Toncelli Essential Kitchen Design
12 January 2010
“That’s What I’m Talking About!”
One of the slickest ideas I have yet come across for kitchens is the totally trim, out-of-sight-out-of-mind look. There is a kitchen forum that I frequently visit, and one of the ladies there was floating the idea of a sink so designed that it would actually tuck into a granite countertop. You would still see the sink, but it was to be designed in such a way that there would be no cutouts at all for faucets and such. Everything would be in the sink, and the sink itself would be an undermount. The idea was a seven foot long, visually clean counter with but a single opening in it, an undermount sink with a slight negative reveal, and no other object in the visual field, not even a faucet. The sink was to be covered over by cutting boards and a piece of the same material as the counter.
The problem with such a concept, though, was that it struck me, on paper at least, as very much an improvised approach to an otherwise wonderful concept. Since such countertops do not actually exist in this lady’s world, she was obliged to c
ome up with the idea of a piece of the countertop being used to cover the sink when not in use, which, in turn, raises a number of questions. If her countertop is granite, won’t that be a rather heavy lid to muscle about, and won’t one always be worrying about its falling to the floor and breaking? And even if the countertop were to be made of another product, wouldn’t the “sink lid” gather its share of dings and discolorations over the years? But, even so, it’s an intriguing idea.
Well, I naturally bring that up for a reason, and that is to introduce the subject of today’s blog, namely the Essential kitchen from Toncelli. What they have done here is nothing less than amazing, an Old World meets New sort of concept. First, there is the cabinetry itself, which is made of Olive wood throughout, which, with its association with Greece and the Holy Land, is about as “Old World” as you can get! But along with the comfort of the Old, there is all the technology of the New.
This is very much a finely-tuned, high performance, up-to-the-minute cooking machine, I kid you not! For starts, there is the worktop surface that takes that lady’s idea of a trim countertop and realizes it to a fare-thee-well. The cantilevered top you see in these photos is actually an Olive wood worktop surface that has slid away from the base cabinet, revealing the st
ainless steel areas for cooking and washing. And with that amount of wood countertop for a food preparation space. well, it’s considerably more than a lot of kitchens, I can tell you! But then they’ve gone this concept one better by utilizing photoelectric cells that will block any movements sensed as dangers, so as to ensure maximum safety in the kitchen, which is a most reassuring concept for those with inquisitive, small children. The wall unit behind the island counter houses all of the large appliances behind its sliding doors, along with a large amount of storage space that has been lacquered in glossy white for a look that is both clean and easy to maintain.
The Essential kitchen from Toncelli is a kitchen that really does come down to the essentials in its choice of Olive wood and its glorious disappearing sink and stove. On their website Toncelli points out that “since the Renaissance Tuscany has created its own world and its own lifestyle.” If you’ve seen the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun,” you know what they’re talking about. But with a kitchen like this, what they could be talking about is. you!
Joseph
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One Response to “Toncelli Essential Kitchen Design”
January 13th, 2010 at 7:36 AM
Just when I thought I had an original idea….
At least I know where to go to find a kitchen design with this as a core concept now. And I don’t have to try to engineer all the details!!!
Awesome how all that kitchen cabinetry looks like furniture.