How the kitchen became the most important room in the home

It’s the first room you notice when you walk into a house. It’s where you used to “help” your mum cook by licking the egg beaters; where you’ve shared quiet afternoon cuppas with friends and family over the years and laughed over congratulatory glasses of champagne. The kitchen is the equivalent of the centrepiece of a table. Only it’s got a pulse.

“It’s where the engine is. Growing up, it was where Mum could usually be found,” says Guy Grossi, of Grossi Florentino, adding that the allure of the kitchen obviously has a lot to do with food. “And food is nourishment – not just for your body, but also for your soul.”

Throughout history, kitchens haven’t always had the same role. In ancient times they were dark, sooty places (thanks to old-style cooking methods) in which the servants worked. More recently, kitchens became largely a woman’s domain: a separate, enclosed room where the matriarch would spend hours cooking a meal for her family.

“My mother, every night of the week, would set out napkins, cloths, silver napkin rings and wine glasses,” says Marieke Brugman, long-time chef and cooking school owner. “I think things changed when guys got interested in cooking. And I think also we became a more casual society.”

Yet we are also more passionate about cooking than ever. After the microwave age of the 1990s saw us spending less time in the kitchen, the popularity of cooking shows has inspired people to reconnect with the joy of making food. We also want to be able to socialise while we do it.

Chef Anna Polyviou had her kitchen redesigned so she could cook and interact with her guests at the same time.

“What happened in my kitchen is that I stopped cooking as much because I was facing the wall,” she says. “So I built an island in the middle of my kitchen so I can actually look out. You don’t want to miss out on spending quality time with people because we all have busy lifestyles.”

Polyviou is touching on an important point. In a time when families are rarely sitting down together to watch the six o’clock news or gather around the dinner table to eat, the kitchen plays the important role of a communal space. Today’s open-plan designs reflect our desire for the kitchen to be more than just a place for cooking and eating.

“Now kitchens are the hub of the home,” says award-winning interior designer James Dawson. “An island bench is often the centre of activity in the kitchen, whether it be where the laptop lives, where kids do homework while meals are prepared, or where friends gather around with a glass of wine for weekend dinner parties.”

Unsurprisingly, kitchen design is one of the biggest considerations when designing a house (remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry had his kitchen cabinetry redone and his friends ended up walking out because it disrupted the flow of their conversation?). It’s an area homeowners are prepared to drop big bucks on.

“Kitchens and bathrooms are one of the most expensive things in a house,” says acclaimed interior designer Scott Weston. “I did a kitchen that cost $250,000. And that wasn’t on a whim – they wanted something very special … because that side of the house is a very important component in how they live. It’s integral.”

When you think about everything we ask of our kitchens these days, investing in a good one makes sense. After all, it’s what keeps the whole thing together.