Italian Kitchen Design,Euro Kitchen Cabinets,Contemporary Kitchens

Bontempi Kitchens-Building beauty in Italian kitchens :Opps--link is dead, www.bontempikitchens.com

Fiamberti Kitchens was founded in 1974. I LOVE the look of these kitchens. Seems they are taking a tip from the Russians and making sleek, attractive kitchens with curved shapes. They specialize in the production of modern and classic modular kitchens. Fiamberti took over the Valli Cucine Company in 1992. The website shows lots of photos of modern modular kitchens, many using bright happy colors with metal and streamline design. Their slogan is: "Fiamberti: Modern design kitchens, characterised by curvilinear and rounded off lines under the banner of ergonomics and classic kitchens characterised by valuable materials, craft created in real wood finishes, in the best tradition of Italian furniture." www.fiamberti.it ..See whole page of Fiamberti Kitchens  Fiamberti Kitchens

Binova Techno-Logical Kitchens says ""keep nothing in your house that you can't USE or don't find BEAUTIFUL" and we agree ! Nothing is left to chance. The result is a perfect balance between function and elegance. As with most Italian kitchen manufacturers, there is an English language section of their website.   www.binova.com

Cucine LUBE Italian kitchens, www.cucinelube.it says it makes a kitchen to live it. The very hi-tech site shows contemporary kitchens made from fine woods and metals. LUBE sells modern fitted kitchens worldwide.

Elmar, an Italian kitchen company can create a traditional European kitchen as well as a modern contemporary fitted one. The emphasis is on creativity in both their kitchen design and  the website which will drive you crazy with it's slow loading Flash. www.elmarcucine.com

Dada has been producing kitchens at Mesero in the province of Milan since the early Seventies. It offers a wide range of kitchens, each one designed with the same attention to detail and manufactured to the highest quality standards, taking pride in what they do ... pride in things well designed and manufactured even better. Very contemporary, the website has English language and great photos www.dadaweb.it

Binova Techno-Logical Kitchens says ""keep nothing in your house that you can't USE or don't find BEAUTIFUL" and we agree ! Nothing is left to chance. The result is a perfect balance between function and elegance. As with most Italian kitchen manufacturers, there is an English language section of their website.   www.binova.com

Berloni Kitchens of Italy www.berloni.it   Has many series of contemporary Italian kitchens pus a traditional kitchen series of lines. They refer to the contemporary kitchens as "TREND" and the really-really contemporary kitchens as "NEW"

Our small Italian style home has a kitchen with custom cabinets made to coordinate with the wood molding around the windows and doors. Since it is a basically one room structure, the harmony between the wood kitchen cabinets and the many windows and oversized 10ft. French doors is a good thing.

Miele--The European Miele line of appliances has been featured in home building magazines for many years.

Fisher and Paykel--manufacture AeroTech ovens with sophisticated cooking modes. Many of their kitchen appliances come in stainless steel including the Dish Drawer Dishwasher. www.Fisher and Paykel.com

LG makes a refridgerator/Freezer with a easy access tilting freezer drawer. LG home appliances can be seen at www.LGappliances.com

Italian wood flooring is available from Listone Giordano at www.Margaritelli.com

Artemide--For unusual and sleek contemporary lighting fixtures, see Artemide. They have showrooms in many major USA cities. Also www.Artemide.us and www.TizioTolomeo.com

In 2003 an exhibition was held that focused on Italian design, the website is still available and you can see all furniture and decorative accessories that were included. www.italian-creativity.com   

For Italian kitchens or any kitchen, Arte Italica has silver, china, ceramics, crystal, glass and pewter tableware all made in Italy. The Tuscan kitchen canister set--available in 3 sizes with engraved pewter tags is especially handsome. www.arteitalica.com 

Heritage Kitchen Cabinets is now making a Euro Styled look caleld Zona Cucina by Heritage Custom Cabinetry. ZONACucina™'s combination of sleek European styling, zoned cabinet space and innovative storage solutions offer you an impressive and creative design option for your kitchen with storage space, optimal work flows, better ergonomics. ZONACucina™, which means kitchen space in Italian, organizes your kitchen into 5 Zones www.heritagecabinetry.biz

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Fiamberti Kitchens

For Vintage looking appliances with brand new technology, see Elmira Stove Works. They are made in Canada. www.elmirastoveworks.com

For very creative Italian doors, see www.arredoitaliano.com . They say that "In 1996 Arredo Italiano introduced in the USA interior doors from Italy. The company's president and founder Enrico Cavaciocchi designed many of the models seen on the collections presented there. The company's philosophy "The door as a piece of furniture" is a direct reflection of the Italian approach to interior design. The broad selection of styles and models offers the client the possibility to choose between different collections. " Be sure to see the section on Glass Doors.

Italian Kitchens or Italian Style in the UK , check the following places

In the UK, Bianco lavanda is available from Idea Italia who is renowned for its stylish designs, with Italian kitchen manufacturer Lube creating flexible and functional products.

