We’ll be posting something about design for the home (or architecture) every day this week.
Hansen Living offers a minimalist, natural approach to kitchens that’s worth a look. Apartment Therapy took a luck at the company’s interesting approach: 1. They get ideas by asking pro chefs what they hate about consumer kitchens and then doing the opposite. 2. They try to limit space intentionally so people don’t fill it up with things they don’t need. 3. When clients ask for more, they tell them to wait 6 months and see if the need is still there (it rarely is).
Knud explained that when he embarked on designing Hansen’s product line, he asked some of the best chefs in Copenhagen what made them ‘laugh at the typical consumer kitchen.’ Then he did the opposite. The result is a collection of free-standing units with no overhead cabinets, but rather drawers below counters. Each drawer is lined with a metal perforated bottom to allow air circulation. The base pieces are raised on legs to allow access for cleaning the entire kitchen floor.
The chefs and Knud agree that overhead cabinets decrease the use of available counter space, increase the chances of hitting one’s head while chopping vegetables, and make any space look smaller. They also agree not to “give people too much space” or they might try to fill it with things they don’t need. In fact, Knud told me, if clients, ask for more cabinets once the kitchen is delivered, he encourages them to think about it for 6 more months and if they still feel a lack of space, they can call him and he’ll concede. According to Knud, they never call.
One interesting design from the company: Instant Kitchen. It’s a kitchen unit particularly suited for small, studio-type dwellings. Just add water…
Place it anywhere, all you need is to hook it up to a water supply and connect the electricity. The kitchen unit contains everything you need: oven, gas jets, electric power, refrigerator and water. To find a suitable name for it was easy: Instant Kitchen.
ceejayoz
on 28 Apr 08What, no “1000th SVN post!” celebration?
Dennis
on 28 Apr 08I love the Instant Kitchen – it’s too bad so many of the studios I’ve seen already have an awful “kitchen” area.
Don Schenck
on 28 Apr 08I’m in the process of remodeling my kitchen, and this is both timely and helpful. Thanks.
Vlad
on 28 Apr 08Very nice! I’ve been reading about simplicity and organization for a few months now, and their kitchen might be worth looking at. Off-topic, but if you really want to see organizational and over-complicated failure, check out Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PS3…
Phil McThomas
on 28 Apr 08There’s no denying it all looks very nice.
I’ve got to wonder about the logic of raising stuff up on legs to let you clean under it. If you take the more traditional design, there’s no floor to clean!
Maybe the trade-off is worth it to allow the piece to be moved and increase the feeling of openness, but to say it makes clean-up easier sounds like they’re backing a benefit into a design.
Christopher
on 28 Apr 08Phil, traditional cupboards are also raised, but underneath there’s wasted space that’s a pain to get with a broom.
Blair
on 28 Apr 08These are really beautiful, but I’ve got to question the wisdom of the screens on the bottoms of the drawers and the cut-out handles (not the drawers themselves—I assure you, they’re much, much better than cabinets). Aside from dust making its way inside—especially when you’re sweeping underneath—have you ever spilled something on the counter and had it run down the face of your counters? Do you have children? Pets? Those cut-out drawer handles would allow whatever you spill to make its way into the top drawer, and then the screens would allow it to make its way into each drawer below. And those cut-outs? “Honey, why is the wok full of Lego bricks and cat toys… again…?” Like I said—beautiful, and mostly very functional, but some aspects clearly put style before function, especially in a real household kitchen that sees less than ideal conditions.
Chris
on 28 Apr 08@Phil:
The way I see it, stuff will fall to the floor under your cabinets or whatever, whether or not you can see it. If you can get under there, you can clean it. If you can’t, it’ll still be there…fostering mold growth, or attracting roaches or mice.
I’m getting ready to build a home, and this looks right up my alley.
Keith
on 28 Apr 08Instant kitchen must also be magical if you only need water and electricity for “gas jets.” That is unless you’re storing a propane tank inside a compartment which sounds a bit dubious to me.
