UNIQUE KITCHEN DESIGN
25 July 2008
“The Yin and the Yang”
If you don’t mind, I’d like to just indulge myself for a bit, in part because I did happen to come across some rather unique items, in larger part, I suppose, because I simply want to.
One of the axioms all of us learn at an early age is that opposites attract, but that it is folly for them to marry, an issue I bring up only because my wife and I are as different as two people can be, I suppose, but for all that we have enjoyed an incredible harmony that has endured for decades (32 years in August). For as long as we have been married I have said that we are the yin and the yang, two opposites that make one harmonious whole, which is really not the exact meaning of the concept, but it’s my own turn on it. And, hey, it works for us. In any case, on our 25th anniversary, Christine gave me a yin and yang ring, and we are always on the lookout for the motif, just because of the personal meaning it has to us. Well, with that as background then, you can see why I am anxious to share some of what I found this week on the Internet.
The item at the top of this blog is a Yin Yang kitchen by Stefan Price for Evitavonni. Like all the other European kitchens we’ve featured on these pages, it is something we’re 
never going to have in our own home, but I have to say that I was intrigued with the yin and yang motif that was used here. They’ve done more than just use the motif for an unusual countertop, though. They have actually put the water-based and “calm” parts like the refrigerator and sink in the Yin part. Truth to tell, I’m not sure any part of a kitchen counts for calm—well maybe the beer—but this is the logic they used to divide the parts of the unit! The hot, or “aggressive,” elements like the stovetop and the oven are in the Yang. Actually, the most aggressive element is the price, as this particular kitchen goes for $203,933.00!
Another intriguing element I came across is the Yin Yang™ Wading Pool® Lavatory sink by Kohler. It’s not immediately apparent in this photograph, but the sink has a slightly convex center which has been shaped to create an unique visual appeal as the water swirls its way to the drain which has been set to one side, instead of the normal, bland center drain. Anyone who has ever spent any time with Taoism knows at once the appropriateness of utilizing this motif in a sink, as water is one of the more important concepts in that ancient religion.
Finally, and this is the one I most hope we really do get for ourselves one day, I came across a line of Yin Yang Outdoor Furniture by Dedon. The chairs can be used separately, but they make a rather stunning motif when arranged as a unit. They are made of materials that are designed for the outdoors, so they’re at home around a swimming pool or on any kind of patio a body may have. The other thing that is particularly slick, I think, is the way they designed these chairs so that, even when put together to show off the yin and yang motif, they can still be used for seating. More than that, they can then be used for one of those long Sunday morning conversations of a long time, happily married couple that doesn’t necessarily discuss anything profound, but just seems to take on a life of its own, the kind of talk that never really stops until the coffee’s gone or the damned phone rings!
Joseph
Nice blog Joseph. I am also a big fan of the modern European designs. For those that don’t know, what appears to be a light above the counter in the kitchen picture is a Elica Star range hood which we discussed previously.
Joe
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