DESIGN AND THE MODERN KITCHEN

I made it! Here at last.

Granted I'm biased, but I have to say that Counter Space:   Design and the Modern Kitchen is the most engaging exhibit I have had the pleasure of attending.  It opened at the Museum of Modern Art September 15th and closes on March 11th.  The thing about this show is that we can all identify and connect with the topic of kitchens.  They are an integral part of how we live but we seldom give thought to exactly how they came about.  You can find just about all there is to know right here.

KITCHEN FUN IN NEW YORK (AGAIN)!

I will see a replica of this kitchen at Counter Space at the MOMA

That's right. Today I'm back in the BA (big apple but you should know that). If you recall, I was here only 6 months ago during fashion week courtesy of  Brizo Faucets. Click here for a journey 6 months back in time. Wouldn't you know it, the amazing exhibit Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen at MOMA opened within days of my departure necessitating a return trip before it closes on March 11th.  Some savvy bloggers wrote about it on the front end so I'm going to wrap it up for you and send it out with a bang.   I'll be there on Sunday. Tomorrow I'll be visiting the new super slick Scavolini showroom in Soho.  I hear it's not to be missed so I will also be bringing you the latest in Italian kitchen design from this progressive cabinet manufacturer.  Now if you know me, you'll know I have to fit in a little art and guess what's happening this weekend? Yes that's right, the Armory Art Show.

Scavolini Showroom NYC here I come! Photo from Scavolini

NEWSFLASH!!!

You can now subscribe to Kitchens for Living on your Kindle!  Check it out here.

If you're paying attention you'll notice yet another badge on my sidebar.   I am now officially an "expert" at EzineArticles.com with one published article and loads more to come,  as soon as I have time.    More from New York tomorrow.

PS.   If there's anything you think I should check out while I'm there drop me a comment and I'll try to squeeze it in. Cheers!

Armory Art Show

KITCHEN ALA-MOD

The Frankfurt Kitchen 1926 Wikipedia

So where were we?  As I recall, we were examining the roots of the heart of the home (Click on Part I here.) to see just how we got from our origins to where we are now.  Today I will show you the first MOD(ERN) kitchen.

Although cooking made it to the indoors pretty quickly, water pipes in cities were not commonly laid until the end of the 19th century. Open shelves were the original go-to storage and coal fired stoves ruled. Cupboards, or cabinets, were first used by the upper classes to protect contents from dust, steam and smoke.  The middle class kitchen was were the family lived with the living rooms and studies saved for special times.  Sound familiar?

The first standardizations for the kitchen came from the German brand Poggenphol (est. 1892).  In case you ever wondered, this is where we got the ergonomically pleasing counter top height of 36".  These new guidelines were the result of time-motion studies  known at Taylorism.  As women increasingly found the need to aquire factory jobs, the need for efficiency in the kitchen increased and the Frankfurt Kitchen was born in 1926. I guess you could call its creator, Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky the first kitchen designer!  The design was influenced by railway dining cars of the day with two main objectives, to save precious time and make modern convenience affordable to the masses. These two priorities still endure so we'll keep them.  What can we chuck?  Maybe the closed-in tight quarters and the limited counter space?

The pre-historic Chemex Coffee Maker also on show at the MOMA

Margarete's Creation on Exhibit at the MOMA

Check out this exhibit which opened September 15th at the MOMA in NYC.  This examination of modern food prep is called Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen. spanning the last century of Western cookery -- from the architecture of the kitchen itself to the introduction of newer and stranger gadgets, like Chemex coffee pots and even Tupperware!  The show runs until March 11, 2011, and yes I'm already planning another jaunt to the B.A.!! 

KITCHEN ALA-MOD

The Frankfurt Kitchen 1926 Wikipedia

So where were we?  As I recall, we were examining the roots of the heart of the home (Click on Part I here.) to see just how we got from our origins to where we are now.  Today I will show you the first MOD(ERN) kitchen.

Although cooking made it to the indoors pretty quickly, water pipes in cities were not commonly laid until the end of the 19th century. Open shelves were the original go-to storage and coal fired stoves ruled. Cupboards, or cabinets, were first used by the upper classes to protect contents from dust, steam and smoke.  The middle class kitchen was were the family lived with the living rooms and studies saved for special times.  Sound familiar?

The first standardizations for the kitchen came from the German brand Poggenphol (est. 1892).  In case you ever wondered, this is where we got the ergonomically pleasing counter top height of 36".  These new guidelines were the result of time-motion studies  known at Taylorism.  As women increasingly found the need to aquire factory jobs, the need for efficiency in the kitchen increased and the Frankfurt Kitchen was born in 1926. I guess you could call its creator, Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky the first kitchen designer!  The design was influenced by railway dining cars of the day with two main objectives, to save precious time and make modern convenience affordable to the masses. These two priorities still endure so we'll keep them.  What can we chuck?  Maybe the closed-in tight quarters and the limited counter space?

The pre-historic Chemex Coffee Maker also on show at the MOMA

Margarete's Creation on Exhibit at the MOMA

Check out this exhibit which opened September 15th at the MOMA in NYC.  This examination of modern food prep is called Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen. spanning the last century of Western cookery -- from the architecture of the kitchen itself to the introduction of newer and stranger gadgets, like Chemex coffee pots and even Tupperware!  The show runs until March 11, 2011, and yes I'm already planning another jaunt to the B.A.!!