I had a gas stove in Rome that was fed by a small propane tank, but it was a total pain getting more gas when I needed it. In the United States that’d be out of the question in many areas where there isn’t quick access to the outdoor grill style propane tanks.
Also if you’re running electricity to it for an electric range or stove you’re not running a regular outlet you’re running a 240V outlet which depending on local building codes can be tricky to just, “put anywhere.” In some cases it may require the updating of an entire circuit to make it happen.
I’m all for minimal, but there are certain lengths to which minimal design has a diminishing return on investment.
Ben
on 28 Apr 08Gorgeous. There’s almost always room for improvement, but this is beautiful and inspired.
Benjy
on 28 Apr 08As somebody who works in web-related areas for a company focused on design for the home (Lightology), I’m really looking forward to this week’s posts on the topic!
vivzan
on 28 Apr 08In that first kitchen unit, is it the angle or is the sink across from the stove? Is one supposed to lean over the burner or run around the other side to get to the sink?
I do love the cabinets underneath.
Ericson
on 28 Apr 08Just like these kitchens, our applications never need more storage…
pwb
on 28 Apr 08Is this stuff for sale? Is there any hope that less stuff costs less money?
Rob Poitras
on 28 Apr 08I disagree with not giving people too much space.
In some cases this works.
If you are unorganized and don’t understand the concept of having items in the kitchen you really only need (no single use tools) then having too much space or too little won’t stop you from buying stuff you don’t need.
I do agree in some aspects though. I have a space for wine bottles in my kitchen and it holds 7 bottles. It forces me to not buy too much wine that I won’t drink and enjoy what I already have. I could store them in other areas easily but I like where they are now and I don’t allow myself to store them elsewhere. The rules can be broken but it helps to have a guideline.
ML
on 28 Apr 08Rob, re: no single use tools…Any examples of multi-use tools that you use to replace typical single use tools?
Susan
on 28 Apr 08How exciting to see our product on this blog! I actually have the press release as a public page on my backpack account, and use basecamp and highrise for projects and contacts as well, so it’s great to be featured here!
Please see us at ICFF in New York May 17th to 20th in New York City. We will be in the Danish Consulate area of the exhibit hall and would love to see anyone who is interested in finding out more information. http://www.icff.com/page/home.asp
The design of Hansen is very much based in healthy living. Yes, it is on legs so that, unlike a closed cabinet to the floor, mold will not be an issue nor will dirt and grime. The kitchen furniture is designed to be able to clean underneath easily.
The perforated stainless steel drawer bottoms are designed to encourage fresh air flow and discourage dirt, mold, and stale air. The hand cutouts are both a beautiful design detail as well as an effortless way for the drawers to open. Too many features to mention here, but please take a look at the backpack press release. Lots of good information inside.
https://sserra.backpackit.com/pub/1380598
Thank you for the mention!
Adam
on 28 Apr 08Alton Brown of “Good Eats” from Food Network always favors “multitaskers”, and whenever he reviews kitchen tools he explains other users or when a tool may just be taking up more space than its worth.
Benjy
on 29 Apr 08Multi-use tools would be things like paring knives and skillets, while single-use would be things like mango slicers, countertop pizza cookers, etc.
Cormac
on 29 Apr 08We used this book to design our kitchen: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Kitchen-Design-Cooking/dp/0932767095/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209462692&sr=8-1 ... and it’s a fantastic place to work, approximately one zillion times better than all the kitchens in all the rented accommodation I lived in for 18 years before I moved into my own house.
The book if full of practical advice like “Put your microwave beside your freezer, because you use your microwave mostly for thawing stuff”, but the most useful thing about the book is it splits your kitchen into different functional areas (prep, cooking, washup), and gets you to think in those terms. End result – our kitchen is like a 37 signals application, if you need something it’s just there at your fingertips.
