ELRE
Luxury kitchens: kitchen, appliances and the circular kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the villa: a place of work, conviviality and hospitality. How we design luxury kitchens that work, last and waste nothing.
Luxury kitchens: the heart of the villa
Luxury kitchens are not measured by the price of their appliances, but by how well they work every day. A great kitchen must allow you to cook for two or for twenty, receive guests without showing the mess, store food properly and stay beautiful for many years. In a contemporary villa it is often open to the living room and the terrace, so it is architecture too.
In this guide we explain how we design luxury kitchens: layout, materials, appliances, pantry, wine cellar and the circular kitchen, which turns scraps into compost for the vegetable garden.
Layout: island, back kitchen, pantry
Most of the luxury kitchens we design have a central island: worktop, cooking or washing area, stools for breakfast. The island becomes the place where the family meets and guests chat while someone cooks. Behind the island a fitted wall conceals ovens, fridges and storage.
In larger villas we add a back kitchen: a second, closed space where you can prepare, wash up and store without being seen from the living room. It is the solution for houses that entertain often, or where a private chef works. The pantry, separate and ventilated, holds supplies and frees up the main kitchen.
The work triangle
Fridge, sink and hob form the work triangle: the distances between the three must be short and unobstructed. In luxury kitchens with several people cooking, several zones are created, each with its own worktop and tools, so nobody gets in the way.
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The method and the 12 systems
Structure and passive house
Building system and Passivhaus
Windows and glazing
Windows, sliding doors, doors
Energy, air and water
Heat pump, ventilation, solar
Natural stone
Marble, travertine, wood
Porcelain tiles
Large slabs inside and out
Lighting
Designing the light
Luxury kitchens
Kitchen, appliances, compost
Bathroom, spa and wellness
Master bathroom, sauna, recovery
Furniture
Living, bedrooms, walk-in closets
Pools and gardens
Outdoor, landscape, robots
Home automation and security
One system for the whole house
Art and objects
Collections and signature pieces
The materials of luxury kitchens
For worktops we choose materials that withstand real use: quartzites and treated natural stones, porcelain slabs, stainless steel for those who cook professionally. Marble is beautiful but fears acids and scratches: we use it knowingly. For the doors, natural woods, matt lacquers, metals and glass, in a few materials coordinated with the rest of the house.
The best luxury kitchens have few visible details: recessed or integrated handles, full-height doors, flush appliances. Quality is felt when you open a drawer: silent runners, soft closing, organised interiors.
Appliances
In a villa without gas, cooking is by induction: fast, precise, safe, easy to clean. Next to the induction hob, the ovens are the heart of the kitchen: conventional oven, steam oven for healthy cooking, combination oven, warming drawer, blast chiller for keen cooks. Full-height built-in fridges and freezers disappear behind the doors.
Hoods deserve attention: in a well-insulated house with mechanical ventilation a very powerful extractor hood can pull air out of the house. The choice falls on recirculating hoods with effective filters, hobs with integrated extraction or extractor hoods with a compensating air inlet.
Water in the kitchen
A filter under the sink provides good drinking water; a tap can deliver boiling, chilled or sparkling water. The sink must be sized for large pans; luxury kitchens often have two, one for washing and one for preparing.
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Explore our projects
Schüco glazing, Minimal Cucine and Modulnova kitchen, Poliform and Baxter furniture, Occhio lighting, MAFI wood.
The circular kitchen: from scraps to compost
A kitchen produces organic waste every day. The circular kitchen turns it into a resource: scraps are treated at home and become material for the vegetable garden and the garden, which in turn produce food for the kitchen. It is a simple cycle, consistent with a villa that uses little and lives with its landscape.
Different products must be distinguished, however. Some appliances dry and grind the scraps, greatly reducing their volume: the result is a dry residue that has to mature before becoming compost. There are electric composters that use microorganisms to start real decomposition, such as Reencle, which produces a material closer to compost. And there is classic composting in the garden, slow but effective.
