A space usually brought up in most architects' meeting table is the dirty kitchen. What is this space and why would you want to have a dirty room in your house?
The kitchen is the most dynamic space in a house. It is ever evolving, adapting to our ever
changing eating and living habits. So what is this space that we call dirty kitchen? For most Filipinos living in the urban areas, this is also a service kitchen or an adjunct space, usually at the back or side of the house, where it could be partly roofed (semi-outdoor) where general cooking is done. For Kano, this space could even be a separate structure apart from the house but functions the same way. The clean kitchen or formal kitchen, as most people may call it, serves mostly as a show piece or set up where a stove could be found but no actual cooking is done, perhaps minimally making coffee or toasting bread.
Why a dirty kitchen?
The rise in popularity of this space is owing to several factors. De La Vega, for one, points to Filipino food that smell pungent (e.g. tuyo and bagoong) thus the reason for it typically semi-outdoor for maximum ventilation. For Megan Mertz, she sees the great deal of guests entertaining which has moved from the living areas to the kitchens as one of the factors in creating a clean kitchen - so as to hide the mess that comes naturally in preparing food. This popularity has not started and certainly not contained in the Philippines alone. Wikipedia notes dirty kitchen as a popular space in other Middle Eastern and other West Asian countries. Hamza writes that in Pakistan, the dirty kitchen becomes a status symbol, a financial status and design statement. To quote Hashim Mahmood, the senior architect at Amer Adnan Associates: “Dirty kitchen is basically the hot kitchen where actual cooking takes place, the main kitchen remains [a] neat and cool area, which is just used to show off.”
The semi-outdoor Dirty Kitchen from Gary McMurrain, Photo from Gary McMurrain.
The advantages of having this space, whether attached or unattached to a house, would seem very obvious as you are able to show off and at the same time hide the mess. It also makes cooks more comfortable knowing that the kitchen they are using is not the set on display and therefore could be more robust or carefree in use. De La Vega mentions that their dirty kitchen is finished in easily replaceable linoleum countertops and vinyl flooring. These manifestations however present a conflict in interests, and makes me question our values as homeowners: Why do we use spaces that are cheaply finished when we could afford (and have actually purchased a clean kitchen with) standard and more sanitary finishes? Why don’t we use it then? Why do we put more value on how our guests (who may come once or twice a week) see our kitchens versus how the actual cooks and home dwellers cook and eat?
The Kitchen is the Heart of a Home - then how come we have two?
In a client meeting, I would directly poke these questions and raise issues on budget; for one, purchasing two sets of burners and ovens, to some extent some would even have a display refrigerator. The costs of these could go somewhere else, perhaps a patio furniture set or even extending their home. This concern on finances is also echoed by Kelly Johnson Design,, “You’ve got to really be a serious cook or a serious entertainer to make that investment, which is why I don’t think it will turn into a mainstream thing like a home theater or a home gym or a wine cellar.” Which is also why I am not an advocate of home theaters as you would most of the time prefer to go to movie theaters with friends (but that is a different blog). I would also question the true luxury behind having two kitchens: one works so hard to save for a beautiful kitchen, yet how and where is your food prepared? Where do you wash your dishes? - to a substandard version of what you purchased.
On Left: The cement finished sink in a typical dirty kitchen, photo from The Kano
On Middle and Right: A standard stainless steel sink with overhead shelving and drying rack in our one true kitchen.
As Mertz pointed out, entertaining has moved to the kitchens because, as the kitchen is the heart of the home, friends and family want to know us more - how we eat, cook, how we live. So to put up a clean kitchen is to put a fake wall of how we live (as most homeowners would really shy away from touring their guests in the dirty kitchen). If we are not ready to show who we are then we might just keep our guests in the receiving room, or perhaps invest in a lounge or sunroom, a lanai or garden deck - let us not invite them into our kitchens. Better yet, if you have a budget to build a show kitchen (and a dirty kitchen on top of that), then why not put funds together and build a big functional kitchen, both to cook and impress - show them how you really cook and eat. Now that is real luxury and not just a practically useless symbol. This is the one true kitchen.
Contemporary Compromise
There are several advantages to having a dirty kitchen but that should not be left unsolved with having one true kitchen. Here are three contemporary hybrids I always propose: The sliders or separators, the coffee or beverage bar, and the kitchen island or dine-in nook.
Odor and mess control is one of the reasons behind dirty kitchens and I prefer to use sliding doors so as to seal the kitchen; and when smelly and messy cooking is over, one simply slides the door open to reveal a wide open space. Sometimes reducing the opening to a minimum while employing exhaust fans assure pungent smell don’t travel to the bedrooms; however, in the morning, some people like me actually appreciate the smell of breakfast or freshly brewed coffee! Either way, the sliders present owners with flexibility.
Now you see (and smell it), now you don’t. Sliding Glass Doors for a real kitchen
The coffee or beverage bar is usually what I propose to transform their clean kitchen (usually subdivision-deliverable kitchens which are too small to function); then build the one true kitchen which is more functional and still beautifully finished. This commits the small counter not as a full show kitchen but a real functional bar for making coffee or toasting bread. To some western homes, this may translate to a butler's pantry. This coffee bar is also practical as you don’t need to purchase two sets of kitchen appliances; and easier to maintain as meal cooking is still kept at the real kitchen. Perhaps one could go as far as adding a chiller to keep bottled and canned beverages.
Mom’s Little Kitchen. Our very own coffee bar
Lastly is the island nook. In a typical two-kitchen set up, a sit-in island could rarely fit in display kitchens or even in functional dirty kitchens, let alone be finished luxuriously. A very persuasive advantage of one real kitchen is the benefit of combined space and budget, both could accommodate a big eat-in island finished in luxurious one-piece marble or solid wood. Here, the kitchen becomes alive because it presents multi-function: a design statement, preparation area, and eating area for those times when you have to eat and run or prepare food for one or two.
Prep and Eat. One-piece of marble on an eat-in island
As one who assists homeowners make most out of their homes (funds and square meters), I strongly consider changing views and improving their lives a primary responsibility. If our homes are a reflection of who we are then let us make it real, fully functional, and space where our investments serve us.
Reference:
Mertz, Megan. "For homeowners with the space and budget, a “dirty kitchen” keeps the main kitchen clean for entertaining," St. Louis, June 17, 2019. https://www.stlmag.com/design/interior-design/dirty-kitchen.
Asif, Hamza. "Why the Trend of Having a Dirty Kitchen is Becoming Prevalent in Pakistan?" Hamza Asif, July 15, 2015. https://medium.com/@hamzaasif/why-the-trend-of-having-a-dirty-kitchen-is-becoming-prevalent-in-pakistan-70eb36a46bbf
The Kano. "Dirty Kitchens in the Philippines". Philippines Plus. Retrieved May 15, 2016. https://www.philippinesplus.com/2019/10/31/dirty-kitchens-philippines/
de la Vega, Jenn. "Dirty Kitchens". Medium.com. Retrieved May 15,2016. https://medium.com/@randwiches/dirty-kitchens-c85ea235e4cc#.mwlkc2qza
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