Contemporary Kitchen Units

In the Gallery*:

Main image Pronorm Wallis Plum in a walnut tone, with high-gloss laminate doors, around £28,000 (www.pronorm.de);
1 MFI’s Aurora walnut-effect kitchen with curved units (no longer available);
2 Robert Timmons designed Parapan kitchen, £300/m²+ (0113 201 2240);
3 Poggenpohl’s +SEGMENTO high-gloss lacquered Spanish Red units, from £20,000 (0800 298 1098);
4 Nolte’s Chicago has glass lacquered doors with an aluminium frame, around £20,000 (01279 868500; noltekitchens-usa.com);
5 Nolte’s High Wood has a matt-lacquered door frame and oak-veneer centre panel, £12,000 (as before);
6 Mereway’s Lastra Inserto doors on the Cucina Colore range, available in six finishes, POA (0121 706 7844);
7 SieMatic’s SC20 kitchen, shown in Sienna Red, from £15,000 (01438 369251);
8 The Lucca from EWE in Cappuccino with stainless steel worktops, £18,000 (01962 850851);
9 In-toto’s Ivalo Zebro is available in four different wood-veneered finishes, £10,000 – £25,000 (01924 487900)

Trends

White still reigns supreme as the colour du jour, but in 2008 people no longer want their kitchens to appear sterile and cold, so even the most minimalist units are abated with other tones.Wood – either on additional units, worktops or flooring – softens white beautifully, or adopt a monochrome approach to add depth.

There is still room for bright statement colours, but they must be glossy. Shiny surfaces of acrylics such as Parapan will reflect and maximise light in the kitchen. Any harshness can be muted by introducing light timber, stainless steel or simple white.

Alternatively, go classic with wooden units: preferably darker tones such as walnut, wenge, ebony and cherry, perhaps with striped grains; but lighter woods are better in cramped spaces.

Buying Units

Contemporary kitchens normally consist of carefully specified fitted units made to suit the space precisely, but you can introduce some unfitted furniture for a more relaxed look, such as a central island.

An individual unit – minus its door – is called a ‘carcass’. The doors will give the units their style, so if you are on a budget don’t worry too much about carcasses; focus instead on the doors’ make-up. Just ensure you have ample storage space hidden behind them. The units will probably have adjustable legs concealed by plinths, or ‘kickboards’. Recessed plinths will give the impression of floating units.

Your cabinet door furniture will have a huge effect on the units’ looks. Chrome or stainless steel pull bars – with either square or softer, rounded edges – look fantastic, as do filing cabinet-style grooves of either metal or indents in the door material itself. For minimalist units, a push-click system, requiring no handles, is perfect.

*All costings are correct at time of publication (July 2008). Prices are subject to change.

Further reading:

• Choosing Kitchen Sinks
• A Buyer's Guide to Kitchen Taps
• How to Remodel Your Kitchen