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Donald Silvers discusses Kitchen Form and Function
This was not always the case. In years past, designers and cabinetmakers who designed kitchens were virtually unknown, since the builder or contractor was responsible for creating the kitchen and its cabinets, and often brought to the kitchen the same economy of means with which he or she built the rest of the house. For example, a ceiling height of 8 feet and three studs spaced 16 inches apart created the need for large quantities of plywood. The builder or contractor felt it was economically sound to use leftover plywood for kitchen cabinets so there would be no waste. The base cabinets were 22 inches deep and the wall cabinets were 11 to 12 inches deep. These cabinets - really just running shelves with doors - stubbornly resisted any form of change; base cabinets didn't change to a 24-inch depth until the development of dishwashers made it necessary.
Now the cabinetmaker can incorporate the newest of accessories the designer has specified, thereby making the cooks life a delight, fun, and of course, much easier. For example, there are drawers and roll-outs with hardware that gives the cook fingertip control, pantries that are only a foot wide yet 84 inches tall, providing enormous storage when pulled out of a wall cabinet with ease. More and more, the kitchen designer of today is drawing on the past and the present to create a future kitchen environment that looks and cooks beautifully. |
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In my work as a kitchen
designer, I am continually juggling two requirements: creating
spaces that are both wonderful to look at and a pleasure to work in.
Form and function must work in tandem.
In the
kitchen environment of today, designing and building kitchens is
much more than a way of recycling leftover homebuilding materials.
To create eye-catching residential kitchens, today's designers have
taken a cue from the extraordinary work of cabinetmakers. The
different woods and finishes that make up the cabinetmaker's palette
provide the freedom to conjure up any style. With his tools, the
cabinetmaker might carve cherry or oak woods, creating French or
English Country cabinets, or in the richness of walnut, or an Art
Nouveau, Victorian, or Early American look in a variety of woods -
pine, ash, maple, or mahogany, to name a few. The cabinetmaker might
even work with laminates, putting at his disposal the entire color
spectrum. And let's not forget the stains that produce an array of
hues and patinas. The range of choices is breathtaking. 
