The kitchen is the backbone of any household, it is an essential part of everyday living. It is the place for cooking and dining, as well as gathering and connecting. One can even say that: a house without a kitchen is not a home. So no wonder we put so much effort into planning and building a perfect kitchen. However, that task is challenging because it consists of the careful balancing of functionality and style. To make your planning a little less scary and more manageable, we are going to present some basic issues and the relation between the design and the idea of a kitchen.
Image courtesy of PixaBay.com
Is It Just Food?
First of all, let’s establish the basics: what is the kitchen used for? Storing food, storing kitchen utensils, preparing meals and in some cases consuming food. So our goal here is to make functional space but still maintain a vibrant style. What about consuming food? It may seem obvious, but let us try to delve deeper into the meaning of consuming food. Of Course, we are eating to satisfy nutritional needs and to survive, but is that all? We also eat food because it tastes good, so there is a sensual pleasure. The third benefit is enjoying food with others, a social meal. Whether you are eating with friends, family or coworkers: eating and preparing meals in a group has a multitude of benefits.
Benefits Of Social Dining
(and group preparation of the meal)
- Physically it is much healthier to eat in a group. A good company gives us a specific emotional state that helps our digestion process, and indirectly it makes us choose healthier food. For example, when we plan meals for our loved ones we tend to put more thought into it, more than we would if it were a meal for one. If we think about our meals we can make them tasty and healthy at the same time.
- People who eat in groups gain more from the mental benefits of eating than ones that eat alone. From the old religious rituals to modern family dinners societies utilized the powers of social dining. The same goes for preparing meals together. It is not just time to eat but also time to take a break and to clear the mind. The atmosphere that is created while eating food and talking to each other can set the mood for the whole day. If done right, it is a healthy ritual that makes us happier, so try to leave distressing issues at the kitchen door.
- It brings people together. Social dining is one of the best ways to bond with people, it creates trust between people and deepens the relationship. Also, preparing meals together makes us better team players, and it grants us a sense of community. So how can we arrange the kitchen so it better suits our collective cooking?
Inverting The Kitchen!
If we put socializing as our priority in designing our kitchen we must put away our preconceived notions of what the kitchen looks like. The kitchen is embedded in our everyday life, so by changing it, we are also changing our way of life. First of all, we must end the alienating element of facing the wall when using a work surface for cutting or cooking on the stove. Most kitchens have stoves put against the wall, or even in the corner. We must invert the kitchen so we face each other while cooking. Put the stove in the center of the kitchen! Put the refrigerator, shelves, and cupboards against the wall and place a large table in the middle. That way all the people are facing each other (like they would if they sat at the dining table) while preparing the meal. The center table can be a work surface, a cutting board, a stove, a serving table, all at the same time. Classical stoves are not designed to fit in the center of the room but you can use some more efficient and modern solutions like induction burners. Designing the kitchen in this manner will enable you and your guest or family to share the experience of cooking.
Image courtesy of pexels.com
Final Thoughts
We can see that the idea of a kitchen has many aspects to it, in one way it is a mundane thing but in the other, it has a deeper meaning. This text is just a guideline, an inspiration, essential information that connects the meaning of a kitchen with its design. The rest is up to you. You can now play with different concepts and ideas, and don’t forget to tell your guests to turn off their phones.
Sources:
https://pixabay.com/photos/floor-plan-blueprint-house-home-1474454/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-and-women-standing-infront-of-dining-table-1655329/