Moben--Cargo a supremely versatile freestanding kitchen system that can be used with any door front and a range of appliances. Shown here with Falcon professional stainless steel appliances from Moben Kitchens. Moben Kitchens offers quality, innovative design and exceptional value for money, and with over 200 showrooms nationwide, you're assured of the highest quality service. www.moben.co.uk

Clayton from Kitchens Direct is a modern range of appliances. At Kitchens Direct, they have a complete range of top brand, fully integrated appliances, including state-of-the-art stainless steel. www.kitchendirect.co.uk 

Fitted Furniture Direct, The Arte series  is a fresh design with a "dragged" foil giving a beautiful hand-painted effect. It takes a beautiful finish, modern creativity and a touch of flair to provide the very best of modern kitchen design. Fitted Furniture Direct supplies high-quality fitted kitchens to customers in the UK. www.fittedfurnituredirect.co.uk

Bella Designer Kitchens--Color coordinated factory-assembled designer kitchens in over 50 ranges. Bespoke, contemporary and painted. Nationwide delivery in the UK. Huge range of granite and wood worktops. www.belladesignerkitchens.co.uk

Kitchen Island Design:

How much space do you need for a kitchen island? If you want to build an island in your kitchen you will also need enough open space for appliances, seating and passage around the island if you want a safe and functional kitchen.
Of course you are going to need enough space to open the doors of your appliances without obstruction so that you can easily and safely reach inside them. The minimum distance between an appliance and an island is 3 feet, the ideal distance is between 45 and 50 inches.

If you want a kitchen island where you can sit down, you'll need to allow enough space for knees. For an island with a surface at table height, about 30 in., you will need 18 inches of knee space; you'll need 16 in. of knee space for a surface at counter top height (about 36 in.) and about 16 in. for a surface at snack bar height.
And immediately behind the chairs you will need at least 32 inches of space if there is a wall there and more if there is a passageway or hallway.

For a refrigerator this minimum distance depends on the refrigerator's width and on whether the door is single or double. If a refrigerator has a single door and is 36 in. wide, clearly the space necessary in front of it will be more than 36 in.

"Work Triangle" is the name between your sink, refrigerator and cooking range. A work triangle should not intersect a functional island by more than a foot. If it does, moving around your kitchen will become difficult and potentially dangerous.

If you're planning for a cooktop in your island, the depth of the counter top where the burners will be should be increased by at least 8 inches for safety.

An island creates passageways of varying widths in a kitchen. The passageway in front of the operational areas, washing, prep and cooking, should be at least 44 inches wide.

TIP: Once you've decided on the dimensions of your island, even if on paper your design seems perfect, it is always best to simulate the final effect. You can do this by positioning a table or some boxes of about the right dimensions in the area destined for the island. If it is an irregular shape, cut some plywood (to set on top of the boxes) to the proposed shape.  If you are remodleing an existing kitchen, then using your kitchen and simulated island for a while will let you make adjustments and see if it is a safe and wellplaced addition to the kitchen.

Kitchen Design and Layout :

Choosing the right kitchen isn't always a question of taste. Personal preferences clash with the spatial characteristics of the room every time. In fact, not only the space available but the shape of the room can vary a lot creating doubts for anyone who isn't familiar with all the possible arrangements.


Linear arrangement
If the kitchen is very narrow, it would be better to reserve just one wall for the working area of the kitchen. If the furnished area seems not enough you can always increase it vertically using practical wall or suspended units. That way the rest of the room will remain open enough for easy movement.

"Railroad" arrangement-also known as "Galley"
It's the same principle as the previous example, but with the furniture built up along two parallel walls. This arrangement is recommended when the kitchen is wide but not particularly long: one of the walls will be dedicated to the "working" part of the kitchen (washing and cooking areas), while the other can become a convenient area for preparing meals. The center of the room will stay free to permit easy movement between the two sections.

Peninsula or island arrangement
A peninsula might be the ideal choice for anyone who wants to have an area for eating a quick snack or who simply wants an additional place to prepare food. Whether you want it equipped with accessories or not, a peninsula is always modern and captivating and doesn't disrupt a classic corner arrangement: the important thing is to leave enough space for people to pass by easily and to sit down (a passage of 90 to 110 cm).
Availability of space is even more important for an island: located in the center of the room it goes well with a linear arrangement of kitchen and amounts to a modern composition.

Corner arrangement
Should you decide to place the table in the center of the room, the ideal would be to put the kitchen furniture in the corner. This arrangement is also the best if you have a kitchen which opens without dividing walls onto the dining or living room. The corner where the kitchen furniture will be installed should always be that which is opposite the dining room.

"Horseshoe" arrangement
If your space is large enough to creatively furnish without worrying about problems of dimensions, you could opt for the three side arrangement: the table stays in the center, food preparation and conservation are distributed to the two parallel sides while washing and cooking share the internal side.

The Italians and Germans have designed kitchens in a modern, contempory style for a long tme. Most have shart edges and are very rectangular in concept. Interestingly, you rarely see any food item in promo photos of Italain or German kitchens. Nowhere is any normal kitchen clutter. Everything is stored away.

Italian kitchen manufacturers include: Alno Italia, Antares Cucine, Arc Linea, Armony, Aster Cucine, Berloni, Binova, Boffi Arredamento, Carma Cucine, Cesar, Dada, Del Tongo, Dibiesse, Domina Cucine, Elmar, Ernestomeda, Errebi, Euromobil, Fiamberti Cucine Componibili, Frame, Futura Cucine, G&D Arredamenti, Gatto, Gemal Cucine, Grattarola, Gruppo ATMA, Gruppo Febal, Gruppo Aran, Heral Cucine, Kappa Cucine Componibili, Laca, Latini Cucine, Lineaquattro, Lyon's Linea Cucina, Lube Over, Mobilcucina, Nova Cucina, Polaris, Poliform, Record Cucine, Rinaldi, Scavolini, Schiffini, SICC, Sira Cucine Componibili, Snaidero, Spagnol Cucine, Stilcucine, Stosa Cucine, Toncelli Cucine Componibili, Torchetti, Valcucine, Varenna, Veneta Cucine

Italian Furniture for your home