LAS VEGAS — “Legend” is not a term Christopher Peacock and Mick De Giulio would easily embrace. But Richard T. Anuszkiewicz, who is deeply respected for his illustrious career in kitchen design, and whose recent Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas (dubbed a “Kitchen Legend”) Design is the perfect word for the hundreds of design professionals who packed the panel.
Both are world-class design leaders and have fans all over the world. Now, their work extends beyond far-flung customers. Both design and lend their names to products for companies such as Kohler and SieMatic. In fact, Peacock and De Giulio are widely credited with elevating kitchen design, an independent discipline and high art in the world of home design, to the status it is today. Their pioneering design ideas have influenced generations of designers and can be seen in thousands of kitchens around the world.
At the same time, Anuszkiewicz, who is in his early 30s, is also a natural design force. His designs for luxurious kitchens, with attention to detail such as his monograms, have won several top awards from KBIS.
Immediately after the panel discussion at KBIS Next Stage, Kitchen & Bath Design News asked the trio about what influenced their early designs, what inspires their current designs, and their philosophy when building the design team responsible for executing their design vision. (The full interview, including photos of their work, can be found at KitchenBathDesign.com.)
Influence of figurative design
peacock: Growing up in England is my starting point. Surrounded by old things. I was very old school. The dining room was magnificent, with wood paneling. The church my parents attended was also very old. Those places informed me about the kind of work I do now.scale and proportion are really important [in classic architecture]. So either you see something and it feels right, or it doesn't. Also, one of my first jobs was working in Terence Conrad's Design Her office furniture store in London. I was just immersed in great design and great product development. And all this made a big impression at the time.
De Giulio: I think of a lot of design heroes.one [photographer] Richard Avedon. When I was probably a teenager, I just saw the kind of pictures he would take, pictures of Rose Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, pictures that captured the essence of people. Others include Giorgio Armani. I watched him closely early in his career and was benchmarking him, so to speak. It was about the level of excellence he exuded. He was an industry disruptor. He took style and fashion into a completely different realm. The Beatles were truly an incredible influence, starting with bubblegum pop songs and evolving into more sophisticated songs later in their career. It was just the idea of orchestration, layering, counterpoint. I was very inspired by that idea. So some of my best inspiration actually came from outside of the “industry”. They helped me understand the why of the design and the why of the designers' way of thinking. It was really inspiring to try to think differently about what we were doing.
Anuszkiewicz: For me, I have always focused on the world of kitchen and bath design. And I'm sitting here with two people that I've admired and respected for a long time. They have been an inspiration in my career journey. Mick's sentiments of looking closely at the world around us and realizing that we can be inspired by many things. As an artist, I always respected and admired his work. [clothing designer and artist] Virgil Abloh. I'm definitely into pop culture. Virgil had a huge impact on the world of fashion and art. I have quoted his words that were featured in this year's Monogram Exhibition. “Everything I do is for my 17-year-old self.” I've been thinking about these projects and my goals and aspirations since I was young. And I always had the drive to do that. These are words that really resonate with me.
advances in kitchen design
peacock: When I started in this business in the early '90s, kitchens were very decorated and flashy. There was a lot of filigree and molding on top of the molding. And it was considered beautiful, charming, quaint, and fun. Suddenly, his gaze was shaken off. Everything is now much cleaner. And frankly, white kitchens were all the rage and I was a big proponent of it. It was a perfect reaction to being tired of seeing overly decorated rooms. I just wanted something simple and easy to live with.
Today, everything is very linear, very clean, and very purposeful. It looks like couture. I think there is a purity in kitchen design today that didn't exist back then. People are seriously thinking about the purpose of the kitchen: cooking and what it means. Significant changes are occurring in the meaning of space. This is the living room where we cook.
De Giulio: Since I started doing this in the early 1970s, there have been strong stylistic trends at various times. If you were a sophisticated person, you probably had a Mediterranean-style home in the early 1970s. Later, especially in the early 80s, he was influenced by Scandinavian design. Then came the classic look. We were heavily influenced by English, Italian, French and European countries. Then, like Chris said, we got into this decorating phase.
I think of today as the big bang for all design. Everything could be fine. Therefore, there is no single strong move today. Times are moving faster than ever. Good information spreads quickly on social media. So there's been a proliferation of styles, and in many ways this is a good thing. People now have more freedom than ever to customize their style. That's good. It's a combination of all these ideas.
Anuszkiewicz: I have seen a certain change in what is relevant, but at the same time I am still learning and gaining my own confidence and voice in my work. But I agree with the idea that everything can be relevant today. It's all about execution. Any style or finish will work as long as the details are done properly. It goes back to basic design principles of proper proportion and balance. These are proven principles that, when implemented in a good design, have a long life behind them. ▪