Dishing the Dirt

Whilst we all love welcoming our friends and families into our homes, we can probably all agree that stress levels tend to increase in the hours before their arrival as we strive to pull off the impossible: a perfectly tidy home which has played host to the creation of delicious food without the slightest hint that a pan has boiled over.

And that’s exactly why the “dirty kitchen” is one of the newest trends to be sweeping the design world. It sounds rather revolting but it’s actually quite the reverse – a functional space designed for food preparation, storage and cleaning where pots, pans and mess can be kept out of sight.

Here are three of our favourites from our showrooms and clients’ homes.

Picture Perfect Party Prep

These clients love entertaining and were looking for a second kitchen for their large family home which would enable them to use their original kitchen (also by Rencraft) as a ‘living kitchen’ to entertain and relax in, while this second ‘chef’s kitchen’ would be devoted to food storage and meal preparation.

They were keen to choose a dramatic design and so we hand painted the bespoke cabinetry in a deep, charcoal grey and used crisp Silestone Lagoon on the island and around the sink area, which contrasts beautifully. Around the All Black BORA extraction hob, we chose Kelya by Dekton with stunning veined detail to create a sophisticated and hard wearing cook space. Finally, to cater for those all-important parties we used refrigeration by SubZeroWolf, alongside two single ovens and warming drawers by Gaggenau.

In addition to the appliances, the design also incorporates a dedicated laundry area, a double door larder cupboard and an appliance garage in order to discreetly store smaller electrical gadgets such as a food mixer and microwave. We especially love how this looks equally stunning when the doors are left open to reveal the oak interiors.

Minding your Manors

The owners of this beautiful Grade II Listed Victorian Manor house wanted their primary kitchen to be a work of art and so there was certainly no place for clutter and cooking detritus, particularly when socialising with friends. To meet this part of the brief, we created a small prep kitchen which we secreted behind a door to the side of the oven stack which gave ample room for our clients to chop, slice and dice before their guests’ arrival.

To make best use of the space we selected streamline appliances to provide abundant storage and refrigeration, as well as plenty of work surface area for the preparation of food and drinks.

In contrast to the white and bronze of the main kitchen, we hand painted the cabinetry in a soft, damson which we picked out from the stunning ceiling decoration in the primary kitchen and adorned the cupboards and drawers with softly dimpled brass handles by Ged Kennett.