STATEMENT KITCHENS
Discover the perfect recipe for a room you can cook, entertain and live in
11 SLEEK SPACE
Handleless matt grey units create a pared-back look in this long, narrow kitchen/diner. A wall-hung bench table on the right matches the units and saves space, creating a dining area for everyday use or entertaining. One yellow chair breaks up a run of white and adds character and colour.
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Magnet’s Luna kitchen, from £3,686, is available in matt grey and has integrated handles for a streamlined look. Avoid having distracting grout lines on the floor by laying a grey vinyl. The Colour Flooring Company has shades of grey from Pale Dove to Dark Slate, £28 a sq metre. Add colour with a bright chair – the Knoll Spark side chair is available in Citron, £231, nest.co.uk.
12 OLD MEETS NEW
Glossy units in this modern family kitchen add a stylish contrast to the beautiful vintage cupboard. A turquoise glass splashback brings a touch of colour, while dark grey granite worktops team perfectly with the white units and pale stone floor.
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The tall country cupboard, £995, Angel & Boho, is available in a range of paint colours, or your own custom shade. For a goodvalue white gloss kitchen take a look at the Glencoe, from £3,082 at Wickes, which has smart chrome bar-style handles. Largescale floor tiles create a contemporary look. Go pale if you want to increase the feeling of space – try Almond stone floor tiles, £17.95 a sq metre, Walls and Floors.
13 ORANGE POP
Slatted wood units get a boost from bold orange accents in this uplifting scheme. White walls and door fronts and pale ceramic floor tiles break up the areas of wood. Plain glass fitted behind the hob protects the wall and a classic Smeg fridge in tangerine orange is a standout feature.
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For a custom-built kitchen in natural wood, see Rencraft. Smeg fridge-freezer in orange, from £1,189, John Lewis. Match it with a Galley pendant, £7.99, Dunelm. Kitson bar stools are £79 from Made.
14 JUST ADD COLOUR
Use bright storage jars, tea towels, artwork and even cookery books to brighten up a kitchen.
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Orla Kiely has a vibrant range including the 1970s Flower utensil pot, £22. Mark time in a bold way with the Flap analogue calendar clock, £150, Habitat.
15 WONDER WALLS
Fun paper adds a quirky touch, while using blackboard paint means you can write messages.
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Architectural-style Brighton wallpaper is £38.40 for 10m from Harlequin, and Rust-oleum’s black chalkboard paint is £11.99 for 750ml at Homebase.
16 DOUBLE UP
Combining practical countrystyle units down one side of the room with a lavish floral paper on the wall behind the table and chairs is a great way to make a kitchen work when it’s also used as a dining room.
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Albany’s Maylea wallpaper has a deep blue background and pretty flowers; it’s £19.99 for a 10m roll, Wallpaperdirect. Ikea’s Docksta pedestal table is great value at £130. Team it with traditional French farmhouse-style Rochelle chairs, £229 for two from Made, and a fisherman-style pendant, £44.99 from The Lighting Superstore.
17 DARK BEAUTY
Vary materials and textures and include a mix of old and new. This kitchen definitely has the winning formula, with sleek black units set against exposed brickwork, industrial shiny copper pendants hung from an original panelled ceiling and an aged natural wood floor contrasting with a white lacquered table and chairs. Add to that the gorgeous moody painted wall and it’s hard to beat.
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Second Nature’s handleless Remo kitchen is available in a matt Graphite finish, from £10,000. Paint an adjacent wall in an equally dark grey, such as Dulux’s Creative Coal, £28 for 2.5L. You can fake an exposed brick wall with Bricks wallpaper, £15 a roll, Next. Pooky’s large Dexter pendants in copper are £95 each.
18 FUSION COOKING
Traditional decorative tiles along the back wall add warmth to the grey units of this welcoming kitchen. Unmatched units create a more relaxed look, which is perfect if your kitchen opens up into a living space, and picking a different worktop colour for the breakfast bar can help define it as the social or eating area.
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Acapulco hand-painted tiles, £375.06 a sq metre, Fired Earth, are inspired by the vivid colours found in Mexican ceramics. The Rangemaster Deluxe 110 dual fuel range cooker comes in slate grey, £1,900, Currys. Go light on the floor – Ecora’s Oak Primrose has a slightly white finish, £59.85 a sq metre.
19 EASY KITCHEN REAL-LIFE RENOVATION
‘When we bought our semi-detached 1940s house in 2009 it was structurally sound, but the inside needed TLC. Over the years we’ve gradually improved it and the kitchen is the room I’m most proud of. It was in a pretty bad state, with poorly laid cheap, warped floorboards and dated cabinets. We replaced the floor with wood-floor-style tiles laid by a tradesman, and then my husband and I repainted the cabinets in Farrow & Ball’s Purbeck Stone and the walls in Chinese White by Craig & Rose. I’m so pleased with the results. Our kitchen’s been completely modernised on a budget of just £1,200 – including the tiles!’
Catherine Falls from Lisburn in Northern Ireland was shortlisted in our most recent Renovation of the Year Awards
20 MODERN ART
Bold blocks of matt colour on the drawers look like an abstract painting and add impact at the end of this compact, white galley kitchen.
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White walls make a small kitchen appear more spacious. Use a tough wipeable paint such as Little Greene’s intelligent emulsion in Shirting. It’s easy to change the door fronts on an existing kitchen and replace with bold colours – see Naked Doors for ideas.