Kitchen, dining room, living room — in modern new builds these rooms merge into one large whole that radiates openness and space. And modern designer kitchens are far too beautiful to hide behind a door: clean lines, calm colours, a pared-back, harmonious look, with materials like stone and wood combined with aluminium or stainless steel. In many homes the kitchen has thus become the social hotspot — you enjoy a beer with friends, drink an espresso. And of course you cook.
Almost like a hearth
The kitchen island plays the lead role. Depending on need it serves as a workbench — to marinate the steak and prep the salad —, has a cooktop, or does both, like the «Orea-T» from Zurich’s Orea AG, which has its kitchens made in a workshop in Schwyz’s Muotathal. Together with the Bern University of Applied Sciences, the young company developed an island conceived as a modular workbench: the entire surface can be closed off with a panel, creating a generous prep and storage area when not cooking. The piece has won several awards — the Good Design Award, the Iconic Award and the German Design Award.
A top chef as brand ambassador
Orea’s brand ambassador is the Swiss top chef Andreas Caminada — the 44-year-old from Graubünden, with three Michelin stars and a place in the «World’s 50 Best Restaurants», shares with Orea a desire for pleasure and uniqueness. «Every movement is a unique sensory experience», says Caminada, «because every dish, every cocktail has its own note.» Both partners master the art of making something special out of the simple. And although Orea’s kitchens integrate digital components, the kitchen remains an analogue, emotional place: here people debate and laugh, flirt and share — time, food and, above all, thoughts and feelings.
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/21 (November 2021).
