Lighting & Kitchen reinforcing your architectural Image

There are few design tools available that will make your newly built or remodeled home stand out like good lighting and a great kitchen.

The kitchen is a space where you spend a great deal of quality time. Alone, with your partner, or with your kids, it’s a given that beyond being a room for service, it’s a room of great conviviality. It must be a practical and inviting space, particularly if you have a full time job.

We understand that cost is an important factor. Yet we must recognize that equally important is the elegant look of a good design. A balanced investment allows you, little by little, to move forward with your project along lines set by the clear ideas of what you want. Otherwise, you will be amazed how quickly you prove that cheap is often the most expensive option, both on the balance sheet, and in your quality of life.

There are building materials for all tastes. However, the guidelines of design recommend not breaking the “Function before Beauty” rule. Therefore function should determine the parameters with which you chose the appropriate materials.

Lighting must be designed by taking into consideration that a number of different activities take place within the same space. These include breakfast, cleaning, fast and slow food, night visits, happy-hour, lazy Sundays, and even romantic dinners. For this reason you cannot afford not using a pair of dimmers and indirect lighting, to supplement the standard lights for cleaning.

Use the already available electrical outlets so as to not go into an unnecessary remodeling job. Invest in a good Italian, American or Spanish lamp that allows you to play with the industrial design elements you may already have. Use materials that are easy to clean, that have low energy consumption, and are low maintenance. Use bright and soft, direct and indirect lighting. This can be the case even if you’re renting, since all these items are easy to remove when you’re ready to leave.

Personally I like stoves that are located in the center of the kitchen that allow you to cook and see everything that is going on all around you. If in your particular case it doesn’t fit, you can achieve a similar effect by placing a mirror above the stove. Study the location carefully and have fun while bringing new control of your space.

There is the perception that modern is cold, or it doesn’t fit well with the rest of a more classical home. So I think we must first define what is “modern”. For me modern is that which goes parallel with a modern lifestyle. The life in which we live today forces us to be prepared to watch the news while we cook, to answer the phone while slicing onions, to run out the door because we’re late for work, and to leave everything washing so it’s ready for the next sitting. Which is why I wouldn’t be surprised if soon we’ll start seeing kitchens complete with wireless internet, Wi-Fi, high definition screen TV’s connected to your closed circuit security system, and Hi-Fi audio systems. Then again, I’ve already seen in a few trade shows.

For this reason I strongly recommend working on a conceptual design that has as its core principals, functionality, flexibility, easy maintenance and image. Outline the curves carefully and do it without fear.

Some time back I had the opportunity to see the home of an accomplished chef friend of mine, who was also a restaurant owner. She has a colonial home in Colonia Roma in Mexico City, quite elegant and very Mexican. Nonetheless, her kitchen looked as if it had been plucked out of a NYC loft yet it wasn’t out of place. I thought she was able to achieve a very special balance.

The design process is part of a design culture that is becoming increasingly popular in Mexico. This is due to the cultural acceptance of change that has come into being in our society as it becomes more upwardly mobile. It is my belief that Mexican cuisine –one of the most exquisite and celebrated in the world- can be matched best with a modernly designed kitchen.

A good chef, such as yourself, will appreciate a modern kitchen. Once you have lost any fear you may have had of modern design, you can come to get the most of the opportunities it presents. You will lead a fuller life throughout your journeys and experiences. Through an embrace of modern design you will forge an aspect of yourself, your very own architectural identity.

This is just my opinion, I hope it’ll work in your favor, working with you to fine tune one of the most powerful tools today, your architectural image.

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