BIG BUSINESS

SPECIAL REPORT

LEICHT IKONO KITCHEN

Kitchens International
Tel: 0845 074 0022.
Consumers are thinking big when it comes to kitchens, www.kitchensinternational.co.uk

and while an extension presents designers with all sorts Kitchens International maximised light in this airy
project by using pale Leicht furniture – Avance
of challenges, it’s also a chance to get creative white handleless doors and concrete-effect Ikono
doors – complete with a sleek bank of hi-tech
Words Emma Hedges
Siemens appliances. The focal point of the design
is the island, the kitchen also has linear vertical
lights, wine storage and a walk-in pantry

METZ GRAPHITE KITCHEN

Caple
Tel: 0117 938 1900. www.caple.co.uk
The high-gloss Metz kitchen has an integrated
handle to create the sleek, uninterrupted look
best suited to open-plan living. Here the
cabinetry is shown in Graphite, contrasting with
other elements such as the floor, walls and
worktop to create interest in a large layout.
Metz is also available in White, Ivory, and
Ocean, as well as neutral tones Ash, Fern and
Savanna. It comes in eight cabinet finishes

LUMINA RANGE
Masterclass Kitchens
Tel: 01433 449 499. www.masterclasskitchens.co.uk
High-gloss furniture from the Lumina H Line range comes
into its own in this light-filled kitchen scheme, featuring highly
reflective, handleless White and Stone Grey doors dividing up
the zones, with contrasting polished dark marble work surfaces
and timber flooring adding warmth. Other available colours
include Ivory, Mussel, Nutmeg and Graphite

A
n open-plan kitchen is now the consumer’s
dream scenario, and homeowners with
an eye to the future will have clocked that
creating a kitchen with a diner can add £48,417
to the averagely priced London home, according
to the Federation of Master Builders and the
HomeOwners Alliance. “I would say approximately
75% to 80% of projects that we work on are in
kitchen extensions,” says Roundhouse designer
Paul Welburn, adding that this comes with its own
challenges. “Most clients come from a smaller
space, so they need to be guided on working zones.”
“The best way to pull a large space together is to see
it as a whole, with multiple zones within the space,
then break it down into dedicated areas, allocating
functions to each zone,” says Sophie Hartley, designer
from Tom Howley. As well as zoning, an island is
essential. “Open-plan living has resulted in the island
as a key feature in the kitchen,” says Caple furniture
manager Doug Haswell. “A central island makes the
kitchen more sociable as people can prepare and cook
food while chatting to family and friends. They can
benefit from more workspace and plan for additional
appliances or a wet zone,” adds Haswell.
But what works best? Open plan or ‘broken plan’
– the new approach to plotting a sprawling layout
by creating barriers to emphasise definition? “For
me it’s broken plan, whether it be a raised section
on a breakfast bar or half wall to shield the rest of
the room from ‘mess’, or open shelves that create
a division but still allow the distribution of light
into different areas,” says Helen Taylor, senior sales
designer at Kitchens International. “The evolution of
open plan to broken plan means there are areas for
privacy, sound will not transfer so much and people
can be doing different things in the same space.”
When dealing with a large area, various elements
need to be taken into account. “Cooking smells are
more likely to drift into the dining and living areas, so
strong extraction is often required – around 1,000m3/h,”
says Robert Burnett, head of design at Holloways of
Ludlow Kitchens. Acoustics are also an issue, and
Roundhouse’s Welburn recommends thinking about
how sound carries in a cavernous space. “We always
make clients aware of the noise levels of their
appliance choice and this can determine an upgrade
for a softer dishwasher for example.”
Added to that, a large newly created space
can seem cold. “Warmth is created by the use of
texture and colour,” says Martin Moore design
director, Richard Moore. He recommends adding
accents in wood and opting for “natural stone
flooring, using tonal colours to define each zone”.
But ultimately a kitchen extension is a blank
canvas for a designer, and this can be truly
liberating. “Be daring. Design something bold in
each area that doesn’t necessarily have to match,”
says PWS strategic design manager Lizzie Beesley.
“Never be afraid to have a little space,” she adds.
“Space is a luxury.” ■

