As growth in the kitchen furniture market slows due to a drop in new apartment supply, interior firms are focusing on the premium remodeling market. Moving beyond simply stressing design, they are pushing a strategy that highlights real-world usability and custom layouts as differentiators.
Hanssem(009240) on Jan. 3 unveiled Chef Lee Yeon-bok's kitchen studio in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and presented the company's premium kitchen design case. The space is a studio where YouTube shoots, cooking classes, and actual cooking are possible, with Hanssem handling the design and construction.
Hanssem said the collaboration was aimed at showing product competitiveness not just by using a celebrity chef as a marketing model, but by delivering custom designs that reflect the working environment of a professional who spends most of the day in the kitchen. Recently, the home interior industry has also seen more cases of partnering with professional chefs to emphasize the completeness of premium kitchens.
The chef cited cramped space and filming conditions as the biggest inconveniences of the previous studio. Lee said, "I wanted to create a space where I could film, run cooking classes, and actually cook," adding, "After cooking for so long, small details like the height of the counter, the workflow, and my habit of using my left hand a lot became important."
Reflecting this, Hanssem adjusted the counter height to the chef's stature and designed the cabinet opening directions and workflow with left-handedness in mind. Proposing a long, straight island instead of the originally considered "ㄷ-shaped" layout was also to accommodate both filming and class operations, the company said.
At the unveiling event, a studio tour was followed by a cooking show where the chef made fried rice. Participants toured the cooking area and then watched the cooking process in the actual kitchen, checking the workflow, storage, and design details.
Storage was the most frequently mentioned topic on site. The entire lower section of the island was built as storage to organize large cookware such as woks and frying pans, and a hood-integrated induction was applied to avoid blocking the view during filming.
During cooking, the chef said, "Chefs repeat the same motions countless times a day, so it's important to take a few fewer steps and be able to grab the tools you need right away," adding, "Small differences add up to make a very big difference in actual cooking." There was also a demonstration showing ease of maintenance against moisture and stains by dripping soy sauce onto the countertop. The chef said, "Kitchens inevitably get dirty when you cook," adding, "Ease of maintenance is also an important factor."
Meanwhile, competition in the kitchen furniture industry has recently intensified around the remodeling and premium markets. As the new housing market contracts, cases that stress real-world usability, custom design, and quality over design competition are increasing. A Hanssem official said, "By incorporating designs that reflect the real working environment of professionals, we are focusing on enabling customers to experience kitchens tailored to their lifestyles."