The kitchen has greatly evolved over the decades. The Billy Joel music video for his song, We Didn’t Start the Fire, uses various kitchen cabinet styles depicting each decade referenced by the lyrics. Cabinet door designs and colors have drastically changed over the years. The purpose a kitchen served in a home has evolved over the years.
The kitchen used to be the room occupied by the wife and mom of the household. In the old days, ads always showed a lady with an apron serving her family. This marketing reflected what took place in most homes – the family would enter the kitchen just to satisfy their hunger. Fashion did not play much of a role for the room where the family dinner was prepared. Most of the time the kitchen was closed off by doors from the rest of the home. The meal was stored and prepared in this area of the home but much else didn’t occur beyond those activities.
Today the kitchen is the nucleus of the home. The activities that take place in a kitchen go far beyond just eating. Many households have opened the rest of the home to the kitchen. Walls are taken down allowing the kitchen style and colors to radiate throughout the home. This approach now forces the feel of the kitchen – transitional, modern, traditional, etc. – to become that of the home. The kitchen now influences everything about the home.
A well-executed design of the space can also allow the kitchen to serve as a family meeting place, a work environment, a fun space, and so much more. Kids can do homework while dad cooks dinner and mom is on a video call for work. It’s the place where you grab a quick breakfast on the way out the door and it’s the spot where you end your day with a glass of wine. One would think that opening a space up so much would scatter the members of the family. Instead, the kitchen has become the space where we gather.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Jimmy Gavalas
The Kitchen Cabinet Guy
Atlantis Kitchens
