A cozy and versatile kitchen: a symphony of design and functionality.

A cozy and versatile kitchen: a symphony of design and functionality.

by | Aug 9, 2023 | IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN, KITCHEN, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT

Nestled within a verdant enclave away from the urban hustle, a welcoming and versatile kitchen comes to life in a perfect harmony of Oak, subtle gray, and thermotreated larch.

entrance functional kitchen

The Context and Colors

Inside a modern villa complex, the lush ambiance of tree-lined gardens and green hedges envelops this small oasis, located just steps away from the vibrant heart of Brescia. Here, nature takes center stage, with the greenery of the outdoor surroundings defining this tranquil haven.

As you step into the apartment, you’re immersed in a unique environment where design and nature blend seamlessly. The kitchen, with its well-defined rectangular layout, immediately captures attention with its Alpine green-toned flooring. This soft yet decisive hue establishes a visual and sensory connection with the green of the outdoor spaces.

Balancing the green, the walls are adorned with a delicate tortora gray. This shade is also chosen for the kitchen’s bases and columns, creating a visual continuity that embraces both the functional and aesthetic elements of the space.

Adding a touch of warmth, wood has been thoughtfully incorporated to provide a natural and welcoming feel. Natural Oak graces the overhead cabinets, kickboards, and side panels of the columns. It extends to the kitchen’s terminal and open shelving, as well as the side riser of the countertop.

Within this context, the kitchen becomes a symphonic composition of colors, materials, and shapes that combine to create a sense of balance and beauty.

front kitchen in oak

CHOICE OF MATERIALS

The softness and delicacy of Oak and lacquered MDF come to life in the front panels and vertical sides, enveloping the space in a cozy embrace. These noble materials not only provide a sense of warmth but also elegance.

A clever design choice resides in the internals of the cabinets and base units. Here, practicality and durability are paramount, leading to the selection of a textured laminate with a fabric-like effect. This material, in addition to offering high resistance to scratches and aggressive detergents, seamlessly blends with the external tortora hue, creating a visual equilibrium that extends from exterior to interior.

inside wall units
inside back of the kitchen

At the heart of functionality lies the countertop, crafted from white Krion, an advanced polymeric solid surface. Majestic in its simplicity, it proves virtually indestructible. Its resistance to impacts and chemicals surpasses that of natural stone, while its smooth and homogeneous surface is exceptionally easy to clean. Minimal maintenance and the ease of repairs transform the countertop into a long-term investment, in perfect alignment with the project’s sustainable approach.

To make the dining table the focal point of the kitchen, a different wood has been chosen – thermotreated larch. Its regular flame patterns and slightly darker tones infuse character and depth into the table, adding movement to its ample surface. This unique treatment endows the wood with natural beauty enriched by more pronounced shades, breaking its linearity and infusing it with a dynamic aura.

In another project, a thermotreated larch table graces a contemporary loft space.

Krion top
table in tehrmotreated larch

The Cozy and Versatile Kitchen

Space optimization is the defining feature of this kitchen, where every inch has been maximized to ensure functionality without compromising the overall design.

opening versatile kitchen

A prime example is the expanded depth of the kitchen, allowing for a rear kitchen area. Clad in Lacobel (back-painted glass), this space features five sliding doors. It emerges as a precious zone, with dedicated internal shelves providing storage for spices, small appliances, and essential food preparation tools.

The same added depth is found in the drawers of the base units, achieved through non-standard guides, resulting in expanded capacity for plates and pots. The lateral columns housing ovens and the refrigerator follow suit, offering even more usable space.

spice rack lacobel oak
deep taupe drawers

A practical addition to the niche is the equipped extension on the left side. This not only provides additional shelving for food storage but also hosts the dining table at rest.

This table is truly multifunctional, adapting to various needs. For daily use, it remains nested within the base. However, when the occasion calls for accommodating more diners, the table can be moved to the center, becoming the convivial heart of the kitchen.

Here’s another example of a retractable table.

central table kitchen

Completing the kitchen’s layout is an office module situated beside the entrance to the kitchen. With wooden central sections accommodating books and personal items, it strikes a harmonious balance between function and style. Swing doors offer additional storage spaces, thus rounding off the functional aspect of the entire room.

mobile office versatile
details wood
shelves detail
internal LED

CONCLUSION

In summary, this kitchen emerges as a harmonious symphony of intelligent design, exquisite materials, and functional solutions. Every corner has been crafted to maximize efficiency and comfort, without compromising aesthetics. The amalgamation of practical and versatile solutions renders the kitchen cozy and fitting for everyday life.

A Minimal Kitchen to optimize the living area

A Minimal Kitchen to optimize the living area

by | Jan 13, 2023 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, STYLE TIPS

To optimize the available space, in a small two-room apartment in Milan, we have created this minimal, discreet, bright and elegant kitchen.

