The Secret Recipe For A True English Kitchen
The U.S. and the U.K. markets have distinctly different perspectives when it comes to kitchen design. I actually find this quite inspirational, as the British market is always forward and backward-looking at the same time. Their long history of bespoke craftsmanship for cabinetry and their love of authentically old English kitchens is a real boon when incorporating that character and tradition into a new kitchen design. At the same time, their market is quite saturated with competent artisans who enjoy using their skill-craft to meet the aesthetic and functional needs of modern British families.
After all, having an authentic, English bench-made kitchen is still the ultimate luxury item for high-end homes. However, across the pond, the British have a particular love for bespoke, name-brand kitchens. Kitchen companies practically have rock-star name recognition as compared to leading brands here in the U.S.
If you’re interested in bringing a bit of authenticity from the British Isles into your kitchen design, then you’ll appreciate exploring these design features. Think of this post as a recipe for creating an English kitchen…except that it’s a recipe created by your Great Aunt Edna, who sees individual ingredients as a mere suggestion, rather than required. That flexibility is actually the “secret” in this recipe. As you scroll through this post, you’ll notice that most of the authentic English kitchens I feature are really a blend of traditional and contemporary sensibilities that reflect the values of modern families. So, in short, don’t be afraid to mix it up! Great design lies in details, but also in knowing when to break out from the pack.
There are a few companies featured below who hail mostly (or entirely) from Ireland. While these Irish kitchen companies may have some subtle differences in their particular market, from our perspective, they are very similar. Consequently, I’ve decided to include them. The heritage of craftsmanship and adherence to certain design principles are certainly very similar.
1. THE CLASSIC ENGLISH MANTLE
When I think of a traditional English kitchen, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic mantle above the range. Most of the imagery that I’ve come across for these major style-setting brands showcase an exceedingly simple design. They keep it very simple, which I believe is that “nod to the past” that I mentioned earlier.
Since kitchens in traditional English homes were the realm of the staff, everything was done for the sake of function, rather than aesthetics. A traditional mantle and hearth, therefore, was a common feature. Simple brackets or corbels would support a wide shelf, mounted on a chimney breast above the cooking area. Contrast that with our desire to create unique range alcoves and interesting hood designs.
2. AGA, THE ENGLISH COOKER
An AGA is another feature that you would expect to find in a traditional English kitchen. If you’re not familiar with AGA, it is a classic British brand of cast-iron ranges, which are traditionally left on all day/night. This was a useful feature in cold, drafty homes in the past. Although some American homeowners have sought out the British brand (available here in the U.S.) for this charming feature, AGA also now offer a cast-iron range specifically for the U.S., which does not need to be kept on at all times (however, if you turn it off, the ovens can take up to two hours to heat back up). The cast-iron 3 oven model is approximately 39” wide.
There is also an add-on unit that offers gas burners and two additional conventional ovens (one of which is convection). This combination creates a 63” wide cooking experience with all of the heritage of the classic cast-iron AGA, along with the American expectation of gas burners and electric ovens. Visit AGA if you’d like to learn more about using one for your new kitchen.
Historically, cream-colored AGAs were the English classic, so I was surprised to see so many black ones featured in the images below.
3. OPEN STORAGE
Open shelving on the wall instead of rows of upper cabinets is as prevalent in the U.K. as it is here. However, I think that it’s more of a recent trend or movement here, whereas I think they’ve embraced it long ago for its authenticity. I also observe a lot of islands with open storage below, which is a bit of a departure from our market.
Historically, the kitchen island wasn’t much more than a large work table in a kitchen, so this is also an appreciable difference. While working out a design to allow for the plumbing and electrical requirements to the island can be a bit of a hurdle, I adore islands that have a more furniture look - often with legs and lots of open shelving.
4. STAND-ALONE HUTCH
There is a greater appreciation for the look of a stand-alone hutch or kitchen dresser in England. I have always been a fan of this idea, but confess that I have been pulled away from it in recent years. Given the right room configuration, this idea can prevent the wall-to-wall cabinet look that I dislike.
I particularly love the one below, which has employed the use of bi-fold doors. When extra workspace or serving space is needed, the doors can be folded back out of the way. This concept could be a great use of space near a breakfast table as well.
5. ROUNDED CORNERS ON CABINETRY
I follow a lot of British cabinet manufacturers on Instagram and let me tell you…I see A LOT of rounded corners and semi-circular cabinets in their images! I find this very interesting, and I don’t know exactly why this came about. Has it been popular in their past? Is this a precursor for us? I always think it’s nice when you can soften the lines of cabinetry a bit.
In a kitchen design, there are so many hard lines & right angles, as well as hard surfaces. So this is a fun detail, in my opinion, when used sparingly. With too many rounded corners, it makes the kitchen look like it belongs on a yacht!
6. ROUND CHOPPING BLOCKS ON THE ISLAND
In keeping with their love of curves, I also noticed that they love to incorporate round chopping blocks. Not only is it another way to incorporate a wood tone into a painted kitchen, but again, it offers the eye something other than recto-linear lines everywhere.
I particularly love the image immediately below because they repeated the wood tone with a sliding wood board over the sink and again with the interior of the hutch.
7. WOOD CABINETRY MIXED WITH PAINTED
The British have a high appreciation of wood-stained cabinetry, most notably walnut and oak, incorporated into their kitchen designs. While we share a love for walnut here, we haven’t used oak very much over the last two decades. However, I think that is starting to change. Companies like Clive Christian and Christopher Peacock both have a healthy appreciation for oak in traditional bespoke kitchens.
