Dec 27
Kitchen by Francesco Ravo
2006 at 11.07 am posted by Veerle
One of the more newer trends in modern living is that the kitchen is the central place where everything comes together. I’ve read that it even goes as far as placing the kitchen in the center of the living room. The kitchen is becoming a sort of a lounge to chill. One concept that would perfectly fit that is a design called “Cocina” by Francesco Ravo for Obumex.
Kitchen, a central piece
The whole purpose of this kitchen is to become a central piece of the living area. It's made of materials that allow an elegant mix. Wood plays a prominent role, Zebrano to be precise for a smooth slick finishing. Zebrano is an African wood that is very stable and is primary used in design furniture. The ellipse and circle are the returning elements here. The mix of materials consists out of chrome, super-gloss varnish and wood.
Colors and shape
This design confirm that the post-war colors are back. The curvaceous shapes flow over into one coherent whole. The central piece is shaped by a bottom green varnished glassy table with adjusted varnish borders. The kitchen appliances are built in harmoniously. For me personally this design is too modern looking but I love the idea of playing with colors to set a different mood. I saw the Cocina kitchen in real live on the expo "Interieur 06" here in Belgium, Kortrijk and I must say you get a 'wow' feeling. One negative side is it's price. The kitchen as shown on picture 1 goes for (shudder) 32.065 Euro. So not my cup of tea as I am very satisfied with my Ikea kitchen. Of course if you compare the price to other design brands it's within the expected price range.
26served
1
Very professinal, but not usable...(imho)
Looks like a spaceship.
2
Take some purple tone colors, stick an Enterprise-D control panel decal on it and you’re right in a Star Trek universe...... I love it !!!! ;-)
3
I agree with Alex. It looks professional and beautifull, but not that usable.
It’s wonderfull, no doubt about it.
4
Alex and José, why isn’t it usable? You can have a life with such a kitchen… :P
The only thing I miss is some sweet details like photos, clocks, flowers etc. Those are necessary to make you feel happy with such a design kitchen.
5
It’s like a Flash website nobody uses. You have to picture the kitchen in practice. I mean with the dishes, the full trash and your mother in law.
6
Interesting article about Francesco Ravo
7
Where are the dirty dishes? The crumbs around the toaster? Oh, wait, that’s my place…
8
Designers tend to forget that colored light and very bright light can make your food look very ugly and tasteless. Is it that hard to make a design that’s both beatiful and practical?
9
Love the look of this! Almost has a Jetsons sort of feel to it. It’s playful and fun. Sure, it might not be practical but it’s nice to look at! ;)
10
So....what *does* yours look like then? ;)
11
Beautiful, but depending on the place you would like to ‘live’ in , and where you live, kitchen is more or less ‘art’ or way of living. Check out a ‘NY stylish kitchen’ -if they happen to have one- and compare that to a EU stylish high tech state-of-the-art kitchen, more or less a status symbol.
A friend of mine did some cool designs on kitchens - I personnally don’t like all of his designs, but he’s got very good and practical ideas - http://www.stratobelgium.be/index.html, but then, lot’s of those ideas wind up as of spin in ....Ikea. Pity ? or interesting evolution? Trendsetters or smart living?
Noblesse oblige!
BTW :Long time no see Veerle, :-)
12
a rug in the kitchen? now that’s just plain decadence!
13
Does Woody Allen disguised as a domestic robot come with the kitchen?
14
There’s a danger in making the kitchen a house’s central place: one will be surrounded by food-related objects, think about food more often and eat more frequently.
Personally I think being constantly reminded of food is a major cause of the obesity epidemic!
15
I’m siding with the not usable camp. Insufficient bench space. Insufficent storage.
It is hard to tell but the benchspace you do have looks like it is way too far from the cooking appliances (which, I assume, are in the wall unit). The totally integrated design suggests it is going to be a right pig to get replacements if any of the components breaks down, or even just needs upgrading. The shag-pile rug around the table is going to be a dirt trap where shoes can then track it across the floor which *will* show even the slightest speck of dirt. Where is the pantry? Where is the storage for the utensils, plates, pots, and small appliances. Talking of appliances I don’t see a bank of 4 power outlets which I would consider the minimum for a usable workspace.
16
The minimalist designs (the later ones) I don’t really like, but the first one is awesome. And useable? I don’t understand why it wouldn’t be. Go for it!
17
Any way you slice it, experience tells me that any kitchen needs at least 1 window nearby. Can you immagine what would feel frying onion and similar stuff in an area placed in the middle of the house? bear in mind that “in the middle” implies no walls and therefore no windows!
couldnt live a place like that!!!
but if you got anough money to eat out every nite than it’s a completly different qustion you know ... :-)
18
You’re certainly right about the kitchen being the heart of the modern home. My parents live in a 5 bedroomed house yet actually only really live in the kitchen - none of the others apart from the bedrooms obviously - are used.
In fact, the other rooms aren’t even heated. Mention downsizing to them and they laugh, apparently they need all those (unused) rooms.
Parents eh !?
19
Very Marvin, the paranoid android as portrayed in the film.
20
In France, the kitchen has traditionally always been the soul of the house. In many houses one combines kitchen, dining room and perhaps even living room. This is because food is such a big part of entertaining.
The tone here can be rustic (wood and stone) or modern. However, on your post the words refer to rustic (the use of lots of wood for example) but the photos are retro-modern and to me seem far to glaring and harsh for a meal among friends.
21
Just what I wanted, dirty dishes piled up in my living room.
22
I talked with the someone of Obumex on this design, and although it gives them great credits in overall, it never has been sold until today…
I love it, but could indeed never see it in my house…
My father designs kitchens (rather Cottage style I don’t like at all) but it is interesting to see the change from a kitchen totally apart to living room kitchens. The kitchen is the place to show to your friends, while before, they were not allowed to get in… Interior design is changing for the good :)
23
Wow!!!Very Cute Kitchens.
Now all we need is the imaginary purple & orange bouncing pixies who store all the food/dirty dishes/random mess in their own fairyworld! :-)so we all can get a piece of Francesco Ravo’s glorious designs!:-)
24
These kitchens are pretty, but obviously designed for people who don’t actually cook. There doesn’t seem to be any storage where you would actually need it.
25
I’m new here, but thought I would chime into the kitchen design conversation. I have to agree that the Ravo design is unusable for someone who cooks. It seems more oriented towards the growing number of people who order ready-to-eat meals which need to reassembled or reheated.
If one actually, seriously cooks or entertains, one must follow design principles that maximize access to the most needed functions, which probably include:
Ravo’s design falls short on all counts. How would one sauté the mushrooms to add to a risotto that is reducing on a parallel burner? Could one make espresso in a moka while flambeéing a crèpe suzette? And what complex and crossing waypaths would one follow to assemble a complex dish, from refrigerator to prep space to cooking area to serving?
I’d be interested to hear about John Pawson’s design from Obumex, which seems infinitely more accommodating of serious cooks while keeping the lines ultraclean (perhaps too clean!). His wife is food writer, so as a team, I bet they conceived a very practical modern kitchen.
26
Too much like clockwork orange mixed with minimalism. This would have an edge back in the 90’s or 80’s, but now it just doesn’t click. Oh yeah, and minus 50 points if you have 2 year old kids running straight into those sharp edges…