Hive of industry
Q
I really love the industrial look in kitchens and would like to bring that to my own but without changing the units. They’re Shaker style, and the room is big enough to have a dining table. How can I adapt my room to introduce this design?
A
Depending on the kind of industrial feel you aspire to create, you can incorporate clean-cut functionality into your space, or move towards a more well-worn-looking scheme using reclaimed furniture and upcycled accessories.
Industrial environments are dominated by dark black/grey colours and functional materials such as metal, timber, brick and tiles. While you don’t want to get rid of your kitchen units, simply repainting them in a darker shade can start to give your space a more industrial edge. Similarly, by exchanging the existing handles for reclaimed wood, upcycled items or metal ones, you can incorporate genuine industrial details, keeping the kitchen feeling bespoke.
Introduce raw wall finishes behind your counters, such as tiles or brick slips – thin bricks made specially for wall cladding. Glazed rectangular tiles are practical for creating a splashback behind sinks and cookers. If you repaint the units in black or dark grey, then
choosing tiles with a high level of reflectivity will help to bounce light around the space.
Exposed or partially exposed storage systems are prevalent within industrial schemes. This could be anything from a series of wall hooks to mesh cages or a full shelving system. Industrial shelving is often modular – think reclaimed fruit boxes – making it easy to adapt for each project and the open shelves can then store jars, pots and pans and utensils etc.
This also allows you to incorporate pot plants into the kitchen, ensuring it feels lively, green and energising, despite the harsher materials used in industrial design.
For lighting, pendant, wall lamps or even wall-mounted Anglepoise designs would be a highly effective way of introducing industrial and focused light to your kitchen. You can find simple metallic lampshades, often in a variety of enamelled colours, or hunt down ‘one-of-a-kind’ reclaimed lamps if you prefer original touches.