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BESPOKE DESIGN
Holloways of Ludlow
Tel: 0207 371 1787.
www.hollowayskitchens.com
By opening up the ground-floor
space into one open-plan area,
the owners of this kitchen gained
space to socialise, cook and
entertain. The cabinetry is spray-
painted in Farrow & Ball’s delicate
white shade Wevet ‘Dead Matt’,
and paired with Silestone Blanco
Zeus Extreme polished worktops.
The island is spray-painted a
contrasting ‘Dead Matt’ black/grey,
with Caesarstone 4120 Raven
polished worktop
FERRO RANGE
Nolte Küchen
Tel: 01707 290 444. www.nolte-kitchens.com
This dramatic scheme uses the Ferro range in Blue Steel, with Cube rack elements in on-trend black on both
the island and the back wall, and Arctic White soft-matt sliding doors from the Soft Lack range to add extra
impact. The heaviness of the tones is lightened by a 12mm-thick worktop, and open shelving to create an
impression of weightlessness
SPECIAL REPORT
CAMBRIDGE
RANGE
TKC
Tel: 0161 336 3636.
www.tkc.co.uk
The solid-timber Cambridge
range is pictured here giving
definition to two different zones
in Light Grey and Oak. Using
the same colour on the media
centre as the appliance units and
peninsula ties the kitchen in with
the rest of the open-plan living
space. The Shaker doors are also
available ex-stock in Stone Grey,
Mussel and Ivory
How are
manufacturers
meeting the demands
of open-plan living?
»»“Kitchens are increasingly becoming extensions
of our living spaces. The Masterclass Kitchens
media centre is designed with modern living
in mind, blending the kitchen and living
areas with a functional piece of furniture that
elegantly crosses over from the kitchen to
the living space”
Steve Tough, commercial sales director,
Masterclass Kitchens
»»“Pronorm is constantly looking at ways to
improve the form and function of its products,
so that the total interaction with the different
elements of their kitchens is a pleasure,
whether it’s smooth aluminium pull-out
storage, push-to-open and silent-glide
drawers or anti-fingerprint matt surfaces”
Nick McColgan, owner, Snug Kitchens
»»“We’re encouraging kitchen furniture to be
used across the room so that the space has
an overall flow. We offer a wide palette of
colours in every door range, so the same
style of furniture can be used in a different
shade to distinguish zones if you want to.
We also offer an in-house paint facility, so
the possibilities are endless”
Neil Taggart, marketing manager, TKC
»»“Over the last 10 years our kitchens have
continuously evolved to meet the ever-
changing industry demand. We’ve started
designing the sets around open-plan spaces,
ensuring our products are flexible to cater for
this type of application”
Lizzie Beesley, strategic design
manager, PWS
»»“Nolte Küchen provides a comprehensive
range with lots of planning variety and finer
details to co-ordinate with the finishes and
overall style approach, aiming to give the
design a living-room character suitable for an
open-plan layout, and making it as versatile
and individual as possible”
Eddie Streader, regional sales manager
south west and Wales, Nolte Küchen
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 SPECIAL REPORT

DIESEL OPEN
WORKSHOP
Scavolini
Tel: 07818 260 099.
www.scavolini.com
Produced in partnership with
Diesel, the Open Workshop
kitchen features soft-steel frames
to give an on-trend industrial feel
and features easy-clean finishes
that don’t show fingermarks.
The ribbed glass fronts on the
wall cupboards and island mean
storage areas have an open-
shelving feel without actually
having items on display

“I would say approximately 75% to 80% of projects that we

work on are in kitchen extensions. Most clients come from
a smaller space, so they need to be guided on working zones”
Paul Welburn, designer, Roundhouse

COTSWOOD KITCHEN
Crown Imperial
Tel: 01227 742 424. www.crown-imperial.co.uk
The Cotswood is a classic in-frame oak design available in 18 handpicked colours, from neutrals and pastels,
through to deeper, bolder tones. The Graphite island in this kitchen acts as a centrepiece to the layout design
and a bridge between the working kitchen and dining space, while Brown Grey cabinets surrounding the bank
of appliances blend into the living area beyond

