April
2025
Inside the Willow Family Kitchen: A Design-Led Collaboration for Real Life
Built through the power of industry collaboration, the Willow Family Kitchen is more than a concept—it’s a complete, working space designed for real life. Created by Callerton and partners Blum, Egger, NEFF, Franke, Sensio, and Cyncly, under the long-standing RK-Tec initiative, it demonstrates how thoughtful design can truly adapt to the needs of a modern multi-generational household.
Designing for Real Life
At the heart of the project is the fictional Willow family—a richly imagined group representing three generations, including Angelica the architect, Brian the community chef, Granny Margaret who suffers from arthritis and is moving in after the loss of her husband, two children Sofia (15) and Eric (6), and a lively Cockerpoo named Dave. Every detail of the kitchen reflects their day-to-day needs.
Here’s a look at the standout design features that bring this space to life:
Sustainable Surfaces with Style
In the Willow Family Kitchen, every detail has been considered—not just for functionality, but for longevity, sustainability, and aesthetic impact. That’s where Egger comes in. Known for their innovative approach to surface solutions, Egger provided budget-friendly, sustainable worktops and a diverse palette of furniture materials that support the concept of Quiet Luxury—a look that’s calm, elegant, and effortlessly modern.
“Quiet Luxury is a style influenced by Scandinavian design. It creates an elegant and relaxed interior thanks to a combination of linear woodgrains, authentic stones and subtle metallics. When designing a new kitchen, a big chunk of the budget is often spent on worktops. Marble, granite or solid timber, can seem like a good option, but they are often not the most sustainable or affordable choice. They can also be difficult to maintain, which is a key factor for today’s customer. EGGER has focused on realistic reproductions with an authentic square edge to replicate the look and feel of solid materials. Customers can see the value in swapping to budget friendly worktops as they don’t compromise on performance or the desired finish.”
Rather than opting for high-maintenance, high-cost materials like marble or solid timber, the Willow Kitchen uses Egger’s realistic reproductions—designed with square edges and authentic textures that replicate the look and feel of premium materials, without the environmental or financial drawbacks.
These surfaces are not only easier to maintain, they also make smart design more accessible and sustainable—a perfect match for the multigenerational, real-life focus of the Willow concept.
Real Families, Real Function
The Willow Family Kitchen is not only a showpiece—it’s a working, evolving space designed to support Callerton’s National Network of Design-Led Kitchen Specialist Retailers and train the next generation of designers to meet the demands of modern multigenerational living.
This is design for life. This is RK-Tec collaboration in action.
