The View From Abroad

The View From Abroad

New European looks feature elegantly styled minimalist looks and innovative proportions.

By Daina Darzin Manning

Yet perversely, the smaller the world gets, the greater the breadth of creative opportunities it provides for all of us. Is it any wonder, then, that as globalization becomes a more and more dominant force within our culture, design is flourishing like never before?

In fact, future trends in America often originate in Europe, so kitchen designers who want to stay on the cutting edge might want to keep an eye out for minimalist looks that dramatically change the traditional proportions of cabinets, islands and other kitchen design components.

European influences have always been evident in some of the trendiest kitchen and bath designs, and as global lines continue to blur, we can expect to see European sensibilities continuing to color American kitchen design in ways both large and small, according to Grahame Morrison, editor of the renown British publication, The Kitchen & Bathroom Designer.

Morrison, who spoke about the European design influence at the recent Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Orlando, believes that Italy renowned by many as the style capital of the world enjoys the greatest influence on European design, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. Product and design trends from these countries are increasingly making their ways overseas, as American participation in such European design shows as ISH, held in Frankfurt, Germany earlier this year (see related story below), and the biennial Eurocucina, which took place in Milan, Italy in April of 2002, helps to spur interest in design innovations from abroad.

The result is that today's designers are discovering a host of tools for their design palettes from new materials and unexpected uses for color to non-traditional proportions and innovative cabinet configurations.

Bank of Cabinets
Current European design eschews the usual cabinetry arrangement that winds around the top half of the room, according to Grahame. Rather, European cabinets are often situated on one wall, with a large square of cabinetry frequently surrounding wall ovens for a clean-lined square shape.

The result is not only a more streamlined appearance, but also a more organized room, as storage is concentrated and the rest of the floor plan more open to allow for easier traffic flow.

"Clean lines" is also used to describe European cabinet styling, though the newest cabinet designs may be spruced up with exotic wood veneers such as apple or pear, unexpected materials, such as aluminum, or eye-catching opaque or frosted glass doors.

Linear Style
Because European homes and apartments tend to be much smaller than American ones, kitchen space is at an extreme premium. Hence, European design is forced to do more with less something American designers can certainly learn from, as today's consumers increasingly look to pack more amenities into their kitchens especially in remodeling jobs where expanding the space is not really a possibility.

To maximize space, many European designers work with "linear style," which emphasizes horizontal lines to make a small space seem bigger, lighter and wider.

Additionally, Morrison notes that in small spaces, storage solutions must be carefully planned out. Ergonomics are important in European storage design, so storage not only has to fit into the space, it also has to make sense from the standpoint of making the kitchen functional for all of the occupants involved.

To that end, he suggests such innovative solutions as a free-standing storage piece with a clear glass top, which allows one to see the contents of the large drawer below without opening it something that saves space and time.

European cabinet makers also make use of every space, no matter how tiny, with innovative pull-outs such as a 6"-wide storage unit for a "dead" area between cabinets. Similarly, a unique 12"-wide, tall unit can store more than a conventional base unit, Morrison reports.