200 years of tradition in the manufacture of kitchens: a fusion of craftsmanship and industry

And so it was that, at the end of September, the Cova family opened their doors to customers, employees and friends in the atmospheric setting of Castel Belasi in the Non Valley to present their renovation works from the past two years and to finally reveal the long awaited kitchen, which, not by coincidence, was sited in a historical room decorated with frescoes at the end of an exhibition trail which took visitors on a journey through the history of the company.

The kitchen: a room that should be lived in

Silvia Cova, a member of the sixth generation of the family, who developed the design for the project together with an architect's practice in Milan that she regularly works with, Marchetti Demaria, tells us: "This kitchen is a milestone in the history of our company. There were two fundamental aspects that we wanted to combine in the design, so that it would reflect the history of our company: on the one hand, our skills in terms of craftsmanship, and the fact that we have our roots in the Trentino region – thus the choice of materials such as charred timber and porphyry – and on the other, we wanted to emphasise the more industrial side of our company in its most contemporary and innovative sense. Yet these 200 years are not the end of a journey that will be brought to a close with a celebration, but rather the beginning of a new adventure whose goal is to reinforce the values of our forefathers and the passion of the generations that went before us."

As well as the constellation outlined above, they also wanted the two hundred years kitchen to present the idea of the kitchen as a room that is lived in. "The kitchen," Silvia Cova continues, "is no longer a room that is dedicated solely to cooking. The concept of the kitchen goes much deeper and is more all-embracing: it is a place for hospitality, the focal point of the home, and, over the course of the years, it has developed to become of a place with thousands of possible uses, where you can, for example, pursue a hobby, or even work."

Little things that make a difference

Cova Cucine have been putting their faith in ADLER's expertise to supply coatings for their kitchens for around 10 years now. "The kitchen for the two hundredth anniversary celebrations is made from charred timber, using the ancient Japanese technique of shou sugi ban to make the wood permanently durable. For an aesthetically pleasing finish on the doors, we used ADLER's Bluefin Softmatt, a transparent, two-component, water-based acrylic coating that preserves the natural character of the charred timber," explains Alberto Cova. "It has a silky feel, is highly resistant to scratches and, despite the deep-matt surface, also provides good protection against fingerprints." Two coats of the product were used, the first as a primer and the second a topcoat, producing outstanding and very aesthetically pleasing results.