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Avoid an identi-kitchen
Planning a kitchen from scratch? If space and time allow, try looking beyond the kitchen shop when it comes to your units, says interiors influencer Jodie Hazlewood of The House Upstairs. “We bought a haberdashery unit from a closed-down shop in Cheltenham with these big drawers and found a handy person to drop a sink into it,” says Hazlewood (most good tradesmen can add electrics or plumbing with little hassle).
The result is totally unique, and cost Jodie “no more than a large Ikea kitchen.” Her larder cupboard was found on eBay for £400: “We believe it came from a late Victorian solicitor’s office and used to house all of their paperwork – it’s really solid.” |
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Fade out overhead cupboards
Open shelves look nice but can be impractical in a smaller kitchen. If you’ve got dark cabinets, Aaron Markwell – colour lead at Coat – suggests painting the upper ones the same colour as the wall behind them “so you haven’t got this cantilevered piece of dark colour above your head.” Choose hardwearing paints which can stand knocks and splashes, though avoid plain white walls if you can. “There is often so much natural light coming into a kitchen already it can end up looking like a surgery,” says Markwell. |
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Add a pendant to a rental kitchen
Want to add soft lighting to a kitchen you don’t own? My City Apartment’s Carly Fuller – who shares decoration tips from her tiny New York rental – recommends rechargeable battery powered lightbulbs. Try hanging a basket pendant from a small ceiling hook (these can be turned on with a remote control) or, says Fuller, “put battery powered puck lights under your upper cabinets – they look very professional but have a backing you can pull off.” Otherwise, says interior designer Kate Guinness, a lamp on one end of your countertop is a simple way to warm up the room. |
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Freshen up your counter
If you’re looking for a quick and cost-effective way to switch up your kitchen counter tops try adding a good quality peel and stick cover, or smarten up lacklustre backsplash tiles with stickers or decals. Plus, they’re great for renters. “When you move out, all you have to do is peel them off. Any residue left will come away with warm soapy water”, says Fuller. |
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Spend on the things you touch
Bespoke joinery is special and expensive, says interior designer Sophie Pringle of Pringle & Pringle, but buying a cheaper, off-the-shelf kitchen and spending on handles can make a difference as you will notice their weight and quality every time you use them: “Try Corston, Chloe Alberry or Armac Martin for a bit of luxury.” The same goes for a beautiful tap from somewhere like Perrin & Rowe, she adds. |
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Search for a worktop deal
“Corian or Caesarstone are ideal if you want a hard-wearing, high end finish,” says Pringle. If your kitchen is small, “lots of worktop fabricators will have cuts of natural stone left over from projects that you can get a deal on.” There is no reason all worktops have to match – in fact, many high end kitchens have contrasting worktops as a design feature – so if you can’t afford to do the whole kitchen, says Pringle, try putting something special on just your island or peninsula. |
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Dress the windows
With so many hard finishes, a kitchen will benefit from a softening window treatment. A roman blind uses very little material – generally only about 1.5 metres – so it’s a good place for offcuts of a nicer fabric you love. Search by brand to find secondhand cuts online. “I have a permanent saved search for Pierre Frey fabric so I don’t miss anything coming up,” says Hazlewood. |
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Meet the Maker: Rio Kobayashi |
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"Grey areas" is how Rio Kobayashi describes the inspiration for his furniture, which explores his interest in contrasting cultures and disciplines with lightness and a sense of fun (his East West furniture collection was influenced by the pickup sticks game Mikado). After growing up in Japan, Kobayashi trained in Austria before working across Europe with several top international design studios. He now creates pieces in his own workshop and studio in east London. |
The first thing I ever made was … a clay stegosaurus at around the age of three. My father is a potter and I played around in his studio a lot growing up. |
Great design should … come with well-thought-out practicality and an engaging character that encourages the user to appreciate its existence, even when it is not being used. |
A material I love is … wood, but recently I’ve been starting to date glass. It’s an open relationship. |
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A furniture designer I look up to is … Isamu Noguchi. He was an interdisciplinary practitioner who was always keen to try his hand at something new. He’s also half Japanese. We share similar confusion and inspiration from our heritage. |
My own home will never be without … my friends’ works: furniture, homeware, ceramics, artworks. Together they create a loving and creative atmosphere. I also always have a lot of greens. I grew up in the lush countryside in Japan so I would like to be reminded of it. |
My favourite book on design is … Libro illeggibile NM1 by Bruno Munari. The way it expresses ideas without words is similar to my own work. |
When I’m not making furniture I love to … shop in local farmers’ markets and cook for my friends. |
For more information on Kobayashi, visit his website here. |
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| Be part of the buzz at Coppermaker Square |
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Right in the heart of Stratford, one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods, Coppermaker Square is reinventing renting. These aren’t just high-quality apartments with exceptional views, but a modern, holistic approach to city living.
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Home Planet |
Design that doesn’t cost the earth |
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CDs! Where did they all end up? Bristol-based Revive Innovations has found a smart way to reduce the great silvery rubbish heap by inventing RE-CD, a product made of 100% recycled compact discs that has been cleverly remodelled into lightly shimmering coffee tables, plant stands and bar stools. RE-CD comes in four colourways – pearl, space, bloom and marine – and can be crafted into bespoke furniture on request.
Above: SLEEK-120 stool, £310, by Revive Innovations |
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Dream Pad: How one Cape Cod home elevated its faded glory |
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From the Guardian archive: With its original wallpaper, paint-splattered floors and peeling door frames, the gentle renovation of this New England sea captain’s house by designer John Derian shows how sometimes the lightest of touches can have the biggest impact. |
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This Old Thing: The sink |
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Hardwearing and beautiful, a reclaimed sink can add instant character to your kitchen, says Hill House Vintage founder Paula Sutton
“When it comes to the kitchen, I tend to choose items based on whether they suit my admittedly romantic images of a 19th-century country house kitchen. I like hardwearing copper pans and vintage jelly moulds – I want to be surrounded by slubby linens and chunky wooden furniture.
“However, the most romantic notions are preserved for the kitchen sink. Whether it be a Belfast sink (deep with an overflow) or a butler sink (shallower and wider and traditionally without an overflow, although contemporary versions now have them) thankfully the lasting beauty of heritage ceramic styles means that there are plenty of variations to choose from.
“In my experience, there is not a reclamation yard nor a vintage emporium where you won’t find at least one original sink. They were, after all, the main option before stainless steel and were built to last. If searching, don’t forget to look in the garden areas for sturdy examples that have been used as planters and containers. Have no fear – these design classics were made to be durable, stain resistant and easy to clean, so will usually scrub up well.
“Look for details such as double bowls, etched, pie crust or fluted fronts and, if possible, match them to traditional hardware metals such as brass and copper for added vintage style”. |
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Inside issue five |
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Next week: relax in style after taking up our tips on styling the bathroom. Plus: the Instagrammers that make country living look its best. |
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