(also it looks amazing, but that’s more to do with my wife’s eye for colour than the book)
Non-cook
on 29 Apr 08@ML, as a multi use tool, a bamix stick blender is pretty impressive – watch a demo at a “home” trade fair, etc and see for yourself what it can do. 10-year warranty included!
p-daddy
on 29 Apr 08throw a couple of toddlers in there and all that austere minimalism -POOF- vanishes!
the counters & sink look great, but what’s w/ all the clinical-laboratory white-white-white on the walls?
greg
on 29 Apr 08coffee! where’s my coffee maker! what did you do to my coffee maker! [ kicks over counter top, rips down shelves ] :)
gwg
on 29 Apr 08As someone with two kids, I understand what people above are saying about some of the practical issues. However, not everyone has kids; not everyone will ever have kids; and eventually, kids leave (or at least grow up to the point where they’ll stop leaving toys in the kitchen drawers).
These kitchens are very cool, and I’m not attempting to detract from them with my next comments.
Based on their design premise of doing the opposite of what most kitchens do, what really surprises me about the way these kitchens look is the amount of moving around needed to get to all of the things you need. After reading “Heat” (an account of a guy who works in the kitchen at Mario Batali’s “Babbo”, among other things), the key to an efficient station is that you never have to move your pivot foot.
I can imagine a just-as-elegant kitchen as above, but in more of a horseshoe around the fridge so that you can simply be a one-person cooking machine. Or maybe two stations, prep and cook. I have the liberty of not actually having to build these things, so it’s easy for me to dream. I’m just surprised at the amount of walking needed in these kitchens to get to everything. I imag
GeeIWonder
on 29 Apr 08Interesting idea. How long have these been around?
I wonder at the effect of having a lot of interfaces. Those perforations and all the wood/metal metal/air wood/metal/air interfaces (coupled with say, a wet knife) could in fact encourage mold and certainly oxidation type problems.
Martin Edic
on 29 Apr 08This style of kitchen is known as unfitted and has been around for years in Europe and the UK. It’s origin comes from the fact that in Europe kitchens are treated like furniture and are commonly taken when one moves, hence things like the freestanding kitchen unit you describe. Very nice design execution but nothing particularly original…we’re starting to see these Euro-kitchens in the US, finally. One great thing is most are built on a standardized 32mm modular system with standard hardware, knockdown fittings and sizes, all made possible by automated CNC manufacturing. This results in great design at reasonable prices and utilizes sustainable materials with far less waste than conventional cabinetmaking methods (yes, newer MDF is more stable and more environmentally-friendly than solid wood!).
Great to see design pieces here as it all relates to user-experience!
OCD-chef
on 29 Apr 08My concern is the metal perforated drawer bottoms are going to scratch up all of my silverware, utensils, plates, and anything else sliding around every time the drawer is opened and closed. I like the basic concept, but practically speaking it seems like everything in the kitchen will quickly become scratched up.
Anonymous Coward
on 30 Apr 08The Hansen point of view is contrary in that there is far MORE energy expended in creating MDF materials than there is using solid wood, as Hansen uses in the complete product. The production methods, as well, expend less energy than traditional production methods. This is not a typical “cabinet” construction method.
Scandinavia has a long culture of being careful and cautious with natural resources, and I could site many examples of this. I know this first hand, as I’ve visited Denmark frequently, over my lifetime. The culture for environmentally conscious living is strong. The Hansen factory wastes nothing. Every piece of wood is used, no matter how small. If it cannot go into kitchen furniture, it may be transformed into a decorative home furnishing piece or just a small decorative object. This has been true with Hansen for many years, not just recently.
It is a different type of kitchen furniture product manufactured in a different, very efficient, way, also with much hand crafting involved, and in response to the architect’s own green philosophies. Very admirable policies, this company has, which makes it enjoyable to be associated with them.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful and/or informative.
susan
on 30 Apr 08uh oh, obviously, this is from me. I forgot to add in the top section of my post above!
This discussion is closed.