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Johnny Grey

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For other uses and other people with similar names, see John Grey (disambiguation) and Johnny Gray (disambiguation).

Johnny Grey (born 1951) is a British interior designer, author and educator, known for his work in kitchen design.

Early life and education

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Grey studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1970 to 1976 (AA Dip Arch), with tutors Jeremy Dixon and Mike Gold.[1] One of the first kitchens he designed was for the food writer Elizabeth David, his aunt.[2]

Career

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Early kitchen design

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Whilst studying architecture, Grey focused on craft aspects of historic buildings. He also dealt in and restored 18th-century furniture alongside his brother. After graduating, he made furniture and kitchens in his family's barn in Sussex. His career took off after the publication of a Sunday Times article in 1980, titled "Why this Awful Fixation with Fitted Kitchens?".[3][4]

Johnny Grey Studios

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Grey ran a showroom and studio at the San Francisco Design Center from 1990 to 1997. Over thirty projects by Johnny Grey Studios have been installed across the country, including showcase houses in San Francisco and New York.

With a focus now on socially aware design projects for corporate and charitable organizations, Grey is currently working with the 4G Kitchen Consortium and the National Innovation Center for Ageing (NICA) and Newcastle University.

Design innovations

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In the late 1970s Grey adapted the end-grain butchers’ block for domestic use, incorporating it into a piece of furniture, often with a drawer or two. He launched the Unfitted Kitchen concept in 1984. Made from freestanding furniture, this was an unorthodox idea for its time.[5][6][7] The now-widespread use of willow baskets as drawers has been attributed to Grey's Unfitted Kitchen concept. Willow baskets in cabinetry were registered for copyright by Grey jointly with Smallbone in 1987, though Mark Wilkinson objected that basketry can be traced to historical African applications.[8]

Grey includes a central island in his designs wherever possible.[9]

Grey incorporated Alexander Technique theory in kitchen design, with individually customized dimensions for counter tops and sink and dishwasher placement.[10] Dedicated work surfaces, or task-driven areas, further this approach.[11][12] Low-level counters for smaller appliances (and children's cooking) and raised-height dishwashers are now widespread in kitchens.[13][14]

'Soft Geometry' describes Grey's move towards curved furniture inspired by the relationship between peripheral vision and body movement.[15][16] In the mid 2000s, his meeting with neuroscientist and sociologist John Zeisel focused on making kitchens into 'happy spaces'.[17][18][19] 'The living room in which you cook' (2014) restricts the culinary zone to leave room for other sociable activities.[20] Eye contact as key to design was another neuroscience-inspired idea, alongside the identification of each kitchen's 'sweet spot' as the location for a key piece of furniture such as the central island.[21][22][13]

Author

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Grey's first book The Art of Kitchen Design, published in 1994, includes the social history of the kitchen. In 1997 Cassell published The Hardworking House, a collection of essays on the history of home design. In 1997 The Kitchen Workbook was also published in a series of home design books for Dorling Kindersley, later incorporated into DK’s The Complete Home Design Workbook (1998). Grey's Kitchen Culture was published in 2004 with English, American, Russian and Asian editions.[23][24]

Education and teaching

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In 2012 Grey became Visiting Professor of Design and Kitchen Culture at Buckinghamshire New University. He resigned from the university in October 2020.[25]

In 2017, Grey collaborated with Sevra Davis, director of education at the Royal Society of Arts, and Professor Peter Gore and Patrick Bonnet from the National Innovation Center for Ageing in Newcastle, to extend accessible design education into kitchen design and assist with changing the language of disability and ageing design to focus on multi-generational design. They developed the Student Design Challenge: Eat, Share, Live.[26]

Awards

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In September 2021, Grey was awarded a Special Achievement Award at the Kbbreview Retail & Design Awards.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Architect: Michael Gold". drawingmatter.org. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ Cooke, Rachel (8 December 2013). "The enduring legacy of Elizabeth David, Britain's first lady of food". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  3. ^ KOENENN, CONNIE (8 June 2000). "'Unfitted' Kitchens Create Home Around the Range". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Nooks for cooks". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. ^ "The Hoosier Cabinet in Kitchen History". Indiana University Press. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Meet Johnny Grey". ELLE Decor. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ^ KOENENN, CONNIE (8 June 2000). "How to 'Unfit'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Five questions for: Johnny Grey". Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. ^ The center of the home: The kitchen island, retrieved 20 February 2017
  10. ^ Salant, Katherine. "Katherine Salant: Room-by-Room - Kitchen". www.katherinesalant.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Johnny Grey's top 10 tips for kitchen design". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  12. ^ "A modern country kitchen - Country - Kitchen - Hampshire - by Johnny Grey Studios". Houzz. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  13. ^ a b Salant, Katherine (11 April 2009). "Kitchens Where Every Last Detail Is Weighed and Measured". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Well-designed kitchen is welcoming for kids". Sarasota Herald. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  15. ^ Landis, Dylan (2 December 1993). "'Soft Geometry' In Kitchen Design". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Kitchen of the Week: Sinuous Curves in an Unusual Kitchen Design". Houzz. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Johnny Grey: Intelligent design - Arkitexture". Arkitexture. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  18. ^ "'Happy space' the final frontier of design". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  19. ^ Wilkinson, Tara Loader (3 December 2010). "A Kitchen to Comfort Your Soul". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Adare Manor five-bed with a Johnny Grey kitchen for €2.1m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Interiors: Don't worry, be happy; In association with smart newhomes.com Adding colour and curves to your home can lift your spirits. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. ^ "How to plan a kitchen". Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Kitchen Culture". Goodreads. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  24. ^ Grey, Johnny. Kitchen Culture. ISBN 1903221285.
  25. ^ Nottingham, Rebecca (7 July 2022). "Bucks Uni scraps kitchen design degree". kbbreview. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  26. ^ "A kitchen that comes to meet you". The RSA. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Who won at the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2021?". 15 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
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