The kitchen with room to cook

THE DESIGN

A clear worktop only stays clear if the room gives everyday equipment somewhere else to live. That is the useful starting point for this kitchen. Simple cupboard fronts gather the storage, while an open stretch of counter remains ready for a chopping board, a mixing bowl or the groceries that have just come through the door.

The setting is an imagined new-build home with Scandinavian influences: pale oak, muted green and a light floor, with daylight reaching the working area. Warmth comes from the timber and from small signs of use. A loaf on a board and two mugs are enough to suggest the next meal without making cooking compete with decoration.

The Haier fridge freezer sits at the end of a cabinet run. Its brushed silver front gives the warm finishes a cooler neighbour, and its one fridge door above two freezer drawers breaks the height into useful parts. It is a freestanding appliance, so the final installation needs the manufacturer's ventilation and door-opening clearances.

Two Mengwi stools serve the breakfast edge. Their 70cm seat height calls for an appropriately raised counter, rather than squeezing them beneath a standard low worktop. Above, the clear Varuna pendants repeat the warm wood in a smaller form. Daylight passes through the unlit glass shades.

The Shop selection covers the fridge freezer, stools, pendants, Niju board and Iba mugs. The fitted kitchen, sink, cooking appliances, worktops and finishes are architectural styling, not products supplied by this edit. The principle to take away is simple enough to apply to an existing kitchen: protect one useful preparation area, then make the nearest storage work harder.