How to design it
In the luxury kitchens we design we plan a dedicated compartment for waste sorting inside the units, space and a socket for the composter, and a short route to the vegetable garden or the compost area outside. The cycle closes on the page about the garden and pools.
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Wine cellar and wine
For wine lovers the kitchen works with the cellar: a climate-controlled cabinet in the kitchen for everyday bottles, a true cellar, with controlled temperature and humidity, for the collection. The cellar is designed as a technical and scenographic room at the same time. We cover it in the guide to Fine Wine & Cellars.
The studio's standard for luxury kitchens
A layout studied on the family’s real use; induction cooking and a gas-free house; worktops chosen for durability; built-in appliances with direct service in Italy; extraction coordinated with the mechanical ventilation; space for waste sorting and composting; task lighting on the worktops.
Three levels: Essential, Signature, Icon
Essential: a quality kitchen with island, induction hob, built-in oven and fridge. Signature: bespoke luxury kitchens with materials coordinated with the house, steam oven, pantry, water filter, circular kitchen. Icon: a signature kitchen in steel or stone, back kitchen for the chef, blast chiller, climate-controlled cellar, outdoor kitchen.
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Explore our projects
Edra sofas, Varenna kitchen, Noorth and Agape bathrooms: a project by the studio.
The luxury kitchen brands we consider
Boffi and Arclinea
Boffi, founded in 1934, is one of the historic names of Italian luxury kitchens, with an essential, architectural language. Arclinea, a company from Vicenza, is known for kitchens with a professional character, designed for people who really cook.
Modulnova, Valcucine, Poliform
Modulnova and Valcucine, both from western Friuli, offer contemporary kitchens with attention to natural materials. Poliform unites kitchens, wardrobes and living furniture in a single language.
In MD Home, the studio’s villa in Verona, architect Federico Cappellina paired a matt black Minimal Cucine kitchen with a Modulnova island topped in solid wood. In SD Home, in Soave, the kitchen is by Varenna, Poliform’s kitchen brand.
Appliances: Gaggenau, Miele, Bora
Gaggenau, with roots going back to 1683, makes high-end built-in appliances with a professional aesthetic. Miele, founded in 1899, is synonymous with reliability. Bora made hobs with integrated extraction famous.
Independent selection: the brands mentioned are chosen for quality, performance and service. No brand pays to appear on this page and the links lead to the official websites. Prices, availability and terms should be checked with the manufacturer or with the studio during the design phase.
Designing luxury kitchens for the people who use them
Before drawing we ask a few questions. Who cooks, and how much? Do you cook for the family or often entertain guests? Is there a private chef? Do you shop once a week or every day? Do you drink and collect wine? The answers change the kitchen more than any trend.
A family that cooks little needs a beautiful, tidy kitchen, with a good oven and plenty of storage. An enthusiast needs large worktops, several cooking zones, a steam oven and tools within reach. Those who entertain often need a back kitchen and large fridges. The best luxury kitchens are the ones built around these habits.
Storage and organisation
The quality of a kitchen shows when it is tidy. Deep drawers with dividers for pans and crockery, pull-out pantry units, holders for spices and knives, compartments for small appliances with internal sockets: everything must have its place. In luxury kitchens full-height doors conceal fitted tall units that open like wardrobes.
Light and air in the kitchen
The worktop needs shadow-free task light; above the island a decorative light that in the evening turns the kitchen into a room to live in. For the air, besides the hood, the house’s mechanical ventilation counts, carrying away background odours. We also cover this on the page about designer lighting.
The outdoor kitchen
Many villas have a second kitchen outdoors, near the pool or under a portico: a stone or steel worktop, a barbecue or a griddle, a sink, an outdoor fridge. It must be designed with materials resistant to sun and rain, a roof and good lighting. It is the natural extension of luxury kitchens in the warm season.
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Connected appliances
High-end ovens, fridges and dishwashers can be connected to the home network: they notify you when a cycle has finished, let you preheat the oven from your phone and report a fault to the service centre. These functions are useful if integrated discreetly, without adding dozens of apps. We cover this on the page about home automation and security.
