Johnny Grey
A kitchen forms the heart of every Caribbean residence. Sarah Woods talks to Johnny Grey: a visionary architectturned-
kitchen designer who brings a respect of neurosciences to his craftFrom studios in Hampshire, England, New York and San
Francisco I lead a fantastic design team to service clients across the world, including the Caribbean region. We
create and remodel private residences with a focus on sociable multipurpose living spaces – although we are defi nitely
most famous for kitchens. I trained as an architect in 1976, so I have dedicated more than three decades to understanding what comfort means. As an ideas person I conjure up designs that give clients a sense of belonging to their homes – and kitchens can often feel alienating. Many are crammed with too many cabinets, endlessly repetitive fi nishes, similar doors, handles and shiny surfaces (that masquerade as function) and aren’t welcoming or places to hang out. Me, I try to inject homeliness but then I’ve always been guilty of ‘higher thinking’ when it comes to kitchens. To me, great designs need that magical combination of a pragmatic focus that offers quality and surety together with a cutting-edge philosophy that brings exceptional originality to the fore. You need to be a good listener to be a good kitchen designer as some of the best projects are those that pool client ideas with design team suggestions to produce a happy synthesis. As a trained architect, I bring a knowledge of architecture, interior and furniture design into the mix. I also apply an understanding of neuroscience –how the brain works – to conjure up imaginative solutions. I have studied how the eye works and the role of peripheral vision. Also how much space the body needs through study of ergonomics. Balance is all important. To unblock the minds of our clients when they arrive at the project with fi xed ideas, I use playful techniques to address preconceptions. Once you get the client to see your vision you can really motor! Remove walls, add windows, change use of rooms and then it becomes like a piece of good detective work to unravel the best solution. My working style is all about collaboration and great fun – no two days, or two hours, are ever the same. Some of my most memorable Caribbean projects include two kitchens in Felix Dennis’ Mustique house that was built by David Bowie: one in the main courtyard House and one in a guest cottage. We also designed Dermot Desmond’s own personal kitchen suite in his apartment at the Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados. For Felix Dennis, we also created an imaginary Caribbean house in England based on Treasure Island from the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. It was built in a new, green oak timber barn with an island in the middle of a large pool planted with realpalm trees. The kitchen looked like a poop deck on a 17th Opium Ketch with a dining room that could have come from the Captain’s boardroom. It had the feel of being on a boat en route to an exotic Caribbean island – incredible really given that the region was over 4,200 miles away! Over the years, it has been increasingly important to embrace low energy products and design. I am always looking at ways to lower our environmental impact in the choice of materials used. Timber is one of the lowest costs of joules per thermal unit for energy use whilst in conversion and I’ve found an excellent source of hard-wearing, waterproof timber from ex-fruiting coconut trees. Natural materials and a lot of art, colour and patterns refl ect the Caribbean’s rich emotional landscape and add atmosphere, stories, beauty and mood – to draw on the region’s nature and a world of ideas. CW
