The kitchen is the one part of the home that’s changed the most in the last 100 years. Transforming from a corner we cook in to the heart of where we nurture our bodies, minds, and relationships, the kitchen shapes our lifestyle in a real way.
Look backward at kitchens of yesterday and then look at what homeowners can and are doing in their kitchen spaces now. In the same logic of the chicken and the egg, it’s curious to wonder whether the way we cook and eat has changed because of what the kitchen became, or whether we’ve gone in new directions because of what today’s kitchen offers.
Brace yourself for some surprises and “aha” moments…best of all, prepare yourself for a real look at how YOU use your kitchen and what revelations that leads to!!
The Importance of the Refrigerator
It really wasn’t that long ago that homes still used ice boxes. Electric refrigeration showed up around the time of Women’s Suffrage…so, you know, women could benefit from electric fridges in homes just in time to vote!
By the 1940s, electric refrigerators were more common in homes and took a shape similar to what we see today.
It’s hard to imagine a home without a fridge…specifically, it’s hard to imagine what diets were like before them! Before refrigeration, food preservation focused on canning E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Salted and dried meats were big, too.
The biggest shift to recent diets came with easy refrigeration. This unlocked a whole new lifestyle rich in freshly-prepared meals, more produce, and the notion of “left-overs.”
More recently, fridges have gotten LARGER and smarter. This helps homeowners store even more, which has further changed how we cook and eat.
Hello, larger portions and meal prep!!
Take advantage of the right fridge space for your household. Is your fridge big enough? Do you have the design you love for easy access to what you cook with? Ask these questions and answer honestly!!
Pressure Cookers
The pressure cooker…it’s some people’s FAVORITE appliance…and other people are curious but haven’t integrated it yet into their regular routines.
Let’s look at the history of the pressure cooker to discuss what it’s used for in the modern kitchen…
The original pressure cooker was a product called the Georg Gutbrod Pressure Cooker, made with heavy metal and wood seals. The cooker was introduced in the 1860s and was followed up by MANY competitive innovations in the 140 years after that. New types of metal and materials were combined for a progressively safer and more comfortable product.
Then, in the 2010s, the Instant Pot Smart Cooker changed everything. This was a big step beyond the digital pressure cookers of the 2000s, because it was programmable and had many new sensors to make some of the cooking decisions for you!
For households that love to program something on a keypad and leave it to come back to a ready meal, today’s smart cooker market is a “must.” Kitchen designs have been modified for this and other similar appliances, because they require more counter space and custom cabinetry solutions to tuck these small appliances away.
What do YOU make in your blender?
If you live a life where smoothies are a BIG deal, be happy you live when you do!!
In the early 20th century, the closest thing we had to a blender was a mortar and pestle. Can you imagine?…
In the 1930s, a product called the Miracle Mixer appeared. Since then, blenders have become progressively more sophisticated.
Another chicken-and-the-egg debate looks at the wave of health smoothies and blender technology. Which came first? Whatever the answer, homeowners today enjoy the delicious luxury of high-class blenders of all sizes and specialties for an innumerable menu of healthy smoothies and treats.
Share your favorite smoothie recipe in our private design group!! And tell us which blender is best to make it…
Updated Appliances
Kitchen design has molded around updated kitchen appliances, too.
Today, a kitchen ISN’T EVEN A KITCHEN if it doesn’t have appliances! A century ago, that wasn’t true. What today is considered a kitchenette was all that a home’s kitchen had in 1900…today, the abundance of appliances has changed everything about the look of kitchens and how we use them.
Today’s newest appliances are better engineered with new energy efficiencies and LOADS of new features. Just think about the options on a cutting-edge dishwasher…what a fabulous way to make life easier with the more elaborate cooking we do!!
And MORE Appliances…
Not only are standard kitchen appliances today MAJORLY improved, but totally new appliances have appeared in the last 50 years, including:
- Mixers
- Air fryers
- The microwave
- Food processors
- Induction cooktops
- Smart pressure cookers
- And new innovations on old tools, like smart scales and more
These new appliances necessitate more cabinet space and counter surfaces. How is your kitchen designed? Do you have the space for the appliances you love to use?
A Space to Congregate
Finally, the single biggest change in kitchens has come in recent decades…the open kitchen design.
This change is SO recent that many homes still have the closed-off setup with kitchens tucked out of the way. And then what happens? Anyone who’s preparing food for guests is cut off from all the action…and when people (inevitably) congregate in the kitchen to chat or grab drinks and snacks, the space fills up.
Today’s kitchen is about family and guests coming together. It’s TOTALLY open to the rest of the home. It’s more than a workspace for preparing meals…it’s a space for making memories.
We’ve traveled through time and unraveled the threads of the kitchen’s evolution…how do you feel about your space? Do you have enough counterspace and all the right gadgets?
The kitchen holds the heartbeat of your home. It shapes your lifestyle—how you eat and share space—every day of the year.
Go ahead and dream a little bigger. What will the future of YOUR kitchen look like?
Join the conversation in our private design group right now!!
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