I was just approached by Dwell magazine and was asked to take a look at a series of three videos, featuring innovative design concepts, explained by the designers themselves from their personal and professional perspectives. The first video is by landscape architect, Andrea Cochran, second is an Airstream interior design by Christopher Deam, and the third shows a prefab house by prefab architect Michelle Kaufmann.
To me, good design is good design, and oftentimes concepts can freely move from one discipline to another. Andrea Cochran talks about layers in her design work, the juxtaposition of warm and cool elements, warm being, perhaps, lone plantings placed nearby strong, simple lines in the hardscape. It is a lesson for interiors as well, kitchen design absolutely included. It is a philosophy which is clean, yet not cold.
Layers of visual interest are designed in, after the foundation of the design is created. This is what I tell my clients about their kitchen design...but, if possible, project forward toward that next layer of visual interest, to understand that the foundation, being simple, is often necessary.
Take a look also at the Airstream video. You'll see a very interesting kitchen, which conforms to the Airstream's proportions and lines.
The prefab house by Michelle Kaufmann is a sustainable, healthy, home, meant to be able to be reproduced for mass accessibility in terms of cost, with the benefit of sustainable features. The kitchen can also be seen and uses a paperstone countertop.
Take a little time, open your mind to the design concepts and how they can be translated, learn a little something, and enjoy the beauty of these projects as well. Don't forget Dwell's new kitchen blog!