What are summer kitchens and how to make them a feature of your home

Where the concept of a summer kitchen comes from

Once upon a time, the kitchen, especially in stately and elegant residences belonging to the upper classes, was separate from the main house, in an even separate building, albeit one that was close and easily accessible: servants and cooks worked there, and the separation was functional. With the passage of time and the change in society and also in the conception of the home obviously everything has changed, think of the fact that in modern open-plan flats the kitchen is one with the living room! But the concept of summer kitchens can still be current and useful for those who want to create an area for cooking and eating in holiday homes, cottages or even in the city by using a garden. If once the practical sense was to keep smells away from the main part of the house and reduce the risk of fire, now it is nothing more than a particularly original structure where you can share time with guests.

The definition: what we are talking about

In fact, the definition of a summer kitchen speaks of a room designed for cooking and eating, detached from the main body of the house, be it a holiday home, a cottage or one’s main residence, although often connected. It is ideally a separate building, but it can also be open-plan. Taking a cue from how the kitchen was understood in its own right years ago, a new concept has in fact been developed for a room that has two main functions, those of eating and cooking, with a profound sense of conviviality and hospitality, which cannot, however, be divorced from the design and quality of the furnishings. Indeed, it must not only be functional and practical but welcoming and pleasant to live in and see!

Closed summer kitchens

One usually thinks of a rectangular or square room or structure, but such a kitchen can also have more unusual shapes such as octagonal or hexagonal or even asymmetrical. They are mainly divided into two categories, each with its own advantages. You have open summer kitchens and closed summer kitchens. In the former case, you do not have walls and are therefore closer to the gazebo concept, while in the latter you are dealing with actual buildings. Closed summer kitchens, on a practical level, allow them to be used in any weather, thus remaining protected from the weather and the wind, which can be particularly annoying on cool evenings. It also protects against insects, a tiresome company in summer, and also against one’s own pets.

Glass or curtains to give your enclosed summer kitchens airiness

On the other hand, a free-standing open kitchen certainly gives a more airy feeling: it is like being both cooking and eating in a gazebo, and the impression will be of being directly in the garden. One solution could be, in order to have the advantages of both options, to set up walls of glass or a transparent material, or to provide a system of curtains like those on terraces.

Furnishing the summer kitchen: a real room!

As we have seen, designing the furniture for one’s kitchen in a building, whether open or closed, is like thinking about the interior design of a real room. The kitchen will have to be efficient, to allow cooking on site. You will need to understand what you want: a grill or barbecue or something more complex? Summer kitchens are a real kitchen so you can focus on technology, even creating a professional ambience if you wish. The indispensable elements are a hob, a sink and a refrigeration area, for the rest you can indulge. The same applies to the eating area: kitchen island, table, chairs or stools, the freedom is absolute, both in terms of materials and colours. The interior design can perhaps recall the rustic, or go for something modern and essential, or even classic!

Il Piccolo, a second generation family business, opens its showroom in Lugano. With over 50 years of experience, Il Piccolo brings with it a wealth of technical and design knowledge of the highest level, thanks to the many interiors designed and furnished around the world. In addition, Il Piccolo represents many of the best international luxury furniture brands. We design, manufacture and sell the best in design. Also with regard to La Cornue kitchens, we follow the customer from the design to the realisation of the project, integrating the whole process with a precise and professional service.CONTACT US