Skip to content

Transform your kitchen

23 July 2020

Sometimes the smallest tweaks and changes can make the biggest difference to your kitchen space…

Image alt text goes here
Minimal kitchen styling in the wavy Grand Designs home.

The heart of the home and the space we tend to spend most of our time cooking, dining, entertaining or even working, the kitchen is an important space to consider and get right. Having spent more time at home than usual in the last few months, you wouldn’t be alone in wanting to refresh your kitchen.

But, before throwing yourself into a full renovation project consider some simple re-styling options that could save a lot of time and effort, breathe some new life into your existing space, and achieve the change you’re longing for.

Image alt text goes here
Drift Pendants in walnut and oak wood create an eye-catching spectacle in a modern kitchen setting.

Switch up your lighting

When it comes to lighting your kitchen, the possibilities and combinations of lighting fittings are endless. Whether you’ve opted for pendant lighting over a kitchen island or dining table, or chosen wall lights to brighten the space, it’s still possible to change your kitchen lighting scheme whilst leaving existing wiring in situ.

Leaving an existing ceiling kit in place and changing the lighting shade is a great place to start as it can instantly bring a new dynamic to your space. It’s also one of the easiest changes to make.

When looking to switch out your existing pendant light consider materials, textures and shapes that won’t look out of place with your existing kitchen design. It’s a smart decision to choose a shade that will suit the hardware and accessories already in place - so the scheme seamlessly ties together.

Image alt text goes here
Left to right: Skipper Pendant in oak, Drift Pendants in walnut and oak, No.1 Pendants in walnut wood, Kern Pendant Giant in oak.

Our Drift Pendant, part of our Comber Lighting Range, is a great option for a kitchen setting due to its eye-catching, flowing aesthetic and open-based design which allows light to radiate around a room. The Drift design also looks fantastic suspended in pairs or as trio at different heights to create a focal point.

If you’re looking to replace a fitting above a kitchen island consider our Kern Lighting Range. The five naked filament bulbs that suspend from the wide steam bent circumference of the Kern's wooden oak frame disperse light widely and evenly. Available in three sizes, the Kern is also dimmable which means it's great for creating relaxed dinner party ambience and late-night mood lighting.

Image 1 alt text goes here
With confidence in its definitive silhouettes, The Noctis Range showcases a new focus and brings daring, darker depths to interiors.
bue stem wall light
Bue - Stem Wall Light: A steam bent oak curve arches from its roots to showcase the ceramic Bue lampshade.

Swapping wall light fixtures is also a clever way to update your interior. Leave existing wiring in place (as most likely you’ve already chosen the most practical places to install wall lights) and simply opt to change the design.

Our Stem Lighting Range effortlessly refreshes any kitchen's character – with an alluring marriage of welcoming illumination and sleek design, the lighting range offers a vast array of lighting effects and design styles. 

Image alt text goes here
Our Mawnan Planter creates a statement in the open plan kitchen of Tom and Danielle's Grand Designs home.

Introduce some greenery

Breathing new life into your kitchen by introducing some plants is not only a great way to add pops of colour and interest to the space, but houseplants also come with plentiful health benefits.

Adding plants to our homes (also known as the biophilic design) has been proven to reduce stress levels and create a calming, restorative atmosphere. In addition to this, plants purify the air by simultaneously absorbing particulates and carbon dioxide and creating oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. They also look great too…

Image alt text goes here
A slim length of sustainably sourced steam bent ash wood gently arches above a hand-glazed earthenware bowl to become a tactile, eye-catching handle.

Our brand new Mawnan Planter, part of our iconic Green Range indoor planter collection, is multi-functional and portable by design, meaning it can be situated in a table-top position or hung by its braided rope to display trailing houseplants or edible herbs.

Likewise, our Morvah Planters are a great place to home your favourite plants. Celebrating the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and nature, each Morvah Planter is handcrafted by our skilled team of makers and features a hand-glazed earthenware ceramic bowl. Plant with fresh herbs to add flavour to your favourite cuisine, cocktails or steep for herbal teas.

Image 1 alt text goes here
Our Morvah Ceiling Hanging Planter is the perfect place to grow edible herbs for cocktail making.
Image 2 alt text goes here
Harvesting fresh basil from our Green Range Morvah Planters is a great way to embrace growing your own produce at home
Image alt text goes here
Summon nature inside your kitchen with the help of our versatile Mawnan Planter with attractive, easy-to-care-for trailing succulent.

Practical Storage Solutions

The last thing you need in the kitchen is for the surfaces to be cluttered and covered in too many machines or utensils (or let’s face it, sometimes even socks – just us?) It's imperative to make practical decisions when it comes to storage, and in our opinion, you can never have too much...

Image alt text goes here
With origins rooted in the sculptural tree canopies surrounding our Cornish design studio, our new collection of steam bent, ash wood storage and accessories celebrates the strength, versatility and unique character of this sustainable natural material, whilst showcasing forward-thinking design at it’s very best.

Open shelving is a great way to decorate your kitchen and make a feature of everyday essentials. A contemporary and versatile addition to any space, the fluid form of our Lundy Shelf showcases our skilled craftsmanship and unique steam bending technique. Two curvaceous lengths of ash mimicking twisted leather straps support a solid wood shelf with brushed brass details, creating an intuitive place to store recipe books, plants and kitchen accessories.

Image 1 alt text goes here
The Lundy Shelf: signature in style, timeless by nature.
Image 2 alt text goes here
Our Tor Twist Shelf can either be left or right aligned to suit your space and looks great styled with your everyday kitchen essentials.

Equally, hooks are also a handy addition to any kitchen space and make for a versatile place to hang an array of kitchen utensils, mugs or even towels. Our Tor Twist Shelf is a happy marriage of both shelving and hooks and looks incredibly eye-catching and unique in a kitchen setting.

The multipurpose Tor Twist Shelf is carefully sculpted from tonal ash wood, gently twisting in the centre and elevating itself above three brushed brass tipped wooden pegs. This versatile piece can either be left or right aligned to suit your space and looks just as compelling alone or in a pair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read our Kitchen Design Q&A

The kitchen is the thriving hub of any home, in which a variety of activities take place on a daily basis. Whether you’re designing your own kitchen from scratch or renovating and giving your space a much needed makeover, it's difficult to get everything right.

We've caught up with our founder and designer, Tom Raffield, to offer an insight into his Grand Designs kitchen and provide some inspiration for those planning their own project.

Posted: 23.07.20
Updated: 03.04.24

Items added to basket