Minimal white Kitchen

ALL LIVING ROOM

As we wrote in this article dedicated to the Kitchen Snack Table, in contemporary kitchens the living area and the kitchen increasingly merge into a single open space.
There are no more partitions even at the entrance to the apartments, the door opens and everything we can have in a Living area is revealed in front of us.
So the kitchen, dining area and living room become a single room, just like in this article dedicated to a functional kitchen.
To give harmony to this triptych, the kitchen must therefore lose its “operative” spirit by hiding ladles, pots and groceries and becoming a more discreet element, which is revealed only when necessary.
Much more storage space and doors closed from view, while maintaining everything needed to cook, serve and enjoy food.

minimal kitchen lateral
minimal kitchen lateral

​PHYSIOMY OF A MINIMAL KITCHEN

This kitchen, designed by Artecasa studio, optimize the most of the available space.
It develops in the niche of the side wall at the entrance with an equipped part and a front island that acts as an additional storage space and snack table for quick meals.
What can therefore be seen from the entrance are two horizontal gray stone floors, which develop parallel.

gray minimal kitchen countertops

In the equipped part in the niche there are all the appliances needed in a minimal kitchen: a refrigerator column, a dishwasher with a two-bowl sink, a hob with an oven and a tall microwave.
In the island, lots of storage space, drawers for cutlery, pots and crockery and the top that extends towards the living area becoming a snack top to accommodate at least 3 diners.

details drawers
The atmosphere is convivial, and the lights are skilfully designed to amplify this feeling of intimacy and warmth.
Three ceiling lights descend punctually on the Kitchen Snack Table, the backlit wall units remain at the service of the kitchen while a track with adjustable spotlights illuminates the relaxation area.
The colors are light and glow in the light from the large windows at the back of the room.
minimal kitchen lateral

On the ground a natural oak parquet that matches well with the gray veined stone chosen for the countertops and the back of the kitchen and the light-colored furniture.
Here another minimal Milanese kitchen with similar combinations.

The Kitchen Snack Table as an evolution of contemporary Cookery

The Kitchen Snack Table as an evolution of contemporary Cookery

by | Nov 21, 2022 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT

The Kitchen Snack Table has become increasingly common in contemporary cookery, representing an informal and multipurpose space. In addition to making the environment more convivial, it helps create a new hybrid connection between the kitchen and the living area.

A NEW WAY OF USING THE KITCHEN
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF KITCHEN SNACK TABLE
• INTEGRATED TO THE PENINSULA
• INTEGRATED INTO THE ISLAND
• IN SUPPORT
• SLIDING
THE KITCHEN SNACK TABLE IN CONCLUSION

 

A NEW WAY OF USING THE KITCHEN

In the last decade, the kitchen has consolidated its focal role within the domestic environment. Thanks to the multitude of television programs with starred chefs, the pleasure of cooking has been rediscovered, bringing the excellence of the Italian culinary tradition back into force. By virtue of this, more and more attention are paid to the functionality of the kitchen: storage, preparation, cooking and tasting become fundamental points in the act of cooking, each with its own needs and requirements.

Kitchens have evolved over time, marrying the idea of ​​open spaces in recent years, blending into the living area. By breaking down the canonical subdivision into closed environments, the sense of openness has also contributed to modifying the conformation of the kitchens. These have become more and more protagonists both in their island and peninsula arrangement, in which they accompany the conformation of the architectural structure. From this point of view, the kitchen snack table plays a fundamental role in the new vision of the living area, acting as a functional element of conviviality and a trait d’union between the two different areas.

By Kitchen Snack Table we mean any type of extension of the kitchen worktop, whether it is coplanar or overlapping the latter. Being a hybrid element of both the kitchen and the dining area, it allows the tasting of quick lunches and snacks without having to sit down at the dining table. At the same time, it remains at the service of a work surface during the preparation of meals.

Made in the same material as the top or in contrast with it with a different material, it is characterized by a sophisticated design. Dimensions and locations vary according to the structure of the kitchen and the importance one wishes to give to the element itself.

wasabi peninsula kitchen

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF KITCHEN SNACK TABLE

INTEGRATED TO THE PENINSULA

In the peninsula kitchen, the Snack Table has the same height as the worktop which is usually around 90cm and differs from the dining table which is 20cm lower. It is therefore necessary to use high or adjustable stools for a small number of diners, given the limited usable space.

In these examples of peninsula kitchens, the Snack Table is designed in the same material as the top to give a sense of visual continuity.

