Majjie's Blog

I'm always fascinated to find out how people find this website, and Google helps enormously ... by telling me what search terms you used to get here. One thing none of you searched for was “designer kitchens” ... up until now that is!

The reason I know that, is because this website does eventually turn up in the search results, if you look for designer kitchens ... but nobody finding us has actually stayed to visit the site (up until today, at least). That got me wondering as to what people are actually looking for - when they use that search term. What is a designer kitchen?

A designer product, I guess, is one that has been designed by a famous designer or a famous company (known for the quality of it's design) ... where people are prepared to pay extra for the name. Designer products probably include celebrity endorsed products too – even when the actual designer is anonymous. Designer products are expensive - that's why there's a thriving market in fakes.

On looking around for definitions, I came across the suggestion that people looking for designer products are looking for what's fashionable, rather than what's necessary. That designer labelled goods are characterised by planned obsolescence and when they go out of fashion - you go out and buy a new model. And I also found a definition that said designer products were non-standard and made for a unique market or need.

A Warendorf kitchen designed by Philippe Starck (on display at the KBB show in March) would definitely qualify as a designer kitchen – but would you replace it as soon as they brought out a new range? I suspect not

I'm not sure how much of that applies to kitchens. It's certainly true that some customers are prepared to pay a lot extra for a big name kitchen, but I doubt if many people buy a new one, when the particular look they bought is no longer at the height of fashion. As for being non-standard and unique – that's a difficult point with kitchens – because, of course, you rarely get identical kitchens. Each one is unique whether you've used high class designer units, or bog standard high street ones. Whether or not a kitchen is bespoke has the same problem (I'll come back to that another day).

I do think that a designer kitchen has to have some features which are unique to that kitchen (like the twiddly bits on the Warendorf doors) ... and a successful designer kitchen is then often copied, by lower priced brands (although some designers do their best to prevent their ideas from being copied). Successful designer kitchens, of past years, include Clive Christian's painted kitchen with the acanthus leaf corbels and the chandeliers:

And Mark Wilkinson's Cook's Kitchen with the curved corner posts and the big bun, timber knobs:

For more modern looking kitchens, it's usually the big name German and Italian brands that come up with the innovative designer looks. Poggenpohl, for instance, brought out their handleless, P7340 kitchen – designed, in collaboration with Porsche (specifically for men) – in 2007:

And Snaidero's Acropolis kitchen, designed by Paolo Pininfarina (of Ferrari fame) was one of the first to include units arranged in a large curve (still the preserve of fairly upmarket kitchens):

Another Italian company Aster Cucine, comes up with less high profile but very pleasing kitchen designs that are a bit out of the ordinary – like this “Trendy Space” kitchen:

Or this “Domina” kitchen in ebony veneer and gold leaf (you're not likely to find that in B&Q!):

One of their latest design ideas, is doors in hammered steel (right). I'm not sure how practical they'd be ... but then practicality isn't one of the criteria used to define a designer kitchen. Texture is trendy!

 So ... when you put “designer kitchens” into Google ... do you get a long list of very high profile, innovative, reputable and reassuringly expensive, kitchen companies? Or showrooms supplying kitchens of that ilk?

Well, no ... on the whole, I'm afraid you don't. You tend to get the wannabe kitchen suppliers and the direct sales guys. You get some companies that have inflated list prices and almost continuous sales or discounts. You get the ones who seem to want you to believe that they're supplying German or Italian-made kitchens – when they're not! You're likely to get companies offering a “designer kitchen at a price you can afford” or “designer factory kitchens” (a contradiction in terms, I think!) ... or kitchens from a builder's merchant ... or bog standard high street ranges at middle market prices.

There were a couple of bespoke kitchen suppliers, offering handmade or handcrafted kitchens using the term “designer kitchens” in their blurb. I'm sure they provide beautiful kitchens ... but I don't think they really qualify as supplying designer kitchens. I'm sure they are great designers - but they're hardly household names.

There was one showroom whose kitchens came from German company Beckermann. I don't think they really qualify either but they do have a very wide range of unit sizes, and more than one depth of drawer unit ... so their kitchens are at least more versatile than many bog standard ranges ... with more design potential.

There was also a company called Kitchen Synch, selling second hand and ex-display "instant designer kitchens".  Interesting! What sort of kitchens did they have for sale? Well they had a huge range. They did indeed have a lot of big names, including Mark Wilkinson and Poggenpohl ... but they also had John Willies (nothing wrong with that - but they're some of the most traditional, or old fashioned, kitchens you'll find) and IKEA. IKEA are indeed a very design conscious company ... but can you really have mass produced and (let's not beat about the bush) downright CHEAP designer kitchens? Or designer kitchens whose whole ethos is to look very traditional without any modern quirks? I don't think so.

The real question perhaps, is what are people looking for - when they Google “designer kitchens” ... so over to you (if any of you get this far!). What are you after?

I suspect what most people want is a well designed kitchen, that looks as if it's good quality and might have come from a big name supplier. What you actually need, in that case, is a good designer (it doesn't matter so much about the kitchen units and doors – just buy the best quality you can afford) ... and (just as importantly) a good fitter.

An independent kitchen designer will be able to advise you on the best supplier for the style you want ... and will tell you the real pros and cons of any kitchen ... without pretending it comes from the continent - or inventing a discount - or trying to flog you a kitchen at all. They should be able to come up with a great design for your room - irrespective of which supplier you're using.

If I was you, I'd search for a “kitchen designer” – NOT a “designer kitchen”