When oak is acquired from managed growth resources, it has a straighter grain and is quite a bit more sophisticated looking than builder-oak cabinets from the 80s. We must try to wipe the memory of those horrible, cheap, orange cabinets from our collective minds so that we can embrace quality oak, which is just beautiful!
8. DOOR STYLES ARE EXCEEDINGLY SIMPLE
With very few exceptions, the door styles are Shaker or contemporary Shaker (wider rails and stiles). The top drawers are almost always slab drawers, meaning no embellishment of any sort other than the hardware.
The beaded, inset-door style is still the gold standard (see picture below), although there are some more streamlined styles without any bead whatsoever. The latter gives a cleaner look, but the bead is a hallmark of quality, as only higher-end cabinet makers are capable of doing that well.
10. AN OCCASIONAL PEDIMENT
When I first began started my career in the kitchen biz (around 2002), there were a few lovely clients who were willing to indulge in classic details, such as pediments. But for the past several decades to even mention the idea of a pediment would firmly place me in the “uncool” department. So I was thrilled to see a few Brits embracing these classic details.
I appreciate the minimalist nod to it in the images below, rather than a heavy, ornate pediment. Maybe now that the pendulum is starting to swing back towards traditional design again, we’ll see a few of these pop up in kitchens here.
If you’re interested in bringing a bit of authenticity from the British Isles into your kitchen design, then you’ll appreciate exploring these design features. Think of this post as a recipe for creating an English kitchen…except that it’s a recipe created by your Great Aunt Edna, who sees individual ingredients as a mere suggestion, rather than required. That flexibility is actually the “secret” in this recipe. As you scroll through this post, you’ll notice that most of the authentic English kitchens I feature are really a blend of traditional and contemporary sensibilities that reflect the values of modern families. So, in short, don’t be afraid to mix it up! Great design lies in details, but also in knowing when to break out from the pack.
There are a few companies featured below who hail mostly (or entirely) from Ireland. While these Irish kitchen companies may have some subtle differences in their particular market, from our perspective, they are very similar. Consequently, I’ve decided to include them. The heritage of craftsmanship and adherence to certain design principles are certainly very similar.
1. THE CLASSIC ENGLISH MANTLE
When I think of a traditional English kitchen, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic mantle above the range. Most of the imagery that I’ve come across for these major style-setting brands showcase an exceedingly simple design. They keep it very simple, which I believe is that “nod to the past” that I mentioned earlier.
2. AGA, THE ENGLISH COOKER
An AGA is another feature that you would expect to find in a traditional English kitchen. If you’re not familiar with AGA, it is a classic British brand of cast-iron ranges, which are traditionally left on all day/night. This was a useful feature in cold, drafty homes in the past. Although some American homeowners have sought out the British brand (available here in the U.S.) for this charming feature, AGA also now offer a cast-iron range specifically for the U.S., which does not need to be kept on at all times (however, if you turn it off, the ovens can take up to two hours to heat back up). The cast-iron 3 oven model is approximately 39” wide.
There is also an add-on unit that offers gas burners and two additional conventional ovens (one of which is convection). This combination creates a 63” wide cooking experience with all of the heritage of the classic cast-iron AGA, along with the American expectation of gas burners and electric ovens. Visit AGA if you’d like to learn more about using one for your new kitchen.
3. OPEN STORAGE
Open shelving on the wall instead of rows of upper cabinets is as prevalent in the U.K. as it is here. However, I think that it’s more of a recent trend or movement here, whereas I think they’ve embraced it long ago for its authenticity. I also observe a lot of islands with open storage below, which is a bit of a departure from our market.
4. STAND-ALONE HUTCH
There is a greater appreciation for the look of a stand-alone hutch or kitchen dresser in England. I have always been a fan of this idea, but confess that I have been pulled away from it in recent years. Given the right room configuration, this idea can prevent the wall-to-wall cabinet look that I dislike.
5. ROUNDED CORNERS ON CABINETRY
I follow a lot of British cabinet manufacturers on Instagram and let me tell you…I see A LOT of rounded corners and semi-circular cabinets in their images! I find this very interesting, and I don’t know exactly why this came about. Has it been popular in their past? Is this a precursor for us? I always think it’s nice when you can soften the lines of cabinetry a bit.
6. ROUND CHOPPING BLOCKS ON THE ISLAND
In keeping with their love of curves, I also noticed that they love to incorporate round chopping blocks. Not only is it another way to incorporate a wood tone into a painted kitchen, but again, it offers the eye something other than recto-linear lines everywhere.
7. WOOD CABINETRY MIXED WITH PAINTED
The British have a high appreciation of wood-stained cabinetry, most notably walnut and oak, incorporated into their kitchen designs. While we share a love for walnut here, we haven’t used oak very much over the last two decades. However, I think that is starting to change. Companies like Clive Christian and Christopher Peacock both have a healthy appreciation for oak in traditional bespoke kitchens.
8. DOOR STYLES ARE EXCEEDINGLY SIMPLE
With very few exceptions, the door styles are Shaker or contemporary Shaker (wider rails and stiles). The top drawers are almost always slab drawers, meaning no embellishment of any sort other than the hardware.
10. AN OCCASIONAL PEDIMENT
When I first began started my career in the kitchen biz (around 2002), there were a few lovely clients who were willing to indulge in classic details, such as pediments. But for the past several decades to even mention the idea of a pediment would firmly place me in the “uncool” department. So I was thrilled to see a few Brits embracing these classic details.
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