In this peninsula kitchen, the marble top stands out for its veins and elegance, becoming the undisputed protagonist of the environment. As such, it harmoniously embraces the development of the kitchen, declining towards the ground and restoring a sense of visual closure. In the second case, the worktop leaps towards the living area, supported by an anthracite gray painted iron structure with a linear aesthetic. The sense of openness created by this supporting structure allows maximum usability of this element.

lateral wasabi kitchen

peninsula kitchen in Wasabi marble with C-shaped snack top

peninsula gray snack table

peninsula kitchen in shades of gray


INTEGRATED INTO THE ISLAND

Born as a replica of an actual bar counter, it is in front of or to the side of the operational part of the kitchen, which very often incorporates the hob or sink. Usually shallow, no more than 30cm, it takes advantage of a small space both for support and for tasting. It can be raised above the kitchen top and made in a different material to create an interesting visual contrast. Here are two examples with a wooden top combined with a stone-effect kitchen top.

front dark kitchen

island kitchen with Lasa marble stoneware worktop and Snack worktop in dark wood

Bergamo apartment essential contemporary kitchen 01

island kitchen with gray stoneware top and oak snack top

In the island, the snack top can continue with the same material, providing only a useful support and workspace as in these two cases.

light island kitchen Snack Table

an ethereal white kitchen with a snack counter integrated into the parallel central island

gray white kitchen island

an elegant kitchen in light tones with a gray worktop and two side Snack Table

IN SUPPORT

The snack top can also be released from the island or peninsula and become an independent space for supporting or consuming quick meals. A singular element inside the kitchen, as in this case, where it becomes an additional surface for completing the kitchen on the wall.

kitchen with extended Snack Table

A disturbing architectural element, such as a pillar in the center of the kitchen, can integrate harmoniously by becoming a support for an additional snack top in the kitchen, as in this case.

kitchen with lateral Snack Table


SLIDING

The Slide Snack Table is a sliding support capable of hiding part of the kitchen by closing it in a solid and defenseless monolith. This, thanks to a mechanical movement, changes its development by stretching the lid outwards and making it become an unconventional support surface.

In this example, the whole island is clad in the same material, a dark emperador marble. When at rest, the structure appears fixed, while when it becomes operational, it shows the hob and the underlying materials, i.e. steel and ceramic glass.

island marble kitchen


THE KITCHEN SNACK TABLE IN CONCLUSION

We have seen how the island or peninsula of a kitchen can have a natural continuation of a multifunctional surface by becoming a Snack Table. A small but useful work surface that is used during the day for breakfasts and snacks. Or a sort of counter for quick lunches but also a support surface for enjoying aperitifs with friends.

In fact, the ritual of meals has lost its formality over time, becoming a moment to be optimized within the sometimes-hectic day. Therefore the snack top has become a fundamental element in the design of a contemporary kitchen.

AN OLIVE GREEN KITCHEN IN THE OROBIC PREALPS

AN OLIVE GREEN KITCHEN IN THE OROBIC PREALPS

by | Sep 9, 2022 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT

Immersed in the woods of the Seriana Valley, a splendid villa with panoramic views has renovated its interiors and the living area with a new olive-green kitchen.
Opening doors white kitchen with island

A FUNCTIONAL AND MODERN PROJECT

The heat of these summers has made us rediscover how beautiful, cool, and relaxing our second mountain homes are.
There has been a real repopulation of our Valleys and the trend is increasing.

After so many years living away from our second homes, however, we also want to return to live there by renovating them, to fully enjoy them.
The customers’ request was to have a new modern kitchen, open to the living room in a large, functional, and capacious Open Space.
A kitchen able to marry with some wooden elements already present in the house and with the new living area with fireplace in shades of gray.

Our interlocutors were not a single subject but several families who use this second mountain home, so we tried to satisfy all of them with a project in harmony with the context.

green and wood kitchen
detail of green door hollow handles
gas hob detail

THE KITCHEN PROJECT

Once the dividing wall was knocked down and the old access to the room closed, the kitchen had the opportunity to develop into a corner, right in front of the bright French window that overlooks the external panoramic terrace.


A first column volume on the left acts as a large pantry with shelves (useful for several users).
In the center and taking advantage of the corner, a hollow with low wall units houses the sink with drainer, the gas hob, and a good worktop.
The refrigerator column and the oven column with service doors in the upper part close the opposite corner.

green and wood kitchen
aventos detail
dish drainer detail

GREEN KITCHEN: HARMONY BETWEEN INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS

The materials and colors was chosen to follow both the trends we found at the Salone del Mobile and, on a conceptual level, the external environment. The predominant color of the kitchen is in fact a very delicate olive green, which recalls all the forest green that can be glimpsed from the window. The walls are also in the same color tone but in a lighter shade. The floor is made of oak planks and rises to become the same plinth of the entire kitchen. In addition to aesthetics, however, a certain degree of resistance was required, as the house is used by several families, so both doors and wall units are made of plastic bilaminate. As far as the oak essence bilaminate is concerned, we sought the closest color to the parquet, but we preferred to move it away from the floor in a more linear rhythm and without obvious knots. The top is in HPL, that is a compound of cellulosic fiber impregnated with thermosetting resins, practical and resistant. The finish of the top is in Cardoso stone, in shades of gray, which incorporates the other elements in the living room and its irregularity, and its marked veins make it very similar to the sandstone rocks of the Valley. Green, wood, and rock, these are the harmonic references that we have chosen as the common thread between inside and outside and the result is really satisfying. Here the link to another renovated mountain apartment.

Gray furniture for a masculine apartment

Gray furniture for a masculine apartment

by | Jul 8, 2022 | LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA, STYLE TIPS

Furniture in shades of gray is spread over the two levels of this modern apartment with a masculine imprint. From the bookcase on the ground floor to the walk-in closet in the sleeping area, the furnishings are developed in an elegant and delicate way. The dark-colored wood chosen for the parquet flooring matches the slate tiles that embrace the kitchen and bathroom areas from the internal staircase.

gray masculine apartment furniture

THE LIVING AREA MEETS THE ELEGANCE OF GREY FURNITURE

In a newly built residential context, this two-level apartment stands out in which the masculine imprint is elegantly softened by the choice of monochromatic furnishings. The floors show character in the combination of smoked oak parquet and slate-effect tiles. The floor is therefore dark, which is chromatically balanced by the walls that are tinged with white and the light furnishings that lighten and brighten the environment.

livingroom gray tones furniture

The lighting of the ground floor is combined with steps on the side of the staircase, these mark a luminous rhythm and accompany the upper floor. To embrace the living area, a full-height bookcase combines anthracite gray backs with light gray shelves in the same shade as the surrounding furniture. The anthracite gray that we find here in the lacquered shoulders can be replaced by black iron, as for example in this apartment with the same masculine soul.

bookshelf in dark gray masculine furniture
step marker
shelves detail

Neutral tones thus become the protagonists of a story that narrates elegance and freshness. Here are some other examples of furnishings in neutral colors. The sofa is a darker gray and moved by velvety fabric, which is positioned laterally at the entrance and hides a lateral extension to allow maximum comfort. Behind it, the stair handrail in anthracite gray painted metal matches the vertical shoulders of the bookcase positioned right in front.

sofa and stairs
velvet sofa detail

THE RECOVERED KITCHEN

The bioethanol fireplace, housed in an open plasterboard structure, acts as a fusion element between the living area and the kitchen. This, recovered from the previous house, is characterized by powder and wood tones and is combined with a rustic table with light aluminum chairs. The wood of the kitchen and of the table, which are a lighter tone than the floor of the living area, recall it on a material level and create continuity between the two areas.

kitchen powder and wood

THE BATHROOMS IN ANTHRACITE GRAY

Accessing the service bathroom, full-height matt white bilaminate cabinets act as a storage room organized into shelves, hangers and drawers. This light-colored anteroom creates a nice contrast and a clear break with the bathroom characterized by dark tones.

white anteroom
details anteroom

In fact, the anthracite tiles rise on the sides remaining at a height of 120cm and is combined with a bathroom cabinet in the same shade with a matte black back lacquered top. Particularly the chosen sink, in transparent glass, which seems to disappear and get lost between the tiles and the top.

service bathroom
detail sink

The second master bathroom, located on the upper floor, amplifies its masculine nature by completely covering the tiles in anthracite gray up to the ceiling beam. The bathroom is very dark but the large skylight on the ceiling perfectly illuminates the room from above. Here too there is a bathroom cabinet in shades, with the top in glossy back lacquered rather than opaque, which goes well with the reflections of the Globo ceramic sink.

master bathroom black furniture
bathroom tiles

FROM THE GRAY FURNITURE ON THE LOWER FLOOR TO THE BLACK AND WHITE CONTRASTS IN THE BEDROOM: A WALK-IN WARDROBE IN THE BEDROOM

Se il piano inferiore si impreziosisce di un arredamento sui toni neutri del grigio, If the lower floor is embellished with furniture in neutral shades of gray, the sleeping area is characterized by a more subdued contrast. The recurring theme of anthracite gray is still found in the small study corner, through a desk with a metal structure and a medium gray linoleum top. Here are some other examples of Smartworking corners where the working sphere is combined with a domestic environment.

bedroom and walk-in closet masculine furniture

Behind this, a walk-in closet develops at an angle creating a limited but at the same time functional environment. Inside the walk-in closet the hangers alternate in height while in the center a central chest of drawers with upper shelves remains available for all the folded items. On the side facing the bed, a small niche remains at the service and serves as an open bedside table useful for supporting small objects.

walk-in closet masculine furniture
inside walk-in closet
details walk-in closet