Kitchens are the heart of Every home.
The photography of interiors is telling stories through pictures; and long before I came to Switzerland, there were many kitchens stories to be told.
It is where as a child I discovered the enticing aromas of traditional Irish dishes such as Lamb Stew with its crispy layers of slightly caramelised potatoes alongside my mother’s unItalian interpretation of Spaghetti Bolognaise
Later when I moved to The Netherlands to study the Dutch Old Masters, I learnt to cook in a galley kitchen that had not advanced from the seventeenth century as my housemates added a joyous gaggle and a soup of steam from the shower. Multi-functionality in its most basic form.
With these kitchen memories in mind, I share with you the following kitchens created by Maya Thonney of L’Agencerie. Based in a small windy village close to Lac Neuchatel, we drove through country lanes over rolling hills as we photographed kitchen after kitchen.
The first is her own kitchen. Still a work in progress, it was here as time ticked away we ended a full day of shooting during a canicule (heatwave) with cooling ice-creams. This is a family kitchen designed for a family. Together with her children, filing in and out from football and a variety of other activities, we shared a glace around the long, wooden kitchen table.
Hidden away behind a secret black panel is the pantry; all the detritus of this family space stored away.
As we move backwards through the day, the penultimate kitchen was in a modern build home. Large and airy with an expansive open living plan, the kitchen is not an extension of the space but an integral part of the room.
Kitchen stools are the perfect perching point during the daily preparation process; just as ideal to catch a quick a.m. coffee. The kitchen palette is that of an early morning cappuccino punctuated with bright colourful accents.
Generally colour is not used overwhelmingly in Maya’s kitchens; we do get a burst of colour at the start of our day. Before that we return to that moment, we visited a kitchen designed for a rental property.
With the expectation of simplicity, this particular kitchen filled with light from multiple directions became one of my favourites to photograph. The angularity of the functionality of this space was softened by the arched entrance and a round window just visible in the shower room beyond.
To my trained art historian eye, shapes, space and colour are key elements when discussing artworks but are just as key in the discovery and understanding of an interior.
And it was this discussion of the elements, that we turn to the use of colour in Maya’s last kitchen.
As we started the day, this kitchen was overflowing not just with your everyday morning glow but was in itself sunshine. Scented with the heavy aroma of mediterranean basil, a warm golden yellow washed through this galley kitchen creating a space of joy and happiness.
Though not large enough to fill with a family, this kitchen embodies the sentiment through its warmth and liveliness.
Kitchens are all these things and more. For it is here that families gather together preparing food for their daily assemblies of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
L'Agencerie sàrl specializes in interior fittings, including kitchens, dressing rooms, living spaces and more.
Founded in 2016 by @maya , interior designer, L'Agencerie will take charge of your tailor-made project. By relying on a network of competent and recognized companies to complete the workforce, she will make your interior dreams come true.