We showcase our favourite contemporary designs, from industrial concrete to fluted detailing

The kitchen has transcended straightforward culinary utility: it is the nucleus of the home, where most of waking life happens. Now we’re making visible what was previously hidden, showcasing cookware and produce, bringing the outside in with houseplants, or using raw, sometimes industrial materials for units. Here we highlight our favourite inventive modern designs, taken from new coffee table book ‘Kitchen Living’ (£35, Gestalten). MAGIC FLUTING

Unexpected colour and luxe detailing are clever ways to elevate conventional materials. The open-plan kitchen of this London home, designed by Eryk Ulanowski – architect and founder of Studio Ulanowski (studioulanowski.com) – is crafted with oak, but the more traditional elements end there. The timber units, which extend into the living room, have fluted fronts painted royal blue, contrasting with a weighty chunk of grey terrazzo, which offers a surprising transition between surface and storage. ‘The key was to break down the boundaries of living, dining and cooking, which were compartmentalising the room,’ explains Ulanowski.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

It’s worth considering seemingly humble natural materials, whose rawness is often part of their visual appeal. This rough-hewn kitchen – originally conceived for a sustainable housing competition by Björn Förstberg and Mikael Ling of Malmöbased architecture firm Förstberg Ling ( forstbergling.com) – makes mindful use of pine plywood. It appears in a host of creative guises, from the open shelving and stained units – subtle showcases of the wood’s grain – to the architectural studded beams, which run the length of both walls and extend up to a double-height ceiling.

‘IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING NATURAL

MATERIALS, WHOSE RAWNESS IS OFTEN PART OF THEIR VISUAL APPEAL’

TIME FOR RECESS

Make a modest nook into a thing of beauty – and utility – by transforming it into a statement washing-up area. This sleek example extends a wedge of Paonazzetto marble into a versatile shelf. Back-lighting gives it a sense of depth and maximises vertical space, while illuminating all the functional goings-on in the sink area below. Its striking veining contrasts with the minimal timber cupboards, which provide the bulk of the kitchen’s storage and offset the overt luxury of this material – while making the most of every inch.

DIVIDE AND RULE

Larger spaces can benefit from extra structure at their centre, where a rectangular unit might look lost. This monolithic island separates functions as it divides the room – one arm integrates a sunken hob, another the sink and the third acts as a table for six. Dubbed ‘The Edge’, it’s the work of Netherlands-based Studio Piet Boon (pietboon.com), which describes it as ‘the ultimate culinary meeting point’. A further nod to the sections’ uses comes in the way the island’s Macaubas granite transitions from a matt to a polished finish to distinguish between cooking and dining areas.

INDUSTRIAL HEART

Modern materials can add edge to a space, while being easier to maintain than their more coarse counterparts. These worktops are not slabs of concrete, but the ‘4033 Rugged Concrete’ surface from quartz specialist Caesarstone (caesarstone.co.uk). Naturally non-porous, this hardworking option offers a cool, contemporary feel without the weight and required maintenance of concrete. Here, the low-slung surfaces and black integrated fittings maintain a factory feel alongside Crittall-style windows softened with a split-colour wall.

‘HERE, THE LOW-SLUNG SURFACES AND BLACK INTEGRATED FITTINGS

MAINTAIN A FACTORY FEEL’

HEIGHT OF STYLE

Contemporary kitchens are employing all kinds of creative solutions to reconquer dead space, and in particular the ubiquitous gap between wall units and ceilings. French designer Grégoire de Lafforest (gregoiredelafforest.com) took inspiration from a library to create this custom-made kitchen for Belgian family-run firm Obumex (obumex.be), utilising an elegant ladder to reach the upper level of timber-edged alcoves, making space for decorative pieces as well as classic kitchenware. ‘The kitchen is the most important living space in a house,’ says de Lafforest. ‘Instead of technical elements, people want to see the objects that give colour and atmosphere to their lives.’

PERFECT SYMMETRY

The restful appeal of natural materials can be utilised to balance more playful and punchy designs. This example comes courtesy of French architects Atelier Sagitta (atelier-sagitta.com), who were challenged to conjure up an original design for a compact Parisian apartment in which the kitchen is visible from every position. Keen to make the most of every inch, they reworked the open cooking and living area to integrate a simple symmetrical unit that provides a prep surface and concealed extra storage. While it could feel like an imposing structure in the space-challenged flat, pale fluted oak cabinetry by Michel Mazue lends a softer, organic feel.

CONTRASTING COLOUR

Sometimes innovation can be found in unlikely places in the kitchen, such as ceilings, skirting boards or the finishing touches. Take this interior by Catrina Stewart and Hugh McEden of London-based architecture practice Office S&M (officesandm.com), where cheerful yellow grouting adds a playful dimension to herringbone tiles in a pale pink hue.

In a colour combination that references a scheme used elsewhere in the home, herringbone has never felt less heritage – proof that fresh thinking can conjure up creative new approaches to an established pattern or style.

CRISS-CROSS PURPOSES

While they’re a core ingredient in any conventional kitchen, inventively used tiles are reaching their peak, both in terms of placement – in living rooms, bedrooms and on ceilings – and the tiles themselves (think artisanal hand-glazed options, rounded edges and asymmetrical shapes). In this kitchen by Sydney studio Minosa Design (minosadesign.com), handmade white gridded tiles wrap around walls and units, and even extend over a door. While this lends a seamless feel and a sense of visual calm, a statement square door knob composed of four tiles transforms the entrance into a feature within itself.

‘THE RESTFUL APPEAL OF NATURAL MATERIALS CAN BE UTILISED TO BALANCE PLAYFUL, PUNCHY DESIGNS’

SCANDI NOIR

Contemporary woodworking techniques can lend darker grains a modern, understated feel, with just a hint of heritage. Scandinavian design might be synonymous with pale timber, but a darker oak finds a sleek and sophisticated interpretation in this kitchen by Nordiska Kök (nordiskakok. se). Here, the Swedish brand – which crafts its kitchens in its Gothenburg workshop in as little as four to six weeks – has utilised a minimalist panelled design and hidden-drawer handles to showcase the natural appeal of raw wood, eschewing wall-hung shelving in favour of simplicity. ‘A fitted kitchen should not be complicated or expensive,’ says the brand. ‘Ours are built to leave the lightest-possible footprint.’