Obumex…
is a luxury Belgian-based kitchen design studio that reflects deeply on the visual language of a space and how this vocabulary translates into a bigger statement about the unified character of a home. Its kitchens are strong architectural statements in their own right, designed to be evocative, imaginative, and escapist. It’s a different way of seeing the ‘heart of the home’: as a place ruled by elegance and reductionism where details are worked out to the millimeter.
The brand’s…
new showroom kitchen in Zurich, was conceived as a kind of linear and streamlined antidote to the city’s diverse range of architectural styles, a patchwork of medieval Romanesque churches, fifties-style urban housing blocks, industrial sites-turned-cultural hubs, and modernist wonders such as Le Corbusier’s Gesamtkunstwerk. Using a tone-on-tone raw material palette, the designers have championed simple forms and silhouettes that go beyond utilitarian needs and assert tactility, purity of style, and a certain sense of soul.
The standout…
feature is the kidney-shaped island with a sinuous top hewn from a single slab of pale Pietra di Medici limestone, making it a rare and unique feature. Set with a stone and steel sink and a matching snaking footrest, it is supported by a plinth of pale sandblasted oak, resulting in an undulating form that looks more like a sculpture than a kitchen unit. Above the island, custom-made United Alabaster pendant lights softly illuminate the stone surface at close range, emitting an ambient glow.
The cooking…
area focuses on the understated appeal of limestone, with a Pietra di Medici-crafted cooktop and integrated backsplash, along with a stone shelf directly above. Interesting wood grains and artisanal finishes add warmth and intrigue to this room. Different treatments of oak – ‘Dosse Chabrol’ on the island, ‘Epicea Mastic’ on the tall cabinets, and ‘Cerdon’ for the coffee niche shelves – look similar from afar but create more complex and visually immersive patterns as you enter the space.
More obviously…
dramatic, are the small cabinets below the stove with handcrafted hammered metal fronts. This interplay between material and texture gives way to an endless catalogue of patterns and shapes. Familiar kitchen elements, including the oven, are hidden away so as not to deviate from this artistic intention. In this way too, small cabinets are kept to a minimum, kitchen appliances are neatly concealed behind retractable doors, and the sparingly used handles (just four total) are meticulously finished in sleek bronze lacquer for a gunmetal look that matches the hammered surfaces.
Functionality…
works silently here with seamless precision: the designers have created custom inserts for spices, cutlery, pots, and pans and installed mirrors in lower drawers to make it easier to assess utensils. Above the stove, the extractor fan is embedded in the stone shelf, which is surrounded by a halo of LED lights, making a decorative feature of a kitchen corner rarely transformed into a compelling point of interest. Crafted for optimal productivity, this is a kitchen that speaks volumes about the natural integrity of materials and the beauty of masterful craftsmanship.
Tap the look…
Kitchen: Obumex
