european-kitchen-design.com

Fired by the success of 2009’s record edition, despite the extremely challenging global economic climate, the Saloni will be back in April as always, hand in hand with their customary optimism.
The Event is Back is, in fact, the new publicity campaign slogan: from 14th to 19th April the tried and tested team effort that constitutes the international benchmark for the Home Furnishing Sector will gather forces at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (now in its 49th edition), Eurocucina / International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition (in its 18th) with its collateral event, FTK, devoted to the technology of built-in electric domestic appliances and cooker hoods, the International Bathroom Furniture Exhibition (in its 3rd), the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition (in its 23rd edition) and SaloneSatellite, the youngest of the lot, now in its 13th year.

The Countdown to Eurocucina Has Started!

A decision has been made not to include the biennial SaloneUfficio, the International Biennial Workspace Exhibition this year, in an endeavor to further underpin the synergy between the kitchen and bathroom worlds and to establish a direct link between the office and lighting worlds. SaloneUfficio will therefore return in 2011.

Eurocucina / International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition

The 313,385 public presences in 2009, consisting of operators, general public and the press, who were proof of the quality of both the commercial offering and the exhibition system, provide the catalyst for this year’s event.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile

Alongside the trade fair proper, the collateral event that has long been the icing on the Saloni cake will be particularly important: a journey into the world of “gathering round the table”, dismantled and celebrated in its various incarnations through its settings and its utensils.
The biennial SaloneUfficio has refocused greater visibility on the office space. The Office as Creative Hub project provided schemes designed to enhance the human and creative dimension within the workplace.
Lastly, at SaloneSatellite, 570 young designers and 22 international design schools with 220 students showcased ideas and projects inspired by creativity, ecology and sustainability.

–>

With the Eurocucina, Milan show being just around the corner (April 14th - 19th, 2010), there seem to be an attempt for competition… - The Cologne Show!

The IMM Cologne show

Yes, the show that we have already given up on and became just a faded memory, is trying to make a comeback - according to IMM, the orgenaizers, in 2011, parallel to the imm cologne, the cathedral city will be playing host to the LivingKitchen® fair for the first time next year.

The international kitchen trade fair will take place as an independent event every two years. It will have three Public Days and aims to bring together renowned national and international exhibitors from the entire kitchen industry. LivingKitchen® won’t just be showcasing kitchen furniture and fitted appliances but sinks, fittings, kitchen worktops and accessories, lighting and kitchen-related services as well. A year before the fair opens its doors, around 30 leading companies have already registered to take part.

–>

Besides to stainless steel and stone, he used rare and precious fossil durmast oak

One of my personal all time favorite kitchen designers is Marco Gorini - at the Milan Design Week, in 2009, Gorini has done it again. He introduced the Strato 031 concept – another great kitchen design with a new twist. In the Strato 031, Gorini searched for unique designs, combined with the use of very unique materials. Besides to stainless steel and stone, he used rare and precious fossil durmast oak – the unusual wood, which isn’t originating from deforestation but rather form the subsoil, fruit of the course of nature which gave it its special smoky look.

the Strato 031 concept – another great kitchen design with a new twist

Strato 031 is made up of two units: a pantry area, against the wall and an island that is also doubling as a table. The tall unit (pantry) is made up of a satin finished stainless steel structure, with integrated fossil durmast oak doors. The two central doors are fitted out with foldaway opening (pocket doors) and integrated electrical appliances. The two side pantry cabinets are used for storage - their interior structure is finished in brown stone and the shelves in glass. According to Strato - the finishes and the luxurious touches must not be found only in the exterior parts, but also on the interior parts that may be seen only by us.

The island is special and complex, both in terms of its appearance, as well as its functionality

The island is special and complex, both in terms of its appearance, as well as its functionality. Stainless steel structure, covered top and fronts panels in fossil durmast oak and stainless and wood interior to match. The worktop is covered by three panels - two of them are sliding and allow access to cooking and washing area (note the special folding faucet that allows that). One of the panels becomes a table, when pulled out.

