KITCHEN DINING

As the kitchen is becoming a more visible and used space within the modern home, by extension it is now used more and more for informal meals and not just breakfast. On one scale, because kitchens now have design attention paid to them and are consequently becoming relatively attractive places in which to spend time, there is a convenience value in counter dining—a trend found in restaurants and made more acceptable because of it. It is also a great place to enjoy morning coffee with a neighbor, friend or family member.

At the same time, with the general move towards open plans, the line is becoming blurred between kitchen, dining and living. Casual furnishings are becoming increasingly popular, with comfortable and stylish decors available in styles to fit every personal taste. Casual furniture choices maximize comfort and utility, while eliminating complex details and fussy accessories. Simply upholstered chairs and stools, and rectangular or curved bar tables, are common features that give these areas a casual and intimate atmosphere.

Linear dining as part of a kitchen area involves family members in cooking together. Rectangular tables tend to offer a better fit for a narrow room; and can become like a central island in enhancing family unity.

Cylindrical stones are used as stools at the concrete counter of this kitchen in the studio apartment of collector and gallery owner Li Liang. Artworks behind include a bust, ‘Miss Mao’, by the Gao Brothers, and ink-splattered shelving by Zhu Xing Jia.

A steel-topped counter breakfast bar with aluminium chairs in the penthouse suite of the Z58 building, Shanghai, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

In the kitchen of the small apartment of designer Zhong Song, gray wood-covered storage units surround the cooking/sink area on the left. The eating counter is on the right. A centrally pivoting door opens onto the living area beyond.

The kitchen/dining area of artist Sui Jian Guo’s Beijing house, with a worktop that doubles for food preparation and eating.

A kitchen counter set for noodles in a studio apartment in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. The swiveling television on a steel pole allows viewing from either the sitting area or bedroom.

The modern conversion of an apartment in Shanghai’s 1934 Hamilton House makes extensive use of white to lighten the apartment, while concealed lighting ‘lifts’ kitchen units.

A marble-clad central kitchen unit, with upholstered steel stools, serves for breakfast as well as casual dining.

Kitchen dining for two in a small Hong Kong studio, with wood-slatted, aluminium-framed table and chairs.

A glass-topped kitchen table used for eating as well as food preparation, with a central tap which pours into an inset glass bowl basin that drains through the unit.

This kitchen eating area of a Shanghai long-tang house has unusual height and original 1930s white tiles.