 20mm stone benchtops honed at the edge so that only 10mm is visible.
Loved your tour and thanks for sharing.
Thanks everybody for your feedback on this IdeaBook. While it's true that almost none of the things I saw will cross the Atlantic intact, it'll be interesting to see how they translate.
Elizabeth187: PLEASE post some photos, I'd love to see your kitchen.
@maison21 - perhaps it's worth looking at not using/creating so much grease and smoke in your kitchen! A diet rich in vegetables with incidental use of meat is very easy on the smells and production of grease....
something on my wave length- practical, space saving and smart-looking!