Kitchens, houses, furniture are solid long-lasting things with an air of heritage about them. They do not have a the whiff of fast moving, responsive, mood-of-the-times fashion. Kitchen renovators might be scared off if their kitchen designer mentions cool new trends that might be short lived. They expect to be co-habiting with their kitchen for years, not changing with the latest catwalk creation.

Does home design need fashion? A need for renewal and fresh thinking is always welcome. On the other hand, the more we become aware of ecological damage and shortage of resources, the more we need to make longevity a priority. We need changing landscapes. Summer, winter and spring would have to be invented if they did not already exist.

The relationship between fashion and design is historical. Would the French Aristocratic women have come up with Recocco style – the first fashion inspired movement that affected interiors? Osbert Lancaster’s feast of send-ups in ‘Here of All Places,’ the most famous historical cartoons of interior styles, demonstrates an easy transfer of style ideas between home décor and fashion.

Fashion me a kitchen that picks up the chatter of contemporary conversations, but don’t let it take over the design. Plan the kitchen to work around our instincts, look carefully at new research coming from a solid foundation like neuroscience and then, for icing on the cake use, use objects of decor that can be changed easily. Add you own utensils, the clutter of a busy household, and the necessary accroutrements of survival,  and you will quickly be in touch with the land of now. For me that is the essence of being fashionable.