Diana Porter has over the 35 years she’s been designing interiors built so solid a reputation for excellence that she has achieved quite a feat: her global clientele have ensured she has a packed work schedule solely by word of mouth. One of her core beliefs for design is that “your house design can be a source of pleasure – or should be a source of pleasure.” Here, she shares her vision for what kitchen design for the new generation should include, how to best integrate modern touches and updates, and how to incorporate elements that’ll provide that all-important moment of pleasure in day-to-day life.
Image: Stella Weatherall's Notting Hill Townhouse – Boz Gagovski
Image: House & Garden – Paul Massey
Choose function and form
Architects always want the purest version of design where nothing is decorative and form trumps function, and you’ll very infrequently find a hardcore architect adding decorative touches for no reason. This is now redundant; we’re being so influenced through social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, and those big American kitchens that are homely and lived in and Italian ones that set the stage for big family meals are trending, so remembering that a kitchen is a space for gathering and spending time as a family has become a real factor in kitchen design.
Add soft touches
I am seeing a real movement towards softness in kitchen design. The last thing people want now is an echoey kitchen, but rather something that is welcoming. You’re looking to achieve the antithesis of the big, shiny, sterile kitchen, so everything needs to move away from that. I’d encourage using different light sources to avoid the glaring, harsh spotlight effect, and allowing things to become a little weathered, which works really well when you have, for example, a beautiful marble work surface with marks incorporated in the design. You might want to go down the route of reclamation to make things look really beautifully aged – Retruvius are a good port of call.
Image: Retruvius – Creating a Kitchen Island from ex-museum display cases
Image: House & Garden – Owen Gale
Move away from matching
The days of a fitted kitchen all in the same style and hue are over; yes, you want cohesion, but no, you don’t want you kitchen to feel like an interior designer has pulled every last element together for you. Think about using different colours and textures to add interest, and remember that the addition of patterned fabrics or of a big pantry on display can make all the difference.
Get crafty
The feel of homeliness is partially contingent on a little crafty element. Whether in the form of tablecloths that look rustic, or patchwork patterns on other fabric elements, it will add the feel of a kitchen you want to spend time in, that’s part of the core of the house. Offshoots of this craft fashion is the popularity of wicker, which feels comforting, and plates that maybe don’t all quite match, are may be hand thrown. Equally you could extend this into your choice of glassware, choosing things that have slight differences in appearance. These are the areas in which you can add a sense of individuality and more quirkiness.
Image: House & Garden – Sebastian Bergström
Image: House & Garden – Owen Gale
Please your senses
The fact that pantries are becoming so widely loved again speaks volumes about how important visual pleasure has become via putting things on display to enjoy. Also important, however, is the pleasure you have in using that kitchen every day. I, for example, decant everything from food to washing powder, because I find I really enjoy dipping into a glass jar. They also look much more pleasing if stacked on a shelf, say, and you see a lot more of this sense of a working kitchen where cooking happens now thanks to the vogue for jars and beautiful storage receptacles not being hidden away. I really strongly believe living in your home should bring you pleasure, and that you can make ‘chores’ and moments of domesticity feel less cumbersome with small tweaks.