<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/kitchenenvy/kobayashi-residence.jpg" alt="kobayashi retreat" width="450" height="326" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image by <a href="http://www.dwell.com/people/dean-kaufman.html?tab=photographs&amp;c=y">dean kaufman</a> for <a href="http://www.dwell.com">dwell</a></span></p>

A few hours from Tokyo Japan the Kobayashi family have a retreat that takes 'roughing it' to a whole new level. There are so many things I could mention about the whole space, from the climbing wall that leads to a rooftop tent, to the exposed wood walls, floor and ceiling. But to do so would be to forget this is a food focused blog and that the focus is really the wonderful texture laden kitchen:

First off, <strong>double decker wood burning stove</strong> anyone? Yes please! I have not seen one of these in a long time and certainly didn't expect one in a kitchen - its practical for warming the space, cooking, and lets face it, looking super kewl. Oh yes.

The raw <strong>exposed walls</strong> remind you of where you are. Yes this is a retreat but it's also a darn sight closer to camping than staying at a 4 star hotel, the wood also gives us the foundation layer of texture that is built upon for the space.

<strong>Galvanised tub sinks</strong> - part of the next layer of texture, there are a lot of metallics in this kitchen - cast iron pots, wire baskets, camping plates all of a different patina. The tub sinks however are a great use of a common summer BBQ and camping staple item in a unique way.

Overall very simple yet textured interior that make it an interesting and yes, enviable kitchen. Not to mention a few of my favourites: open shelves, <strong>wire baskets for storage</strong>, picnic table fashioned as a dining table and spotlights. That's right. Spotlights.

See more from the Kobayashi's space <a href="http://www.dwell.com/slideshows/a-platform-for-living.html">here</a>.