apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

"The car has ceased to be man's one and only toy."

Wow. Sexist much? I like the look of the kitchen, but not the marketing. I suppose I'm not the target audience though, what with my missing appendage.

See you there!

While the marketing is geared towards men, I think it go both ways so to speak.

Boffi and Minotti Cucina and even Bulthaup's new B1 line are other kitchens that are similarly designed as this one.

The idea of attaching overly masculine or feminine characteristcs to a kitchen is rather limiting in my mind. If I were to follow this mentality I would call them unisex. I see elegance, clean lines, simplicity, sexiness and mystique. These qualities could be found in an a man's suit or a woman's dress, in a car or even in a pair of eyewear.

I think it's smart marketing though. It's a new way of selling a product.

REAL MEN are capable of whipping up gourmet treats in a tiny apartment kitchen with 12" of counter space, armed only with a knife, a bowl, and a whisk.

But I'm amused as hell by the electronic door controls, as the husband is utterly incapable of closing cabinet or closet doors.

@wende in phoenix,

you may be on to something. Is there such a thing as automatic toilet seat closers?

If we're judging on aesthetics only, this setup is a beauty that Mies would have been happy to use.

If we're talking about utility, hey, I'm as macho as the next guy--assuming the next guy is Sean Hannity--but even I think drawers & drain stoppers that, somewhere along the line, depend on fossil fuels to function are pretty stupid. All I know is I've yet to see any of my pals swooning over mixers & toasters for their Big Boy kitchens. Maybe it's different in the neighborhoods where Mr. Heiler lives.

@art -- I'm sure there is, and I should award a small prize to the first person who can find it in AT's archives.

You're right, of course, about this being pure marketing. It'll be interesting to see if it's effective; in the past, these electronic showplaces haven't sold because the guys who want remote control for their every gadget also want to design it themselves so it's just right. (Or this could be like concept cars, where they don't expect to actually SELL any, but it draws attention to the brand.)

it's just that as a chick who digs this design, i instantly don't like it because of how they're marketing it. i would be impressed if they considered it UNISEX kitchens - nothing overly frilly and decorative, and it incorporates modern technology for the fun of it.

doesn't that sound so much better??

DWR has been doing the same thing more tastefully for awhile - sometimes treating classic designs as examples of "German Engineering" that are less of an investment than an Audi or BMW. A little bit of this has crept into Men's Health and Esquire, too...
The set designer for the Friends spin-off Joey said he wanted Joey's apartment to look like "he'd gotten ahold of the Design Within Reach catalog". As though DWR were a slightly more sophisticated version of The Shaprper Image, appealing to the same guys.