Kitchen Tour: A Scandinavian-style Space With a Walk-in Pantry
Clever design features have made this compact kitchen a practical and beautiful addition to an open-plan living area
Fans of the mood board will identify with the owners of this kitchen. They arrived at designers The Secret Drawer with a scrapbook of ideas that was full of materials rather than measurements. “They knew they wanted a freestanding feel and handleless cabinets with cutout features,” explains the company’s Richard Mason, “but the layout, the design, the style, that was all down to me.” The entirely bespoke result in warm walnut is influenced by both the Arts and Crafts movement and midcentury style and is perfectly suited to the open-plan space that’s also a dining and living room.
The clients’ scrapbook of ideas featured plenty of Scandinavian-inspired interiors peppered with wooden furniture in warm shades. “It’s always a team effort,” explains Mason. “The clients bring an idea to the table and we fine-tune that to make sure it’s a workable, practical option.” In this case, American Black Walnut proved the best solution. “It’s a beautiful timber and the client wanted a rich, dark feel to the space, so it was the perfect choice.”
Discover 10 small design details that can transform your kitchen
Discover 10 small design details that can transform your kitchen
Contrasting flooring is the key to defining the different zones of this open-plan space. The rich chevron parquet echoes the warm-wood tones of the cabinets but light grey floor tiles stop the kitchen area becoming too dark.
Titan pendant lights, Original BTC. Tapas bar stools, Rockett St George. Fridge-freezer, Fisher & Paykel.
Titan pendant lights, Original BTC. Tapas bar stools, Rockett St George. Fridge-freezer, Fisher & Paykel.
The breakfast bar on the peninsular unit has the same slim walnut brackets as the open shelving, underlining the craftsmanship that has gone into this project. “I designed the bracket specifically for this project. We’d not used it before – or since, but you never know!” says Mason.
Find more inspiration in this simple Shaker kitchen
Find more inspiration in this simple Shaker kitchen
High shelves and the tall cupboard make the most of the vaulted ceiling. This huge space overhead means there’s no danger of feeling boxed in by the dark wood.
Antlers hung at ceiling height draw the attention up to the skylight. The kitchen is adjacent to sliding doors that lead out onto the garden, providing even more light.
“The kitchen needed an extractor but we wanted it to fit in with the rest of the design and I didn’t like the idea of a metal hood,” says Mason. The solution was a canopy extractor fan tiled to match the kitchen walls and finished with walnut edging. It’s positioned at exactly the same height as the shelves, so it looks as though the shelves are running through the extractor.
The open shelving is lit with a continuous LED strip to highlight the crockery on display and create a sense that the shelves are floating.
Serving trays and chopping boards featuring hand-carved lettering are cleverly stored in vertical slots. The drawer above these is lockable, so tablets and phones can be safely shut away.
To the right of the chopping boards is a corner cupboard that’s hidden behind dummy drawer fronts to continue the streamlined look. To the left is crockery storage in drawers that graduate in size from top to bottom. “It’s aesthetically very pleasing but also practical,” says Mason.
To the right of the chopping boards is a corner cupboard that’s hidden behind dummy drawer fronts to continue the streamlined look. To the left is crockery storage in drawers that graduate in size from top to bottom. “It’s aesthetically very pleasing but also practical,” says Mason.
The slate-like worktop is Dekton, which, as Mason explains, is considered pretty indestructible. “It’s so hard-wearing, you can chop on it and it doesn’t scratch or stain.”
Metro-style tiles and wall-mounted taps create a utilitarian feel and a butler sink adds vintage appeal to the space.
Worktop, Dekton.
Metro-style tiles and wall-mounted taps create a utilitarian feel and a butler sink adds vintage appeal to the space.
Worktop, Dekton.
Designing the shelves proved to be quite a labour of love. “They needed to hold up a lot of weight, so they had to be strong and well made,” says Mason. “Floating shelves must be quite thick to support themselves and I didn’t want that. And the curved timber brackets we often use didn’t seem like a nice fit either.”
The result was a shelf that’s been designed from scratch. “Although the kitchen has a slightly Scandinavian style, the bracket has quite an Arts and Crafts feel to it. I wanted it to be as slender as possible and this is 15mm square – that’s quite a thin piece of walnut.”
See more ideas for open storage in the kitchen
The result was a shelf that’s been designed from scratch. “Although the kitchen has a slightly Scandinavian style, the bracket has quite an Arts and Crafts feel to it. I wanted it to be as slender as possible and this is 15mm square – that’s quite a thin piece of walnut.”
See more ideas for open storage in the kitchen
The full-height ‘hideaway’ cabinet has sockets inside and is designed to house heavy electrical gadgets such as a coffee machine or bread maker.
“They’re plugged in and ready to use, you just open the bifold door that tucks away to the side,” says Mason.
Mason describes the dishwasher as semi-integrated. “The fascia looks like a drawer to keep the continuity and we’ve painted the cutouts black. We’ve done the same with the cupboard that stores the bin to the right. The dummy drawers create the illusion of a more freestanding design.”
Check out these other Scandi-style kitchens
Cupboards or drawers, what works best for you in the kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
“They’re plugged in and ready to use, you just open the bifold door that tucks away to the side,” says Mason.
Mason describes the dishwasher as semi-integrated. “The fascia looks like a drawer to keep the continuity and we’ve painted the cutouts black. We’ve done the same with the cupboard that stores the bin to the right. The dummy drawers create the illusion of a more freestanding design.”
Check out these other Scandi-style kitchens
Cupboards or drawers, what works best for you in the kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here A family of 6
Location West Yorkshire
Property An Arts and Crafts-style house built in the 1960s
Size About 10m sq, including living room and dining room
Kitchen designer Richard Mason of The Secret Drawer
Photos by Nicholas Yarsley
At first glance, this might seem like a fairly small kitchen for a family of six. The secret to its success? A separate walk-in pantry, to the right of the roomy refrigerator, which is set back into the wall. “The pantry is so useful and it really takes the pressure off the main kitchen in terms of food storage,” says Mason.
The Secret Drawer creates all of its furniture specifically for individual clients, and this kitchen was no exception. “We don’t have anything like this in our showroom, but everything we do is bespoke so, for us, this kitchen was no trouble,” says Mason.