Every now and then a new term pops up in the interiors world that piques people's interest and the latest of these is the rather unpleasant sounding phrase ‘dirty kitchen’. Surely no one wants a dirty kitchen? Think again, as these two words do not in fact point to someone who doesn't keep it clean, but is instead a modern way of referring to what we would call a scullery or pantry. A ‘dirty kitchen’ is a second kitchen attached to your main, showier one, but one where dishes can pile up, recycling can be hastily shoved and general life can be hidden away to keep the main kitchen looking pristine for guests.
They are perhaps the ultimate house luxury in many ways, as they mean that you firstly have space for such a room and also have somewhere dedicated to keeping life organised. Rita Konig couldn't agree more and loves them, saying “these back-of-house rooms bring order that makes life more comfortable, and ultimately luxury is about comfort”. She continues, “they are very valuable, especially when the kitchen doubles as a dining room and living space. All the washing-up is done in an adjacent scullery, relieving the kitchen of this heavy lifting and allowing it to remain attractive and calm.” Hence the name – it refers to a kitchen that has the purpose of becoming ‘dirty’ or messy, so that the one you dine and entertain in doesn't have to.
Christopher Howe is another designer in complete agreement and in his dos and don'ts of decorating states, “do create a pantry/larder/scullery where possible. Don’t amalgamate these spaces with your kitchen as these days they can be overheated, kitchens can be too warm and our fridges too cold to store a majority of our food. Having a larder allows you to store most of your food at a cool temperature and if possible a scullery gives you somewhere for the more unsightly aspects, allowing you to make your kitchen look beautiful, unimpeded by having to serve too many different roles.”
As to how to add one to your house, Rita's advice is “when you are at the beginning of a project and about to knock down walls to make a large, open-plan kitchen, consider keeping a small room separate for a scullery. It really is lovely to have a place to retreat to, and being able to see into an adjoining but separate room from the main kitchen can give a much greater sense of space than another five foot tagged onto the end.”
If you perhaps already have a laundry or utility room attached to your kitchen – or even a small pantry – those can also be renovated into a scullery quite easily (though a pantry with just shelves might require some plumbing to make it really work). It simply takes adding in a decent sink (Rita suggests “a wooden sink and draining board might be old-fashioned, but they are very practical – as wood is softer than stone, it is more forgiving when you are washing up china and glass”), a dishwasher if you can and some shelving for housing china and glass. Low cupboards can be repurposed for bin storage and ideally and high ones for crockery and surplus food items and voila, your very own dirty kitchen. For access, “think of using sliding doors rather than hinged ones – they take up less room” adds Rita.
‘Dirty kitchens’ aren't all about organisation, however and Rita admits that they can have a very fun element too as they can function as rooms “where drinks are mixed, the wine kept, decanters stored and ice machines housed – it is such fun having a room dedicated to this stuff.”
