Of course, most households are more ruthless about discarding things when they fall out of use. But kitchens remain extremely good at accommodating both old and new under a single roof. There is something sad as well as wasteful about the current impulse to start a kitchen from scratch: to rip out every trace of the cooks who came before you. It feels forgetful. Kitchens in general have never been so highly designed; so well equipped; so stylish; or so soulless.
