Ken Kelly, CKD, CBD, CR at Living Kitchen Germany
What you see here in today’s “Wacky Wednesday” is a hidden kitchen with a series of metal panels with rust patina made to look like a decorative wall. The furniture-style kitchen integrates with your living space providing a functional fully-equipped kitchen. The idea is to conceal the kitchen in an area where you don’t necessarily want to see a kitchen. It may be great for an office-type environment, an apartment, a home entertaining space, or an indoor/outdoor socializing space.
At the touch of a button the central section of the wall opens to reveal the working space with storage areas, shelving, fan, and integrated lighting. Located all around the flexible working area and integrated behind the fronts are storage units, pull-outs, and electrical appliances, which continue to be accessible even when the central niche is closed. The hardware is similar to a garage door opening system that opens and closes the unit. The large pocket doors to the left and right house the refrigerator on one side and the dishwasher and oven on the other.
The internal drawers are strictly designed for the look — a bit impractical for normal use in that you have to open the whole drawer panel first, and then reach over to get to the drawers on the inside. However, the internal design creates a look that avoids having all the little drawerhead stripes running across, which of course is a winner if you want this streamlined look.
The Warendorf “Hidden Kitchen” has been named “Interior Innovation Award – Winner 2013” by the German Design Council sponsored by the “IMM cologne.” It is today one of the most renowned design awards in the interior furnishing industry worldwide. Here’s a short video clip of the unit in action.
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Related Reading from IMM Cologne Living Kitchen:
Kitchen Trends from IMM Cologne Living Kitchen in Germany
Design Trends: 10 of the Best Ideas for Adding Color to Your Kitchen
Best of European Kitchen Design – Nolita by the Marchi Group
Blanco Makes Ken Kelly a Fan of The Micro Edge Sink at IMM Cologne Living Kitchen 2013
Unique Modern Kitchen Combination Alternating High Gloss and Matt Finish