–>

- design Piero Esposito 2007 - patented

Even if it originates from the family of concealed kitchens, Opening is more than an invisible kitchen. It is not simply a built-in kitchen unit that can disappear but a real Kücheraum, a “Kitchen Space”, which, whenever its job ends, changes its shape and volume and is adjustable for other purposes as a different object.
The German concept of Raum, hardly translatable with the English word “Space”, has been pivoting the twentieth-century architectural and artistic debate and, combined with the concept of “existenz minimum”, for some decades has oriented the research on modern home: how to conceive the space, how to match different spaces, how to make the best of them, how to organize smaller and smaller spaces in order to use them as wider ones, how to make them flexible and open to different suggestions and possibilities.
From this point of view Opening performs the evolution of contemporary living typologies, lofts, studios, lab houses, holiday houses… wherever it is, it lends itself to define different combinations of space by simply opening itself.
Put in two cases, once its four screws have been unscrewed, it becomes an “object” that can be easily carried away and this way it meets the increasing need for mobility of contemporary lifestyle.

A fine piece of furniture and a kitchen at the same time, Opening appears as a block of precious wood, totally smooth, absent and essential: when it is closed it does not reveal its being a kitchen, which however hides astonishing potentialities inside. As a matter of fact, once it is opened and thanks to its rotating and sliding devices, Opening proves to be able to create always different arrangements, convivial spaces where cooking becomes a shared experience while the wide sliding pull-out table can be, from time to time, something to lean on, to have dinner on, to talk around , to work…

Opening therefore allows to enlarge the living area starting from the stage of planning, which gets rid of the conventional kitchen room, by replacing it with a wooden piece of furniture which, when needed, becomes a kitchen, while otherwise it furnishes the living area with polished style, to the advantage of the spaces of the other rooms that are redefined in accordance with the planning choices.

It is official - Pedini will be producing kitchens for Lamborghini!

After a successful introduction of a prototype, at a private event that took place in Milan during Eurocucina last April, the deal has been signed and Lamborghini will start selling kitchens. The kitchens are engineered and built by Pedini spa. 

Lamborghini - Pedini kitchen

The kitchens will be available in many different finishes including Lamborghini’s famous leather, carbon and high gloss lacquer, to name a few.

In Europe and the Far East, the kitchens will be available exclusively through the Formitalia Luxury Group. For US sales, contact Pedini USA.

DuPont’s Corian® - the ‘solid surface’ product that made a huge appearance in American homes (and just about everywhere else) during the 80’s and the early 90’s has long been forgotten. Just like it came and took over the US, it almost disappeared completely, 20 years later.

TM Itlaic - Touch Tatoo kitchen

The kitchen counter surface that promised to be “the best thing since bread slicer” fell somewhat short and did not deliver the maintenance - free surface America was so looking for. Instead, consumers that had a Corian® top did not want another one in their new kitchen and others that did not go for it the first time around, may never own a Corian® top.

TM Italia - Touch Tatoo kitchen in Corian

Now, after all these years, we are seeing a renewed interest in the Corian® material, but this time, it’s in Europe! The European have found that Corian® has some very unique design possibilities and are now taking a full advantage of it. 

TM Italia - Touch Tatoo kitchen, in Corian

Designed by da Gianluca Tondi, the head of TM Italia Cucine, the Touch Tatoo kitchen model, is made completely out of the DuPont Corian®. The counters are tight fitting, without handles and come with electronic mechanisms which allow you to open them with the lightest of touches. The black decoration of the kitchen, transferred by sublimation onto Corian® Glacier White with a patented procedure, which might be compared to a tattoo on human skin, was created by the architect Nicoletta Bertolissi.

I always loved success stories of family owned businesses that excelled against the big conglmerates and ranked at the top while maintaining their original roots and not selling out.

From its humble beginnings in a small carpenter’s workshop in 1938, Häcker Küchen has developed into one of the leading European suppliers of high-quality fitted kitchens. As a matter of fact, Häcker is today the second largest single European kitchen company (not counting kitchen groups, with several companies under one corporate identity). 

“Our products, together with a wide range of services, enable us to offer value-added services going far beyond the customer’s expectations.” Häcker Küchen is a family-owned enterprise steeped in tradition and run by Horst Finkemeier, Jochen Finkemeier and Axel Stallmann.