Warranties and service
A bespoke kitchen and its appliances are a significant investment: we choose manufacturers with direct service in Italy and spare parts available for many years. In the villa’s file we collect models, serial numbers, warranties and contacts, so every intervention is quick. It is a part of the service that often makes the difference over time.
Luxury kitchens and the gas-free house
Many clients fear giving up gas in the kitchen. High-end induction hobs now offer very precise power control, flexible zones for pans of every size and accessories for wok and grill. The heat stays in the pan, the kitchen heats up less in summer and there is no combustion in the house.
A gas-free house is also simpler: no gas connection, no boiler flue, no risks linked to combustion. Energy comes from the solar panels and the grid, and luxury kitchens become part of an intelligently managed electrical system.
Lead times for a bespoke kitchen
The path of a bespoke kitchen starts with the outline design and continues with the choice of materials and appliances, the on-site survey once the walls are finished, the detailed design, production and installation. The services, that is drains, sockets and extraction, must be positioned on the kitchen design before plastering. Luxury kitchens are designed early and installed at the end.
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Explore our projects
Metra glazing, Viabizzuno and OTY lighting, infinity pool: designed and supervised by the studio.
Luxury kitchens in the studio's projects
In the luxury kitchens you see on this page, the light stone island works with dark wood panelling that conceals tall units, fridges and pantry. The glazing brings natural light onto the worktop and opens the kitchen towards the garden. It is an example of how the kitchen becomes part of the architecture, not a piece of furniture placed against the walls.
In every project we start from the family’s habits and arrive at the details: worktop heights, drawer depths, the position of tall ovens, lighting under the wall units, concealed sockets. These are the details that make luxury kitchens work every day.
Luxury kitchens and conviviality
In many villas the kitchen is where you spend the most time. This is why the luxury kitchens we design always have a place to sit: stools at the island for breakfast, a table by the glazing, an area where guests can stay while someone cooks. The kitchen becomes the social heart of the house, open to the living room and the garden.
The best luxury kitchens age well because they were designed for the people who use them: honest materials, reliable appliances, organised spaces and the right light. They are rooms lived in every day, not stage sets shown once a year.
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The most common mistakes
Drawing an island that is too large, forcing pointless detours. Forgetting the pantry and filling the kitchen with storage. Choosing a delicate marble for a keen cook. Installing a powerful extractor hood in an airtight house without compensating the air. Not planning sockets and space for small appliances. Underestimating the lighting on the worktops.
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Maintenance
Luxury kitchens require simple but regular maintenance: hood and water filters to replace, fridge and oven seals to check, stone worktops to treat periodically. The maintenance dates go into the villa’s file together with warranties and service contacts.
How it fits with the rest of the house
The kitchen uses energy from the solar panels, is partly controlled by the home automation, shares materials with the living room and the terrace, and closes the waste cycle with the garden. The luxury kitchens that work are those designed together with the rest of the house.
Frequently asked questions about luxury kitchens
Open or closed kitchen?
In many villas the best solution is both: an open kitchen onto the living room for living and entertaining, a closed back kitchen for the messy work.
Induction or gas?
In the villas we design, induction: it is precise, safe, produces no combustion in the house and is consistent with an all-electric home.
Do electric composters produce real compost?
It depends on the type: some appliances dry and grind the scraps, others use microorganisms. It should be checked on the product data sheet.
How long does a bespoke kitchen take?
Several weeks between detailed design, production and installation: it is ordered as soon as the site measurements are final.
Do you need a cellar if you have a wine cabinet?
It depends on the collection: a climate-controlled cabinet is enough for everyday bottles; an important collection calls for a cellar with stable temperature and humidity.
Designing the kitchen with the studio
The studio of Federico Cappellina designs luxury kitchens starting from how the family cooks and entertains: layout, materials, appliances and services are developed together with the architecture.
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Planning a villa?
The studio coordinates architecture, materials, building services and furniture in a single project.
Discover the whole UHNW lifestyle
The kitchen is the seventh of the twelve systems of The Villa Edit.