KEEPING UP
KATRINA
BURROUGHS
@Kat_BurroughsPet corners and cabinet
reshuffles: here are the
top trends for spring 2022
D
id anyone feel the
need, before the
pandemic, for
a cooker hood
that regulated air
quality, a herb trough in the
countertop or an automated
garden in the corner of the
kitchen? Did we even know
what a touch-free tap was? No.
But here we are, almost spring
2022, and kitchen planning
has moved on. A fifth
of those surveyed by Wickes
in a recent study said that a
contemporary kitchen now
requires a pet station.
The wish list is revealing,
but few of us have the freedom
to design our fantasy kitchen.
Finances aside, we are
constrained by the physical
size, shape and plumbing of
the room. It’s important to
choose the kitchen that suits
the bones of your home. Low
ceilings plus eye-level cabinets
can be claustrophobic. Many
clients now desire a
substantial kitchen island.
“For them cooking is a
social activity,” says Howard
Miller of H Miller Bros.
“Without an island you’re
generally facing a wall or
window while working. But
in practice [to accommodate
an island] the room needs to
be 4m x 4m minimum.”
As well as patience, what
you need for your kitchen
project is a crystal ball. Since
your kitchen ought to last you
a decade, how do you want to
use the interior in ten years’
time? Before settling on a
layout, home improvers need
to decide which pandemic
ways of living they will enjoy
long term. I’m guessing most
of us want to keep WFH,
heightened hygiene and the
cockapoo, but will be glad to
see the back of daily cooking
from scratch, home schooling
and online PE (we still love
Joe Wicks’s cashew curry, but
his HIIT can hop it).
Tori Summers, the director
of design, product and
innovation at Howdens, says
that home improvers should
consider “broken-plan” rather
than open-plan kitchens.
“There is demand for...
sliding and folding internal
glazed doors to allow for
flexible spaces.” And make
sure you leave room for a
dancefloor. The kitchen disco,
made famous in lockdown by
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, has
caught the imagination of
many a post-pandemic kitchen
planner, says Jeremy Bott, the
managing director of Blakes
London. He custom makes
kitchen islands on wheels
(kitchens from £45,000,
blakeslondon.com) that can
be pushed against the wall
when the dancing starts.Additional reporting by
Victoria BrzezinskiCUPBOARD
LOVE
The designer Tom Howley
(cabinet in Pink Dusk, left,
kitchens start at £20,000)
says: “The first thing
customers do when they
come into the showroom
is open up the cupboards.
They want to see the size
of the shelves, the
configuration and the
finishes inside.” Flawlessly
organised cabinets on
social media have sent
beautiful cupboard
interiors to the top of our
wish lists. Fiona Ginnett,
designer and co-founder
of Hølte, says: “Particularly
with pantry cabinets,
where they like them to
either tie in with the kitchen
or be a surprise.”Look beyond the best-known brochures: Olive & Barr will make you a handmade painted-wood Shaker-style kitchen from £10,000, oliveandbarr.com
10 February 13, 2022The Sunday Times
Home