Häcker Küchen

Emotion

The extravagant design concept modern looks require modern furnishing solutions going far beyond the normal kitchen. The combination of furniture and creative ideas provides unlimited scope for freedom of design. Front and carcase materials of the highest quality, well thought-out possibilities regarding interior organization and innovative lighting technology are the distinguishing features of this design-oriented range. “emotion” strives to create exclusive, tailor-made solutions to satisfy the discriminating customer

Häcker Küchen

Emotion Art

Extravagant design with sleek geometric lines targets international tastes, thereby taking all aspects of urban living into account. “emotion” and “emotionART” regard themselves as concepts which are not content with the normal range of planning possibilities; these concepts rather start where others end, namely with regard to the design of kitchen environments with that extra-special touch and flair. The ‘handle-less’ variations makes it possible to achieve an unlimited variety of ideas and make the clear-cut lines between the cooking and eating area less distinct - for boundless individuality.

Pedini, already an environmentally friendly company, is now turning a deeper and a stronger shade of green.

For years, Pedini has been producing their box construction as a completely green product. It is formaldehyde free, made of 100% recycled wood and all the wood veneer used comes exclusively from sustainable sources.
Now the people at Pedini have gone one step further and upgraded their box construction.

Green Pedini kitchen in Artika glossy red lacquer

The Marine Grade (water-proof) Ecological Panel that Pedini is now using, is made from 100% post-consumption wooden material, is Forest Stewardship Council certified (FSC) and has the absolute lowest formaldehyde emissions in the world.

The new green kitchen model from Pedini - Dune

This Marine Grade Ecological Panel represents a revolutionary material that provides a perfect synthesis between safeguarding the environment and concern for the health of the consumer.

Additionally, another important factor in Pedini’s on-going efforts to protect the environment is the fact that they are truly an eco-friendly brand.  Unlike other companies that create one or two “politically-correct” green products, in a factory that also manufactures non-green items, Pedini exclusively produces green products and adheres entirely to environmentally friendly practices in their production facilities.

Green eco friendly kitchens

For additional information go to Pedini Green.

The Eclettica 

Marco Gorini designed Eclettica, for Starto - a kitchen boasting extraordinarily original lines, originated from a long research and a passion for quality and sophistication. Eclettica takes artistic purity and gives it expression, in its unique elliptical lines, the like of which have never before been seen in kitchens. With its large elliptical shapes, Eclettica features a rotating centerpiece and 180° opening which allows separate use of the cooking and clean-up areas. The strict linearity of the two operating areas, distinguished by their pure and essential shapes, contrasts with the curves of the elliptical element and the irregularity of the wood grain which covers much of the surface. Eclettica sees the kitchen as being formally re-evaluated and reinvented, transformed into an environment which reflects the style and personality of its owner. Eclettica stands for a convivial spirit, an exclusive mixture of design and functionality, a creation which is unafraid to be completely different from everything else since its success lies precisely in its uniqueness, its willingness to shirk canons and conventions.

Eclettica kitchen design - Marco Gorini, for Starto Cucine

Conceived in its entirety by kitchen designer Marco Gorini, this extraordinary piece of design involves an interplay of parallel lines which yields uncountable combinations of form and materials. The endless combinations offered, even when used in antithetical fashion, nonetheless result in an overall homogeneity and coherence reflecting the very refined standards which have always distinguished the philosophy of this company, a veritable champion among Italian kitchen companies. Like the majority of Strato kitchens, Kubista was conceived following a modular logic in order to yield a very flexible and personalized product allowing the best possible use of space. Marco Gorini has created this new work using logical and coherent criteria of division and combination of spaces and volumes in order to give the best in living performance. The Kubista kitchen is offered in two solutions: horizontal for the operational area and vertical for the area for food and utensil storage. Both feature new 0155 program front panels, a natural evolution of the 015, manufactured with slanting profile in sought-after Canaletto wood. 

The Kubista Kitchen Design - Marco Gorini, for Starto Cucine

 The Non Plus Ultra Evolution

 Kitchen designer, Marco Gorini, designed this Non Plus Ultra Evolution kitchen for Strato, enhancing their high-end kitchen collection. The result is an original research project, involving the most sought-after of materials, a passion for crafts excellence and minute attention down to the last detail. Non Plus Ultra Evolution is a real work station, assembled in a single block of stainless steel. The three pieces making up the whole fit together perfectly to a thickness of 80 cm, the level of the upper surface of each block, yielding a sort of “Gulliverian” puzzle. 

The Non Plus Kitchen Design - Marco Gorini, for Starto Cucine