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History of
Kitchens
I would like to share with you
my thoughts and views into what is titled the history of kitchens.
Fifteen years ago, I was a kitchen manufacturer of trendy kitchens,
we all remember almond formica with oak handles, just everyday
kitchens cabinets. One day, a friend from England went home to visit
family and happened upon a showroom in the village of Castle Ashby.
The showroom was full of period style kitchens. He had convinced me
to go to England to see this furniture in hopes of finding a way to
make this product available in the USA. Seeing this product wasn’t
love at first sight, but within a week I was hooked. This was the
first time I saw how much a kitchen could be a part of a home,
something more than function. It was something that added comfort.
 The best way to describe the process
of learning the history of this furniture was to close my
eyes, turn completely around and open my eyes to a new way of
thinking. Instead of moving in a direction everyone else traveled, I
chose to look through history for ideas.
There is a museum in York,
England, that had created environments of different kitchens
throughout history. One was a kitchen from a castle. It consisted of
a large free standing plate rack with a washtub below it. That was
it. They would wash dishes in the tub, put them in the rack and
water would fall back into the tub. I am sure that kitchens of old
were all about function, using the surrounding land and its natural
resources. This means that if the land had clay, then clay could be
used for making sinks or even plumbing. Today’s version is the
farmhouse sink. Before paints, dyes made from berries were used and
beeswax and oils were used to preserve furniture. With England’s
great wealth came luxuries to those privileged enough to enjoy them.
I am sure that each village had several furniture makers and the
kitchen began to take on a new look. Maybe a hutch or freestanding
center for baking was used. This was a place for the family, china
and special mementos.
 America had its own influences,
such as shaker furniture, and every piece had a purpose. The Shakers
produced new techniques which made their furniture lighter, stronger
and more practical. Shakers were just as particular about the
finishing of their furniture. They went to great lengths to compound
proper paints, stains and varnishes. At first shaker furniture was
simply covered with protective coats of paint but soon it was
observed that when the paint was thinned and applied as a
penetrating stain, the natural wood graining which showed thought
enhanced the appearance of the work. This led to the development of
oil and water stains. It was the Shakers who developed the use of
stains and wood treatments that are still used today.
Early American and American country
furniture are familiar terms used today. The term Early
American, when used by a decorator, had come to mean maple or pine
furniture with a country flavor. Dating country furniture is
difficult because design ideas and methods of construction remained
for many years in rural areas while the style and construction
methods changed in the city. Out of this era came the word cupboard
which was the word to describe any piece of furniture used for
storage including open cupboards or hutches, corner cabinets, china
cabinets and closed dressers.
 In my final thoughts I would like to share
with you a style I find interesting. Living in South
Florida and traveling and working in the Caribbean I have gained an
appreciation for the many different styles of architecture that has
been influenced in the diversity of this culture. The descendants of
these islands are from Europe, Africa and native Indians. The
architecture comes from both the countryside of Europe and Africa.
This style had developed by borrowing from the different cultures.
The colors are vibrant, fascinating and you will see many of them in
our selections of colors. There is a book called Caribbean Style
which shows a great many of these homes. One day I hope to have a
style of furniture or a collection that might represent this truly
unique style.
I hope you found this interesting, and in
your own quest to turn your house into a home, you may consider
Wentworth Furniture as your choice for kitchen furniture.
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