Kitchen

Glossy Taupe Kitchen

Beneath an ornately plastered ceiling, a single run of high-gloss taupe cabinetry stretches the length of the room, its handleless fronts reflecting light from a round porthole window. A bank of dark matt wall units holds the ovens at eye level, while a slender pale timber table extends from the worktop for breakfast and conversation — a quiet meeting of period architecture and modern joinery.

The project

The brief was contrast, handled gently. Rather than compete with the room’s baroque plasterwork, the cabinetry keeps every line horizontal and every surface unadorned: a low run of lacquered base units beneath a floating band of dark wall cabinetry. Integrated ovens sit in a stainless-steel row at working height, framed by matt fronts that recede into shadow. The composition lets the ornate ceiling remain the room’s decoration, while the joinery below provides its order.

The base cabinetry is finished in a warm taupe gloss that shifts with the daylight, set against a near-black upper bank and a dark timber floor laid in herringbone. A pale oak table extends from the worktop on slim square legs, ringed with black stools — the natural place for coffee before the day begins. Silverware and a dark stoneware jug sit out on the surface; this is a kitchen arranged for daily use, not display.

Finishes in this project