How to create a completely unique kitchen (on any budget)
A kitchen is the hard working heart of every home. Many clients will tell me that whilst they’ve tried to designate other rooms for socialising, play and entertaining, time and time again everyone will gravitate back to the kitchen. With this in mind when approaching a kitchen renovation it’s important to design a space that is not only practical (although it absolutely must be that) but that reflects your personality and is a joy to gravitate back to.
Gone are the days, thankfully, where a glossy white kitchen is the norm that we all default to. With an exploding number of suppliers from high street retailers to fully bespoke kitchen companies, the options are almost endless. So where to start?
When designing a kitchen there are a few key elements that we come back to again and again that help us to achieve a completely unique look on each project.
Image: Lived In 365, Rabbit Hole Studios
Pick a Standout Feature
Whilst we would all love to be working with a limitless budget for our new kitchens, the reality for the vast majority of us is that there are budget constraints, and parameters that we have to work within. With this in mind I tend to approach kitchen design thinking about a standout feature, something worth spending a little extra on which will really elevate the design and give you that really unique space.
In the kitchen featured above the clients wanted a stainless steel worktop for the cooking space and I loved the idea of having the gas burners built directly into the worktop on the island which contrasted well with the other softer features such as the plywood cabinet doors.
Other features have included an island completely clad in patterned encaustic tiles, a Mondrian-style tiled splashback (see picture below) and a architectural designer lighting installation.
Image: Lived In 365
Mix and Match
The beauty of the range of options that we have available to us these days is that it is possible to create a completely bespoke kitchen without completely blowing the budget.
Whilst two tone kitchens are becoming more and more common - particularly varying the colour of an island or of wall units - you can also looking at mixing and matching in lots of other ways.
In a current project we have brought in the extra pop of colour just on one cabinet rather than for a whole bank of units. We also love mixing in some wood tone cabinetry, a mix of textures which helps bring character to and warm up a space which could otherwise feel slightly clinical.
We also like to consider different options for varying worktops in a kitchen design. In the example below we used a simple white quartz on the main kitchen run and a much more highly patterned recycled glass worktop on the peninsula section for a fun family gathering area.
Spend Time on the Extras
When it comes to designing a kitchen there are so many aspects to consider that it can be easy to neglect those extra little features which can really make a big difference to the overall outcome.
As well as thinking about the basics - cabinetry colour, worktop and appliances - don’t forget those little extras at the planning stage so that you aren’t forced into a quick decision when the project is getting underway.
In the kitchen below, designed by Lived In 365 and supplied by Kitchens by Kemp, the interior cabinetry is a bright yellow which gives a little pop of sunshine every time you open the door and really differentiates the design. Other things to consider carefully include handles (including potentially different types of handles for different types of doors), areas of open shelving for cookbooks and pretty crockery, and your tap. In the example at the top of the page we chose a tap in a hot pink to tie into a colour used in other parts of the home.
Image: Lived In 365
Mix in Old and New
Whilst you want to come away from a kitchen renovation with a shiny new kitchen, one of the things which really makes a unique design is a combination of new and old elements, particularly if you are replacing a kitchen in a period home.
In the project, below, we combined a number of old elements - a reconditioned aga, the existing original wood flooring, with a new kitchen, created by Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens, to create a design that felt completely unique and as if it had always been part of the home.
In other designs we have utilised some existing cabinetry and combined it with new elements to save costs as well as to avoid disposing of cabinetry with plenty of life in them.
Layer your Lighting
It wouldn’t be a blog post from an interior designer if we didn’t bring lighting into it somewhere. Having said that we still find ourselves brought into projects at a midway stage when first fix electrics have been completed, typically spotlights, and it is more difficult to completely rethink the lighting plan.
Spotlights do, of course, have their place, particularly in a kitchen where they provide good ambient light which gives you enough brightness even in the winter months. Think of them as a starting point however rather than the only solution as there are many other options that can add character and a point of difference.
Pendant lights over dining areas and islands are increasingly common but we also love a single pendant light in a less obvious area - over the sink for example - for a quirky touch. Wall lights give you the option to add lighting over particular parts of the worktop as well as to create some soft lighting for use in the evenings. And don’t forget that LED strip lighting can add illumination in a wide range of areas including inside or under shelving or cabinetry, in niches and in plinths.