Your walk-in wardrobe design should create a space exuding opulence and sophistication, while being functional and accessible.
Tag Archive for: luxury kitchens
Wellness has become a talking point as we’ve had an opportunity to look inward and assess our lifestyles, what we’d like to change and how we go about making those changes. However, wellness is so much more than what we eat, what we drink or how we exercise- your surroundings play a grand effect on your wellbeing.
Wellness focused interior design is becoming increasingly attractive, for good reason. Art, aesthetics and wellbeing are intertwined in the creation of a home environment that supports an end goal of a relaxing, balanced space to call home.
Here is a list of aspects to consider for your wellness-focused design vision:
Nature
There is a scientific hypothesis that suggests humans have an inherent tendency to seek nature. This has become an entire design style called Biophilic Interior Design which is a movement that incorporates nature into the interiors of homes, restaurants, stores and more. By adding greenery into your home acts as a natural mood booster and can even reduce stress levels while filtering the air.
Valcucine places great emphasis on nature and design. In fact, our factory and headquarters in Italy are housed in glass and situated in the middle of nature to allow continuous inspiration.
Luminance
Light is an important wellness factor to consider when designing your dream space. Areas that are designed around natural light sources are more likely to aid in productivity, mood enhancement and overall psychological health. This is due to us being in sync with our natural circadian rhythm. In your design, try to use natural light where you can in conjunction with reflective materials such as glass, metals or using lighting that matches natural light. Valcucine Cape Town designs take this natural rhythm into account- the lighting in our pieces are easily manipulated to match the time of day, mood or occasion.
Colour
Colour is an extremely powerful influencing factor on how a space makes you feel. Lighter colours can make a room feel larger and brighter while darker colours can make a space feel intimate and inviting. In general colour hues can be broken up into active and passive colours with active colours being bright and hard while passive colours are more neutral and calming. Passive colours are great for designs with a wellness focus to keep the mood calm.
Aroma
Aromatherapy is by no means a new concept, however, it is an integral part of a wellness routine. Certain scents have a direct impact on our emotional response mechanism. Adding diffuser oils or candles are a great way to form the overall feeling of a room.
Design
Bespoke design pieces that fall in line with your wellness objective is a lovely addition to space. This can take shape in a variety of ways such as joinery separating two rooms, furniture pieces that mirror the overall aesthetic of your home or textural elements that invoke a sense of nature such as stone, wood or glass.
Valcucine kitchens are created at the epicenter where design meets wellness through our well-balanced designs. All of our designs are inspired by nature it’s elements as we aim to reflect that through our craftsmanship and finishes. If you would like to experience these designs, visit our showroom at 117 Strand Street in Cape Town.
Valcucine Cape Town is proud to be part of The Excellence Group who represent like-minded brands in the industry to make it easier for clients to complete their home by working with one company. If you would like to find out more about how we at The Excellence Group can help you, give us a call on 021 035 1737 or send us an email at connect@theexcellencegroup.co.za.
In your home, your high-end kitchen is the space that should be fit-for-purpose-built. We often get caught up in the enthusiasm and excitement of how it looks in the showroom when buying a luxury kitchen, instead of taking a closer look at features such as worktop height, worktop depth and how wall unit doors open.
Designing and building a kitchen space that fits you is what kitchen ergonomics is all about. Because ergonomics is the science that studies our interactions with the areas we live and work in and the objects we use.
At Valcucine, we paid careful attention to how people used their kitchens and identified seven major problems. Here are some tips to use when designing your high-end kitchen.
1. Worktop height
The standard height for a worktop in a high-end kitchen is 85cm from the floor to the worktop. However, today, people are taller than when this became the standard. Working off a worktop that is too low or too high can be detrimental to the health of your back. Here are some suggested worktop heights, based on how tall you are:
- If you are 150cm – 160cm high, your worktop should be 84cm high
- If you are 160cm – 170cm high, your worktop should be 88cm high
- If you are 170cm – 180cm high, your worktop should be 92cm high
- If you are 180cm – 190cm high, your worktop should be 96cm high
2. Worktop depth
Feel cooped-up when working in your luxury kitchen? Your wall units might be too near your face preventing you from having a complete view of the worktop. The traditional depth of a worktop is 60cm. A depth of 65cm – 80cm gives you more freedom of movement because you have more working space and a better field of vision.
3. Wall unit height
If your wall unit shelf is too high, it makes it impossible to reach and see what’s on it, becoming wasted space. Increasing the depth (e.g. from 60cm to 65cm – 80cm) of the worktop allows you to drop the height of your wall unit from the standard 54cm above worktop to 48cm – 42cm above the worktop. This drop makes the contents in your wall unit more visible and easier to reach.
4. Wall unit doors
Traditional wall units require the user to open and close the doors continuously. You often leave the doors open when you are busy in the kitchen. This may give you a closed-in feeling or result in a few bangs on your head if you leave the doors open. Opt rather for a leave lift-up door, which allows you the freedom of movement and fewer headbangs.
Wellness and well-being is based essentially on freedom. One of Valcucine’s special features in their high-end kitchen range is the Aerius Wall Unit which has a light and noiseless, ultra-slim, lift-up door. Read more about it here.
5. Freedom to see and reach
Traditional base units with shelves mean that you have to kneel to get to spaces at the back that are almost always inaccessble and poorly lit. Rather swap to full extension jumbo drawers when designing your high-end kitchen, that allows you to see everything inside, neatly arranged and easy to reach.
6. Freedom to open draws completely
Traditional drawers that open partially don’t allow you a complete view of what is inside. Full-extension drawers that pull out all the way allows you to see everything that is inside.
7. Tricky corner unit
Kitchen corner units have traditionally always been a problem. When designing your high-end kitchen space, you need to take into consideration how the cabinets open, accessibility to items inside and rational use of space. Good solutions are corner base units with receding doors, and carousel racks are more ergonomic than a base unit with fixed shelves.
Remember you have the right to live in a safe, comfortable, functional environment so when you buy something, make sure it is ergonomically right for your, as well as beautiful.
Other considerations when designing a high-end kitchen
A quality high-end kitchen is an investment, make sure you work with manufacturers that carry quality marks. Read about what quality marks mean in luxury kitchens here.
Planning a new high-end kitchen? Looking at a modular unit or a kitchen with a continuous worktop? Maybe a kitchen unit with plinths or rather wall-hung? Here are some practical design tips when planning your luxury kitchen.
Don’t leave your high-end kitchen in the dark, read here about how to use task, accent and general lighting in your kitchen.
Valcucine South Africa is part of the The Excellence Group.
