HAVE KITCHENS EVOLVED INTO THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE HOME?

In the early 1900s, wealthy homeowners typically hired cooks and servants to prepare meals for the family and the kitchen was designed as a service type area. Located in the rear, behind the main living area, the kitchen was used strictly for utilitarian purposes.
With the industrial revolution and the rise of the middle class came the efficient kitchen design that was popular within working class apartments. The small kitchen space was optimized to reduce meal preparation time and to lower the cost of kitchen construction. Kitchens still existed strictly as a place to prepare food.
The Usonian home design, established by Frank Lloyd Wright, became the suburban home design of choice and introduced the concept of open floor plans. Spaces began to flow and the kitchen was eventually incorporated back into the overall design of the home. Open plan kitchens became the desired kitchen remodel choice for women, as they no longer wanted to be confined to the kitchen. When Julia Child began to appear on TV in the 1960s, she convinced average people that they could prepare gourmet meals. Homeowners quickly realized that they wanted a gourmet kitchen remodel to match their new found skills. It is common today for dinner party guests to join the hostess in the kitchen. Families routinely gather around the kitchen to hang out or cook together. Opening up the kitchen to the living space allows for families to commune more easily.