STORAGE & DESIGN
KATIE FONTANA, CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PLAIN ENGLISH AND BRITISH STANDARD CUPBOARDS, DISCUSSES THE LATEST LOOKS
Back kitchens, laundry rooms and pantries are in favour because they are practical storage additions to a busy home. A walk-in pantry doesn’t require as much space as you may think. Even a small area of about 1000x1000mm, with an outwardopening door, can be useful with enough room for you to stand inside. In a confined space, floor-to-ceiling shelves with a 200mm to 300mm depth allow every item to be on show.
A former cloakroom can be adapted to have a small undercounter 600mm-wide fridge and a worktop at one end, with shelves on one or more walls. We avoid pocket doors on our cupboards as they involve fragile hardware, but traditional hinged bifold doors work in tight spaces.
Try to plan a back kitchen in advance, if possible, as plumbing, especially drainage, can be expensive to retrofit.
Where space allows, freestanding furniture is also popular. Too much fitted joinery can overwhelm a room, while freestanding larders and cupboards allow a scheme to breathe and leave wall space free for artwork. A freestanding cupboard should be as big as possible, ideally 1200mm wide, but it must suit the scale of the room. If space is tight, a narrow (900mm wide) or shallow (350mm deep) cupboard can be useful and contain a surprising amount. A worktable on legs, instead of a fitted island, introduces a lighter feel, and should be built to 910mm, the same height as the worktop, as it is intended to be used while standing with a straight back or while sitting on a stool.