Kitchen Evolution: The Timeline And Transformation

The bedroom is nice. Sleeping in a big comfortable bed with soft sheets and warm blankets. A closet full of clothing that you like and that satisfies your style. It is a great room but not really the focus of family life. The living room is nice in that it has a fireplace and a television for everyone to gather around and be entertained. It is undoubtedly a fun area but is not really set up for socializing and visiting. While many different areas of the home are great, the real focus and nexus of any house and family life is the kitchen.

This is where everyone in the family goes to cook a meal, commune and enjoy each other's company. The greatest part about it is that it is a sort of casual atmosphere where people get to just spend time around each other. Snacking on bits of vegetables and working together to share a meal are great for communication and creating a community atmosphere. The kitchen is essentially the reason people started living in buildings together; to provide shared sustenance and warmth around a hearth.

At fist in places like Ancient Greece it was just a fireplace in the middle of a large atrium there were walls around the area but the floor was dirt and there were no chimneys. It was purely an open-air area where heat was made and food was cooked. Occasionally the fire would be placed on a covered patio to allow cooking in the rain but the area was otherwise open. A kitchen was originally simply used for preparing food, only by women and usually not very far removed from cooking over a campfire.

As time went on the room for cooking evolved much as the rest of the house did. The biggest advance came with the containment of the fire in stoves to direct the heat while heating the home. However, it was not until the end of the 19th and turn of the 20th century that the kitchen became closer to what we imagine it today. Electrification and gasification of cities and towns led to the invention of powered stoves. This innovation brought cooking easily to every one. Stoves were relatively inexpensive and allowed people in apartments and small homes to cook full meals for their families and friends.

Soon this area became a clean and fully useable room in the house. People started making backsplashes and countertops. Fabricated and built-in cabinets became commonplace and some people started installing tables for informal dining outside of the formal dining room. The end of World War II marked the beginning of a push for small appliances and the result is all of the toasters, microwaves, refrigerators and freezers we have today.

Today, the kitchen is usually the number one selling piece of the home and there are a variety of materials to utilize in the design of this area. In addition to counter tops, cabinets and flooring also add taste and style to this area. There are many possibilities to transform this significant space in your home; all you have to do it look.