Open kitchens have always been favoured among homeowners, but given the many choices available in the market, setting up a home kitchen that melds function and form is no easy feat.
Gary Lui, founder of Hong Kong interior design firm Lova Design, has years of experience designing large-scale residential developments, and an open kitchen is something he always opts for. Many of his clients have high requirements for cooking space, but also pay attention to the perfect combination of practicality and beauty.
Mia Cucina, supported by Towngas, is a kitchen cabinet and premium appliance brand he often recommends. We recently sat down with Lui to get his thoughts on the brand, recent kitchen design trends, and the dos and don’ts of crafting a gorgeous and functional open kitchen at home.
What’s the plus of having an open kitchen? How often do you apply it in your design projects?
The Hongkongers’ way of life has been gradually shifting in recent years. Where they preferred to eat out before, now people are dining at home more, enjoying the fun of cooking and gathering with family and friends.
The residential flats in Hong Kong are relatively small and we would recommend to clients an open kitchen if the structure and fire safety gears are available. Gradually, an open kitchen has become such a loved design of many clients.
Not only does it enhance the sense of space, emitting more natural light and enlarging your space visually, an open-kitchen design can also combine the dining room and the kitchen to increase storage space, and offer a range of dining experiences at the same time.
Why do you recommend Mia Cucina products to clients?
We are very confident in Mia Cucina’s kitchen cabinets because Towngas’ management travels to Italy and other European countries to collect kitchen cabinet materials, and hardware accessories, such as Italian nanotechnology matte materials, and various ultra-compact surface materials.
Using nanotechnology matte materials for cabinet panels, it can fix minor scratches through heat and have anti-fingerprint finishes that keep the kitchen as clean as always. Thanks to the long-lasting durability, the sever-layer plywood carcass of the kitchen cabinet is especially suitable for the humid environment in Hong Kong.
Smart kitchen is also set to be huge. Mia Cucina provides a multifunctional smart mirror, seamlessly integrated into the cabinet panel, making it ultra-convenient to control the kitchen lights.
You can also watch cooking videos and news through the mirror to take the experience to another level. The brand also offers an electric lifting workbench, allowing you to adjust the countertop height at will so that children and adults can share the fun of home cooking.
What kitchen trends do you think will be big going forward? How will Mia Cucina’s kitchen cabinet products meet these trends?
A preference for a simple, neat, light and luxurious open-kitchen design will prevail, it’s one of the easiest ways to enlarge the sense of space and visual effect of homes.
Mia Cucina strives to provide clients with a variety of stylish and practical kitchen designs, and a series of quality built-in appliances to meet their needs. You can experience the latest kitchen design in the brand’s North Point and Causeway Bay showrooms.
Smart kitchen is also set to be huge. Mia Cucina provides a multifunctional smart mirror, seamlessly integrated into the cabinet panel, making it ultra-convenient to control the kitchen lights.
You can also watch cooking videos and news through the mirror to take the experience to another level. The brand also offers an electric lifting workbench, allowing you to adjust the countertop height at will so that children and adults can share the fun of home cooking.
What should I pay attention to when opening up the kitchen?
If you want to convert an enclosed kitchen into an open one, check first whether the Deed of Mutual Covenant of the building allows it; if yes then apply to the Buildings Department for the conversion. It is best to seek professional advice when remodelling an open kitchen, and consider if fire prevention equipment such as firewalls, smoke detectors and fire sprinkers have been properly installed in the flat.
It’s better to install a range hood with strong extraction rate in the open kitchen to always keep the indoor air fresh.
There’s a common perception that an open kitchen is not fit for open fire cooking. What’s your take on that?
If fire prevention is fully equipped, a flame cooking is feasible in open kitchens. In fact, many property developers have adopted the open-kitchen design geared with gas cooking stoves in new developments.
What are your tips on keeping the kitchen space clean and tidy?
We might consider installing a series of quality accessories to maximise the storage while keeping the kitchen tidy. I usually recommend to add on a pull-out swing at the L-shaped or U-shaped kitchen corner to ensure easy movement in such hidden areas.
With some shelves and racks placed on the backsplash or wall, users can easily take out and put back those typically used cookware and wine glasses, and keep other items in the drawers.
Mia Cucina also provides an electric pop-up power socket on the countertop, preventing the exposure of electric switches to keep the kitchen looking smart.
Take a look at Mia Cucina's Causeway Bay showroom:
