Six ways to add personality to a minimalist kitchen

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If you’re reading this blog then, like me, you probably have a penchant for minimalist, understated design. But that doesn’t mean you can’t inject a bit of personality into your home, and kitchens in particular provide plenty of scope for thinking outside the box.

To give you a few ideas, I’ve teamed up with Bristol-based Sustainable Kitchens, who design and make high-quality kitchens using ethically sourced materials. Their handmade creations cover everything from Shaker styles to sleek, clean-lined schemes, and all of them are completely bespoke. What’s more, the team works closely with clients to develop unique design features, so they really are experts when it comes to devising kitchens to suit individual tastes, spaces and lifestyles.

Here are some suggestions to get you started, all illustrated with examples from recent Sustainable Kitchens projects.

Use unusual materials

Nowadays there are all sorts of options for kitchen units and worktops, enabling you to add interest and texture without overpowering a minimalist scheme. Solid wood is the classic choice and works with both traditional and contemporary styles, but alternatives include stainless steel, natural or engineered stone and more. Particularly striking is plywood, whose smooth yet patterned surface instantly warms crisp, modern kitchens; it’s also water-resistant and very durable.

You could also combine materials in unexpected ways to produce a unique look. For the kitchen below, for example, Sustainable Kitchens came up with a rustic yet contemporary design encompassing marble, steel and reclaimed oak.

Play with colour

Grey and white are the obvious options for minimalist kitchens, but they’re by no means the only ones. If you want to keep things light and airy, you could consider using powdery pastels such as duck-egg blue, sage green or pale pink. Or, for a slightly more dramatic look, how about deep inky blue or forest green? The latter is particularly on-trend this year, but it’s also timeless and unlikely to date any time soon.

And remember you don’t need to have the same colour across your entire kitchen. Using contrasting but complimentary shades for upper and lower cabinets or wall cupboards and island units creates a focal point and adds interest to otherwise neutral schemes.

Add eye-catching splashbacks

Kitchen splashbacks are another area where you can get really creative. I love the contrast between highly decorative tiles and understated units, as shown in the Sustainable Kitchens design below. Even if you’d prefer to stick to a simpler look such as plain metro tiles, you can experiment with coloured grout or unusual layouts – herringbone patterns can look especially striking.

But of course you needn’t restrict yourself to tiles at all. Other options include marble, stainless steel, sheets of brass or copper (which develop a beautiful patina over time) and engineered quartz, which resembles concrete but is resistant to water staining. What’s more, all these materials can be extended over both the splashbacks and worktops, creating a seamless and elegant look.

Create interesting displays

Of course, personality doesn’t just come from the look of your kitchen, but from the things you keep in it. Incorporating open shelving into the design is a great way to show off crockery, artwork and other items. You could run long shelves along the length of the wall, or have open-fronted sections built into cabinets and island units; Sustainable Kitchens has even created bespoke shelving to fit in hearths, alcoves and other awkward nooks.

Make a statement with lighting

Kitchen lighting isn’t just a practical consideration: cleverly done, it makes a real design statement. If you have an island unit, you can create a focal point with a pair or trio of low-hanging pendant lamps, and the choice of styles on the market is vast (salvaged industrial shades, sleek Scandinavian designs, naked bulbs). But even if you don’t have space for an island, eye-catching wall lights can transform a relatively plain kitchen into something spectacular.

In either case, it helps to consider lighting as an integral part of the design rather than an afterthought. One of the starting points for the London kitchen below was a set of vintage glass lights which the owner had picked up at a flea market in New York, and the dark green Shaker scheme created by Sustainable Kitchens shows them off to the full.

Think about fixtures, fittings and details

Finally, don’t forget smaller details such as taps and handles, as these finishing touches can have a major impact on the overall look of your kitchen. Brass and copper are increasingly popular and look particularly stunning when paired with dark green or blue units, but if you want a more contemporary style then how about matte black? And when it comes to handles, you needn’t have them at all – for the ultimate in pared-back minimalism, an understated notch works just as well.

Sustainable Kitchens can even add cut-out detail or embellishments to the cupboard doors and drawer fronts themselves, as they did in the plywood kitchen below, which was created for an eco house designed by TV architect Charlie Luxton.

To see more bespoke designs from Sustainable Kitchens and find out more about their personalised service, visit sustainablekitchens.co.uk. Prices start from £25,000.

All images via Sustainable Kitchens