Then and Now

The kitchen's basic functions have stayed much the same since this 1917 exemplar—but its form certainly has gone through some remarkable changes. After a week at the Living Kitchen show, my own perspective on the room's design has been updated. From boiling water on-demand from a tap rather than a kettle to cabinets that open without the touch of a hand, culinary conveniences continue their ascent.

Tastes and technologies evolve, but until the day when meals come in the guise of a pill, we'll still need a place in the home to cook and drink and eat and talk and be alone or gather together while doing so.

The future looks bright.