Standing in a Dada kitchen, and touching various surfaces—opening a drawer here, a cupboard there—it takes only a few moments to realize that, even though the entire assemblage is absorbingly beautiful, this is perhaps the most usable, efficient kitchen on the planet.
The soft-close drawers are surprisingly deep, with a multitude of storage options, including plate holders that can be transferred to the table for distribution, or to take tableware fresh from the dishwasher and put away. No detail is too small to receive the greatest thought, care, and attention. Surfaces are all smooth; even the Wolf cooktop is completely integrated into its place on the marble counter, and the lazy Susan is almost hidden away, in a corner. But open the full-length door and a multi-tiered, sturdy storage device emerges, holding as much as 60 kilos worth of dry goods and other items.
Dada kitchens come as complete units, built at the company’s artisanal factory in Italy. Each style is dreamed up by a specific designer. Livingspace in Vancouver features the Dada Vela, which, according to store owner Ross Bonetti, is “a natural fit for this region.” The Vela system is designed by Dante Bonuccelli, who has taken classical lines and integrated technological elements that allow for cabinet doors, for example, to be only 13 millimetres thick. It appears to be all one complete, flowing surface, with all the innovations, such as door hinges and opening mechanisms, virtually invisible.
“Hidden” is a word often used to describe Dada creations, because so much of the working surfaces are unseen until they are put to use, including such innovations as sinks that have multi-layered grooves to allow for cutting boards, colanders, and salad mixers to actually move back and forth at various levels. You can cut all your vegetables, then slide the cutting board over, and tip the produce straight into a receptacle below, rinse, and then pour into whatever cooking tool you wish.
Ease of use is clearly a priority at Dada. But these are also stunning to look at, and in an era when the kitchen is increasingly the hub of social activity in a home, a Dada is a pretty darn great place to hang out.
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