When I was growing up as a child in the sixties, kitchens were
always a hidden affair. If it was not separated by a wall from
the other rooms in the house, then a divider had to be installed
to hide it from the rest of the world. Inviting friends over to
the kitchen to show off your new kitchen island or cooktop was
not the thing to be done.
But not anymore. The kitchen of my adult years has now become
the focal point of the house and the people who live in it.
There is still the obligatory lounge room to receive guests but
it is now just a little room on the way to the grand, open space
of kitchen, family and rumpus rooms combined.
This is where most families now gather after a long days work -
the parents preparing the family meal while the children (if
they are in their schoolyears) do their homework in the family
dining table or (if they are already young adults), sit and
chatter around the breakfast nook or family room couch. Kitchens
now exude warmth and welcome helped by the oak or teak
oil-finished kitchen cabinets that usually line the kitchen
walls, as well as mahogany or red cedar curio cabinets housing
revered family treasures such as photos and bowling trophies.
I have long used my kitchen as my lounge - one of the rooms in
the house that I consider most comfortable, functional, tribal
and welcoming . My husband and I and anyone of my kids who
occasionally fancy themselves as the new Jamie Oliver can
showcase our gourmet talents as we gracefully move around the
red and brown speckled granite kitchen island or benchtop to the
glistening stainless steel sink to the brown flattened glow of
the ceramic cooktop. All these in view of the rest of the
family, and often times friends and guests who we show in
straight to the kitchen/family/dining room area to sit in our
beloved dark aubergine brown no-nonsense, yet sumptuous and very
practical "Virginia" sofa.
Gone are the days when you felt you needed to detain your guests
in the comfort of the Italian velvet sofa in the lounge while
you excuse yourself and slave away in the dark, hot and steamy
recesses of the kitchen preparing their food. Now there is no
shame or cringe to invite friends over to the kitchen because
kitchens have become the hub of family life and social
entertaining. Architects, home builders and appliance
manufacturers have all taken heed of the new trend and have made
kitchens not only functional and efficient but also
overwhelmingly stylish. Even whitegoods now come in different
colors of stainless steel, earthy brown, luminous orange or
buttercup yellow to suit everyone's desire and taste.
Friends are invited to hover around stylish marble-topped
kitchen islands as they continue with their socialising, talking
about nothing and maybe even lending a hand in washing the
vegetables and peeling the potatoes. Even wine bars are now in
the domain of the kitchen (not the basement or the lounge) as
friends sit down and relax in the midst of kitchens sipping
their favorite red or white.
Even when alone, my kitchen has always been a delight and a
quiet refuge from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
When I wake up in the morning, I find no greater joy than seeing
the sun streaming through the beige voile curtains of the
northeast facing kitchen window into the deep purple flowered
african violets and tall and lanky chinese fortune plants that
brighten up the farthest end of my granite kitchen benchtop. And
when I come home from work in the evening, I open the very same
northeast facing kitchen window to be greeted with the sweet
scent of the orange jasmines that line the backyard fence.
My kitchen has certainly come a long way from its hiding place
in the sixties and I intend to enjoy it and keep it that way for
a long, long time more to come.
About the author:
Flor Buenaventura loves home cooking and enjoys making
improvements in her kitchen. To see a great collection of
articles and resources related to cooking and the kitchen,
please visit her
http://www.kitchen-island-cart.com website.
