apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I hope this fashion of islands and bars will not last long. Doesn't anybody have a kitchen table any more? We were lucky to find an unrenovated house so we don't have to live with granite countertops (cold and hard), stainless steel (very practical for a mortuary), stone paving, etc., some people's ideas of coziness.

Frameless cabinets have been around in Europe since post-WWII and in the US since the 1970's...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frameless_construction

...nothing new here.

This type of kitchen is design is for the non cook. It says I do a lot of take out, my most desired instrument is the mircowave and when I have people over it is catered or potluck and then I have an army of little people in white jackets following after me cleaning.

I love to cook and do so often. I have a white ikea kitchen that I try to keep tidy. I don't like or have a "bar" or an island, but I do have both granite and stainless countertops in my small galley kitchen because they clean easily and don't hide crumbs or absorb moisture. My microwave is for popcorn. I don't think my space is cold or impractical, I don't order in and I do try to keep my white jacketed cleaning minions to a minimum. I don't think that having a messy country kitchen is the mark of a committed chef. I'm just sayin'... And I do like some of the kitchens above.

Bar counters have been popular in kitchens since the 1950's, and islands have been widespread since the 1980s, so I don't think that they can be described as "fashions" any longer.

I don't understand the dislike for bars and counters expressed here... Personally, I hate cooking while facing a wall -- I find it boring, deadening, and unsocial (turning your back to the action generally is). As well, it is so much easier and more fun to cook with kids when you have an island.

Our rental here in Switzerland has a kitchen table, and just one strip for cooking -- it's horrible. Because of the kitchen table, I have a scant 18" of shallow counter space in which to work. Kitchen tables are just the wrong height to use while you are standing, and so that just leaves sitting, which only seems appropriate if you are shelling lots of peas, or peeling bags of potatoes.

I'm really not understanding what an "unframed kitchen" is. I don't see any difference between the photos and any kitchen I've ever had.

Yes, it really is a trial living with cold granite countertops and mortuary-like stainless steel. I just try to cope as best I can.

Jooly -- framed cabinets are where you can actually see the front of the cabinet box (ie the portion the door sits on) behind the door when the door is shut. The doors don't touch. So unframed is the opposite of that, where the doors are the only portion of the cabinet that you see on the front. It has been incredibly popular for years, so you've porbably had it in most of your kitchens.

"I'm really not understanding what an "unframed kitchen" is. I don't see any difference between the photos and any kitchen I've ever had."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_frame

Amen, bepsf. Anyone with an IKEA kitchen has frameless cabinets. Nothing new.

why would that be a kitchen for people who do not cook? :-D actually, an island with a stove is a lot more conmmunicative when you are cooking.

some of the above examples are too "cold" for my taste, but as they are catalogue or showroom ones, that is to be expected. i like the clear lines.