Bijou and beautiful
A small kitchen doesn’t have to be devoid of personality, as design couple Luke Edward Hall and Duncan Campbell demonstrate
with only one 4½m-long space for the kitchen in their London flat, artist and designer Luke Edward Hall and his partner, Duncan Campbell (of design duo Campbellrey), didn’t have a lot of room to play with, but still managed to create a functional kitchen that looks amazing.
The pair went to British Standard to create their kitchen, using the company’s off-the-shelf, Shaker-style cabinets, working with the company’s designers to make the most of the space available.
The kitchen is open-plan with the living room and dining area. ‘You can see the kitchen from the sofa,’ says Luke, ‘so although I like to have ceramics on display, it’s nice for us to be able to put things away.’
Integrated appliances are concealed within the run of floor cupboards and there are three deep pan-drawers and an undersink cupboard. Above, two double wall cupboards contain the couples’ collection of ceramics, as well as their dry foodstuffs. To the British Standard units, the couple added extra character with a pediment with ornate wooden finials, created by a local joiner.
British Standard kitchens come ready to paint – Luke and Duncan chose a deep cobalt blue that is a striking contrast to the pink walls. (‘I’m drawn to quite jarring colour combinations,’ says Luke.)
The blue is offset by a textured Marinace green granite bought at a marble yard. ‘We could have gone with white marble, but the pattern here adds far more interest,’ says Luke. As do the bamboo-patterned tiles that form the splashback.
At one end of the kitchen is a freestanding hardwood cabinet that the couple found nearby on the streets of Camden. ‘We liked the idea of incorporating a free-standing piece into the design,’ explains Duncan. ‘It was pure serendipity that it was exactly the right height.’