The Sociable Kitchen: Design elements target functions beyond cooking.

Few give it much thought, but rooms come and go, expand and shrink, their uses change according to fashion as well as to cope with our changing lifestyles. Parlors are a thing of the past, formal dining rooms too. Open plan, once a fresh novel idea, wavers and flickers toward extinction. All leave their mark.

Currently, the kitchen is king. The living room is shrinking (metaphorically), the media room lights up few pixels, the mud room creates an imagined sense of cleanliness and order. But the kitchen is on the rampage. Almost all the downstairs uses of the house now are expected to be accommodated at least partially in the kitchen: entertaining, eating, cooking, a desk with space for a computer and telephone, a television, a relaxing space including a sofa, a children's play area with some toy storage and access or connection to the yard.

Why is there this enthusiasm to raise the profile of the kitchen when, according to recent surveys, Americans now buy prepared food in ever-increasing quantities? Surely the kitchen should be on the decline.

The chief reason is our fundamental need for a hearth, an emotional and spiritual center of the home. We are returning to an ancient archetype last in fashion in medieval times, which can be summarized as 'life in one room.' It is convenient and sociable and with the time-crunch factor caused by both partners working, we want to be together when we are home.

Kitchen designer used soft geometry, varying counter heights, new appliances and a central island to create a sociable "living" kitchen for day-to-day use and special entertaining.

Cooking is only part of the role of the kitchen nowadays. The more pre-prepared food is brought in the more we need to cling to the role of the kitchen as a cooking space. It is a compensation for the real thing. The trend toward ever more sophisticated appliances, particularly professional-style ranges, confirms this.

Men, too, are getting in on the act. "Hobby cooking" now is a major activity and source of relaxation. And why not -- it's fun and helpful and as good an introduction to the kitchen and cooking as you can get. It has given rise to the inclusion of double work stations and higher quality appliances.

A recent survey indicates that while the size of the kitchen is increasing, the cooking area itself is not. The extra space is for sociable uses so the pressure on the cooking zone remains as tight as ever and ergonomics -- the planning for efficiency and ease of use -- remains more important than ever. Ergonomics is based on the science of measurement of the human body so a new ingredient entering is good kitchen design for which professionals are needed.

Raised height dishwashers, correct height countertops and convenient positioning of the main kitchen activities are all important. One of the links between ergonomics and the new social role of the kitchen is the central island cook top. It shortens walking distances and focuses you into the center of the room. Why face a wall when you can be chatting or looking at the view? Another requirement is ultra-quiet dishwashers and refrigerators. Who wants to entertain, watch television or listen to music in a machine shop?

A comfortable kitchen can make a real difference in the quality of life and in the way a house is lived in and enjoyed. Kitchens have moved on in our aspirations. Our job as architects, designers and kitchen makers is to help adapt our ill-shaped houses to accommodate these new perceptions and turn them into reality.

Ten Tips
Following are 10 suggestions for turning kitchens into living rooms:

• Used as a central living space, the kitchen should be designed for functional as well as social purposes. Design an island counter and position cooking tasks sociably toward the center of the room.
  
• To give a kitchen a fresh new look without completely remodeling it, replace appliances and countertops, add decorative tiles and alter the lighting.
  
• Think of the kitchen as a living room and make space for favorite collections or pieces of furniture. A sofa or wooden hutch can add to the personal style of any kitchen.
  
• Make the kitchen inviting for everyone in the household. Accommodate children, for instance, with varying counter heights or a separate activity area with a chalkboard.
  
• Make sure kitchen appliances fit cooking and design needs.
  
• Use soft geometry and create a kitchen space which goes far beyond the traditional "boxes on the wall" cabinet concept.
  
• Today's sociable kitchen should be a rich visual experience and a pleasure to use. Consider materials such as granite, stainless steel and dark woods as accent materials to provide contrast.
  
• Go beyond the single triangle concept -- create two or three triangles. Develop separate work areas including duplicate appliances like ranges, dishwasher and microwaves to increase traffic flow and make food preparation and clean-up quick and easy.
  
• Assure the overall comfort of the kitchen by installing the quietest materials and appliances.
  
• Last but not least, create a kitchen that is functional for the jobs at hand, comfortable enough to live in, and personal enough to entertain in and enjoy.
  

REDEFINING THE KITCHEN'S PURPOSE
A key finding of the recent Jenn-Air Homelife Trends Survey indicates that the larger the kitchen, the more important it is to the total functioning of the home.

Of the 750 survey respondents nationwide, nearly half (45 percent) indicated their kitchens are routinely used as multi-purpose rooms for cooking, entertaining and relaxing, outpacing "cooking and eating only" (33 percent) and "cooking only" (22 percent). The proportion rises considerably (58 percent) among those with self-described large kitchens. Additionally, among those with self-described large kitchens, the kitchen now leads the living room as the room where important household activities take place:

• The kitchen is the room in which conversations with family and friends most frequently take place (41 percent).
  
• The kitchen is the room in which people are most likely to gather (42 percent).
  
• The kitchen (31 percent) now rivals the living room (29 percent) as the room in which the most time is spent.
  

They are more likely to be entertaining more (35 percent) than are families with smaller kitchens (23 percent).

Even when combined with the responses of those with less kitchen space, the kitchen competes with the living room as the room in which family conversations take place (37 percent living room, 32 percent kitchen). The kitchen of the '90s has become the center of quality family interaction.