20 May 2010

Keep your eye on Christopher Peacock's new designs

Attention trend watchers, keep and eye on Christopher Peacock and his new contemporary direction. The man is a genius. Just as demand for knock offs of his Refectory kitchen starts to gain real traction. Just as cabinet manufacturers all over double up their ability to paint cabinetry white. Just as smart set embraces what's variously called the all-white kitchen, he goes in a new direction.

Here's the Refectory people have been swooning over for the last couple of years.


Clearly, the man grows tired of doing the same thing every day and good for him. Here's what he's working on these days, Christopher Peacock Contemporary.






Mark my words designers, in three years, these are the eclectic, contemporary designs your clients will be asking for.

25 comments:

  1. I like the mix of color and material in these new designs. Not overly done - strong clean contrasts without being in-your-face. Bold enough to matter, but not alienate. These are kitchens which look as good as they function. I am struck by a sort of "fitted unfitted" look, if that makes any sense: the ranks of ticky tacky boxes screwed together are absent and the room gives an impression of comfort and usability - a human scale which definitely shows the hand of the designer, without grossly dominating the occupants and their enjoyment.

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  2. I like the one with the wood (is it burled maple?) and gray cabinets, also the runnels in the countertop; in the 4th picture, the wood has a lot of nice movement, but is the cooktop very low or are the other counters very high?

    And is that a chalkboard door on the fridge in picture two?!? ;-)

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  3. Rich: Peacock's one of the pioneers of the unfitted kitchen and it definitely shows in this new-ish direction he's embracing.

    Meredith: I believe that wood is quarter-sawn oak with a light stain on it. He uses quarter-sawn a lot. The low cooktop is a device that gets used from time to time. It's easier for short people to use a cooktop at 30" above the floor as opposed to the typical 36". Pastry counters are often at that same 30" height for the same reason.

    And yes, that's an attached chalkboard, and so long as it's not chalkboard paint, Mr. Peacock will get a pass from me.

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  4. The 3rd photo down is so me. Minus the chalkboard on the refrigerator. Thanks for the heads up.

    Sharon

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  5. One of the biggest surprises for me in visiting the Los Angeles showroom with Jamie, was finding out they don't ship painted cabinets. Paint on site. Who knew?

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  6. Sharon: I love that room too. I'm amazed by the full-height marble splash.

    Laurie: They use a non-catalyzed latex paint. I wonder how that wears...

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  7. I looooooooooove the inset wood cabinetry on the 4th one.

    Wish I could see more of that end grain cutting block in the island of the first one!

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  8. ps - re the non-catalyzed latex paint onsite -- I wonder if it is low- or zero- VOC.

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  9. Rachele: There are more shots of that chopping block on the Peacock website. Be warned though, that website has to be one of the most unfriendly sites I've ever visited.

    Peacock sells his paint as a separate business entity now and you can access it through their main website. I'm sure the information you seek is buried in there somewhere.

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  10. Hi Paul, some really nice kitchens and you are right the website is awful! His work speaks for itself so he probably doesn't need it... I love the full height units but when I look at these kitchens I immediately focus on how they are made! For any Diy people out there, the chopping blocks are pretty easy make. You just glue and clamp say 8ft lengths of 2*2 or 1*2 in you wood of choice (Maple/Walnut) and basically make an 8ft panel then cut the panel into the required thickness of the chopping block, glue and clamp the strips together and Bob's you uncle. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for the inspiration. Keith.

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  11. Thanks for the directions and thanks for using the expression "Bob's your uncle." You made my day Keith.

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  12. A chalkboard and a computer desk - how can you stand it? The poor man was probably going snow blind with all that white everywhere. Lucky for his clients the latex paint should be easy to scrape off as they jump on the next passing bandwagon. Oh the power of marketing...

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  13. I am giggling a bit because of the 4th image -- growing up, we had this enormous antique oak ice box. The cabinet under the sink in pic number 4 as well as the overlay panels on the ref look very similar to the old icebox, especially the latches and hinges. The wood was even the same color and grain! God I hated that thing and thought it was awful, and I think Mom finally sold it at a garage sale because no one in the family wanted it! Argh, it's like it's following me!

