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A Brief History of Kitchen and Bathroom Design

It is important for the kitchen and bath designer to understand the historical background of the design of the residential kitchen and bathroom in the United States and how it evolved. These spaces are often taken for granted as being primarily functional, necessary, and convenient rooms that have always been indoors, as they have been in most Western homes for a century or more. Fewer and fewer customers or designers can remember having or using primitive outdoor spaces for these functions, except when hiking or camping or in extremely remote areas. Therefore, giving thought to the actual design of these spaces is a relatively new concept, yet it is an opportunity for the expertise of the kitchen and bath designer.

• Learning Objective 1: Describe the development and evolution of the design of the residential kitchen.
• Learning Objective 2: Describe the development and evolution of the design of the residential bathroom.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE KITCHEN

For many centuries of recorded history, the kitchen was outside or in a separate building apart from the primary home to protect the family's dwelling from fires. The kitchen eventually became attached to the dwelling but was considered by most to be strictly a separate functional work space rather than one that required designing, aesthetic considerations, or integration into the rest of the house. This was especially true for the wealthy, who often had staff handling the meal preparation and cleanup. Aesthetics, close or convenient location to eating/dining space, or ease of function were not considered, nor were they thought to be important. In Colonial America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and into the nineteenth century, the kitchen became more integrated into the home, more a center of family life with the open flame from the fireplace used to warm the home and family as well as prepare the food. The kitchen of the Rundlet-May House (1807) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, features an enclosed fireplace-an early forerunner of the modern kitchen stove (see Figure 1.1.)

FIGURE 1.1 Historical kitchen

Courtesy of the Society of Preservation of New England Antiquities Photo by David Bohl

The idea of a well-planned, well-designed kitchen was first talked about in the 1920s when Hoosier cabinets were introduced by the Hoosier Company. Later, Cornell University and the US Department of Agriculture Research Station in Beltsville, Maryland, began research on functional kitchen planning. This research continued after World War II by the Small Homes Council of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, the room still remained primarily a workroom, where function (food preparation, storage, and cleanup), mass production of cabinetry, and ease of cleaning, rather than aesthetics or other uses, were the primary considerations (see Figure 1.2).

FIGURE 1.2 1940s kitchen

Courtesy of Kohler Company

Immediately following World War II, several leading midwestern and eastern US cabinet companies introduced color and more wood for cabinetry, which gradually was becoming built in, as well as decorative hardware and a variety of accent cabinet pieces. Built-in appliances and fixtures were introduced in the late 1950s and 1960s, in a myriad of styles and colors. These avant-garde kitchens were widely shown in high-fashion magazines, such as Town & Country and Vogue, as well as the many home design shelter publications that were popular and widely read by consumers (see Figure 1.3).

FIGURE 1.3 1960s kitchen

Courtesy of Sub Zero

In the 1970s, a new design concept was introduced in several well-respected shelter magazines-the great room. Walls were removed between the kitchen and adjacent living spaces, bringing the kitchen out of the strictly separate functional/work-oriented category, to become an integral part of the family public/social space. It also helped to make homes appear to be larger as some walls were removed. The concept of the great room brought mass appeal to the idea of a decorated kitchen-one that was attractive to look at as well as functional to work and entertain in and continues to be popular (see Figure 1.4).

FIGURE 1.4 Great room/kitchen design concept introduced in the 1970s

Design by Carol Swanson-Petterson, CKD; KB Cabinets, Millbrae, CA

The concept of an aesthetically pleasing kitchen (whether a separate space or part of the great room concept) grew in importance throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s as the English bespoke idea of an unfitted kitchen was coupled with consumer interest in highly stylized, traditionally influenced environments attempting to re-create the warmth of a sundrenched villa in Tuscany, a colonial cottage in New England, or the midcentury modern look. Architectural details from these historic or period settings became more and more popular for consumers planning kitchens that were becoming the center of activity in their homes. A traditional kitchen with Old World design details is still popular today (see Figure 1.5).

FIGURE 1.5 Traditional 1990s kitchen

Design by Bryan Reiss, CMKBD and Scott Stultz, codesigners Peter Deane and Kelly Stewart, CMKBD

The concept of a kitchen outdoors returned in the early 2000s, although it is quite different from the simple fire pits or crude adobe ovens of earlier times. This concept created a new wealth of design opportunities for the kitchen designer. The outdoor kitchens range from simple built-in barbecues to elaborate structures that are as extensive, complete, and well thought-out and designed as typical indoor kitchens (see Figure 1.6).

FIGURE 1.6 Outdoor kitchen

Courtesy of Lynx Grills, Inc.

The interest in such aesthetically pleasing spaces continues today. As a kitchen specialist, one may be asked to plan a room that has a European-influenced sleek, uncluttered, and sophisticated style; a mid-twentieth-century modern renovation, or one that is harmonious and calming, inspired by a Far Eastern interior. The designer's ability to appropriately use the elements and principles of good design as well as understand historic and cultural themes will add great value to functional space planning solutions. Contemporary kitchens today combine convenience, function, and beauty. In the example shown in Figure 1.7, plain, simple cabinets are highlighted with sleek cabinet pulls. Relatively smooth and varied wood-grained countertops and stainless-steel appliances are contrasted with the rough-textured wall treatment.

FIGURE 1.7 Contemporary European-influenced kitchen

Design by German Brun, LEED, AP, codesigner Lizmarie Esparza; Den Architecture, Miami, FL Photo by Greg Clark

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BATHROOM

For most of recorded history, the bathroom, as it is known today, did not exist. The outhouse or any convenient outdoor space was the toilet norm, as were outdoor washing facilities, often a stream or other body of water. However, indoor bath spaces strictly for bathing in some sort of tub or with a pitcher and bowl for washing have been around since ancient Greek and Roman times. It took centuries for these activities to come together in a single space. Although luxury homes featured indoor bathrooms with plumbed fixtures in the late 1800s, it was not until the 1920s that most building codes began mandating indoor plumbing for all new residential construction. These new codes paid little attention to the way the bathroom looked or how much space was required, because the space was perceived primarily as utilitarian. At first for typical bathrooms, few choices existed for fixture styles, colors, or fitting finishes. The primary concerns of early bathroom planners were providing safe indoor water supply intake and removal and accommodating three basic, usually white, fixtures in the smallest space possible. They also converted a dressing room, nursery, or other small room that had sufficient space for fixtures (see Figure 1.8).

FIGURE 1.8 Historical bathroom, early twentieth century

Courtesy of Kohler Company

Although many builders, designers, and architects overlooked the potential beauty of the bathroom, American filmmakers and emerging design trendsetters realized how attractive a bathroom could be. Sets in the emerging Hollywood film industry during the 1920s and 1930s suggested the potential beauty and luxury of the bathroom. Major manufacturers expanded their product lines and introduced color in their fixtures. An early Kohler advertisement celebrates this use of color in the bathroom (see Figure 1.9).

FIGURE 1.9 Historical bathroom, 1920s, introducing color

Courtesy of Kohler Company

In 1929, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art featured an exhibit devoted to the artistic and aesthetic qualities of a residential household, including the bathroom, using black fixtures to contrast with the light tile (see Figure 1.10).

FIGURE 1.10...