"2008 is the year of luxury, indulgence and sheer opulence," Interior designer, Pinakin Patel of signature brand Pinakin predicted.

And the kitchen is no exception!

Kitchens are nothing like they were about a decade ago. There are kitchens and then there are temples to cooking.

The latter sometimes take up the same amount of space as a one or two-bedroom apartment.

In that space, luxury kitchens can offer everything that makes cooking a great experience: a kitchen island, compartments for keeping food warm, one or two ovens, an enormous refrigerator, an induction stove and all kinds of storage space behind softly gliding drawers and cabinets that open with just a light tap.

As luxury kitchens can cost quite a lot of money, they should be timeless. Kitchen makers are going for simple elegance.

Photographs: Veneta Cucine

The photographs are for representative purpose only.