HARTFORD COLLECTION
Tom Howley
Tel: 0161 848 1200. www.tomhowley.co.uk
This kitchen from Tom Howley’s Hartford
collection was designed with the architectural
structure in mind, and is finished in the
company’s own exclusive Nightshade colour,
which was selected for its dramatic effect
against the exposed brickwork. Lightening
the industrial look in the large space are
Yukon work surfaces from Silestone

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 SPECIAL REPORT
COMO KITCHEN
Störmer
Tel: 01922 698 000.
www.stoermer-kuechen.de
The handleless Como collection
offers a minimal solution when
it comes to blending living and
dining areas, and can be seen here
in a broken-plan layout with open
shelving creating a partial barrier
without disconnecting the seating
space beyond. Como is available
in seven high-gloss shades, and is
pictured in Snow White lacquer
with a matching island defining the
kitchen area

BIOGRAPHY COLLECTION
PWS Distributors
Tel: 01325 505 588. www.pws.co.uk
This layout features the Biography collection by PWS, with the Porter Matt White handleless range teamed
with reclaimed oak to add warmth to the scheme – other colours available in the collection include Dove Grey,
Porcelain, Silver Grey and Graphite. White granite surfaces and a Black Shimmer Granite breakfast bar create
contrast, while internal Kesseböhmer storage solutions ensure the open-plan space remains clutter-free

BESPOKE DESIGN
Mark Taylor Design
Tel: 01628 486 707.
www.marktaylordesign.co.uk
With a clean, contemporary design, this kitchen
features a large, square island with handleless
white-gloss lacquered doors contrasting with the
dark stone Pietra Cardosa work surfaces. The
symmetrical, multi-functional space has a skylight
to maximise light, while the kitchen itself sits
against one wall allowing the dining and living
areas to take centre stage

URBO KITCHEN
Roundhouse Design
Tel: 0207 297 6220.
www.roundhousedesign.com
This serene space has clearly
separated kitchen, dining and living
zones, and lets in as much natural
light as possible via skylights and
doors opening onto the garden.
The Roundhouse Urbo kitchen
door is painted in pale matt-
lacquer Farrow & Ball Purbeck
Stone, while the island worktop is
in Statuario marble, and the rest in
polished Blanco Zeus

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 SPECIAL REPORT

BESPOKE DESIGN
Martin Moore
Tel: 0845 180 0015.
www.martinmoore.com
The project for this ‘super kitchen’
was in the pipeline for two years
before finally being built, so it was
possible to plan the cooking and
dining areas in meticulous detail,
and pair ergonomic considerations
while making the most of views
onto the garden. The large
extension allows room for both
a working island and a ‘cook’s
table’ to draw the space together,
with dining area, Aga and wet
zone sited around the periphery.
Natural stone flooring and tonal
colours create warmth

“The evolution of open plan to broken plan means that there

are areas for privacy, sound will not transfer so much and people
can be doing different things in the same space”
Helen Taylor, senior sales designer, Kitchens International

MARVEL DOOR
Schmidt Kitchens
Tel: 0203 698 899. www.home-design.schmidt
This cavernous kitchen is pulled together using subtle zones that are created by utilising two different materials
– the concrete-like Marvel door on the cooking and prep areas, and the wood-effect Harvey door on the wet
zone and tall cabinets. The pale tones help create warmth and add light

PRONORM Y-LINE KITCHEN

Snug Kitchens
Tel: 0203 239 0530. www.snugkitchens.co.uk
The Pronorm Y-Line handleless kitchen is shown
here in Crystal White Super Matt and Dark Rift Oak
in an open-plan project by Newbury-based Pronorm
retailer Snug Kitchens. Here the design blends living,
dining and kitchen areas, with the sociable seating
area at the end of the island extending towards the
living area, and warm organic finishes, and features
such as the shelf above the sink, extending the feel
of the living-room area into the kitchen

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