    I betcha C. Peacock bought it. Damn, he's such a copier. :) *sigh*

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  14. Exit Adrienne, pursued by icebox... that's quite an image :)
    In all seriousness I think he is a copier, or perhaps an expert synthesizer and marketer. To have people convinced that latex paint applied on the job is the absolute bees knees, when there's no way it could compare with a catalyzed finish for durability - that's genius of the highest order.

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  15. Got confused between other comments and mine regarding 4th kitchen. My comments about the inset wood cabinetry were about the fifth picture, I guess. I was counting the refectory as #0. :)

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  16. I'm glad you're saying this Sarah, really I am. I fall for it as often as not, this "what's he doing next?" thing. I admire that he's turned our humble profession into a sought-after art form (almost), but is there really ever a justification for a six-figure set of boxes?

    Adrienne: Sub-Zero has been using an image of a (Crap! What was the old model number for a 48" integrated side by side?)48 dressed up as an icebox for years. It was covered in quarter sawn oak and had the enormous hinges and handles too. I think it's still in their catalog.

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  17. oh piffle paul! I hate to disagree with my beloved friend and hot date, but I don't think there is anything new here. With all modesty aside (YEAH RIGHT CHERYL:)...I have done rifted and quarter sawn oak with inset construction years ago...was quite beautiful...and the end grain butcher block tops on ends of islands has been a trademark for at least 5 years...maybe he is stalking my website??? JUST KIDDING! But really, I SO AGREE with Sarah too....conversion varnish vs painted on site??? And for the money he charges? Anyone who falls for that ..call me...so I can sell you some land in Mississippi that just landed the oil spill!

    I consider myself a great marketing mind, but he has got me beat..and his paints which are pretty basic..are very expensive. Just because he chose the colors? Whoa!

    I just do not think he is so cutting edge as he might think he is. Think Mick DiGuilo blows him away. By a long shot. I even think I might blow him away a bit. Stop laughing Paul!!!

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  18. oh and the lowered cooktop works really well I think. Even for a tall person like myself, lookng DOWN into a pot and stirrng is more comfortable a few inches below the standard 36 in height. It just has to work with the design and often cannot be pulled off. But, I have done it and the clients were immensely pleased....even after years of use.

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  19. I didn't realize I was ripping off a scab like this! And Cheryl, you don't need to apologize for having an opinion. Especially here. You do realize that you are one of the best in the industry don't you. I'm not kidding. You are on par with Mick and the rest of them. Now all you need is your own branded cabinetry, and paint colors, and table linens, and housewares, and perfume...

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  20. Yeah, what Cheryl said. Especially piffle :)

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  21. Actually, Keith got it all started when he said Bob's your uncle. We've had both side of the Atlantic weigh in on this one today. Speaking of which, have you ever seen what Keith can do with Walnut? man!

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  22. I love walnut so I am going to see what Keith can do! And yes is funny isn't it what strikes a nerve...guess just jealous because ole chris boy had the smarts to brand himself so well....and thank you Paul:) for such nice words...I do not think I would be considered on par with Mick but hey it is nice to hear anyway!! Sarah and i are all definitely soul mates but she will not move to Florida to work with me...dang it all...

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  23. Awww c'mon, who says you need to be in the same place to work together. I think you two could do some great long-distance collaborating.

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  24. How do I love thee ... a Christopher Peacocke kitchen. Let me count the ways. Sheer genius!
    -Brenda-

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  25. The second contemporary kitchen with the dove-grey cabinets and marble-slab backsplash is my favorite, but I live in a shingle-style home from 1888 and it might not fit! The previous owner put in a very high-end Plain and Fancy kitchen that makes my eyes bleed--"Old World" style with a glassy copper backsplash and turned wood EVERYWHERE. Can't wait to get rid of it! Has nice limestone floors, however, which I will keep along with the double oven 48" Viking range AND a wall oven AND a warming drawer! What was she, a professional baker?

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