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Minimalist kitchen ideas: 19 pared-back spaces with plenty of character
A minimalist kitchen might seem like an impossibility, given the amount of appliances, dishes and food they tend to attract, but if you are the sort of person who gets uncomfortable around too much stuff, we've gathered plenty of ideas that prove it can be done. The one absolute necessity is enough storage for your needs. Consider incorporating a ‘gadget garage’ or larder cupboard where you can hide away appliances – if they have sockets inside you can make coffee or toast and then simply close the doors. Many minimalist kitchens achieve a clean look by getting rid of the upper cupboards, but in this case it is extra-important to plan out your storage carefully. If you add open shelving, you either have to commit to keeping it perfectly in order, or simply use it for display of a few key objects to add personality.
While we're on that point, minimalism does not mean stripping out the personality of a space. The kitchens below add in plenty of character through texture and organic materials, such as elegant Douglas fir, magnificently patterned marble, or interestingly wonky tiles. Splurging on really good materials in key places will stand you in good stead. And there is even room for bold colour in a minimalist kitchen – while many of them do stick to white or neutral tones, a simple, restrained use of colour, even bright colour, can work wonders.
Jake Curtis1/19Being able to avoid the cacophony of clutter is a skill with which few are endowed, but interior designer Georgie Stogdon is one of them. Her home in north London is a masterclass in the kind of decorating many aspire to: not too much, nor too little.
In the kitchen, Georgie saved on cabinets (combining Howden's carcasses with customised oak fronts), but splashed out on the stone worktops and splashback. The exquisitely mottled green Verde Antigua marble she chose is, by her own admission, a 'showstopper'. It meant little money was left over for much else in there, but that is not an issue for Georgie. 'My aesthetic is spare. I like leaving a few key pieces to do the talking,'
Dean Hearne2/19When artist Rana Begum stumbled on her now house, it was a wreck in need of demolishing. Now, a striking, light-filled house stands in its place with spare, contemporary interiors.
In the kitchen, limed Douglas Fir cabinets bring warmth and relate to the view outside. There is pattern in the terrazzo worktops (by Diespeker & Co), and a dash of colour courtesy of poppy-red Vitra chairs and a framed Tarkovsky film poster.
NICOLE FRANZEN3/19In Athena Calderone's Brooklyn townhouse, the kitchen is sleek and simple. She says “If you choose to eliminate upper cabinets as I did, maintain that minimal sensibility. Open kitchen shelving can easily look cluttered, so leave it airy up top. Use pale textured plaster or paint as a canvas on which decorative items can pop and functional items, like the hood, disappear. Dark lower cabinets will also recede, focusing your gaze on the pieces you’ve chosen to display.”
4/19Bespoke oak cabinets, fronted with raffia bound in resin, are set off by the splashback in Pyrolave volcanic stone in the kitchen of this flat overlooking Kensington Gardens.
Ollie Tomlinson5/19The kitchen of this Marylebone townhouse was extended during renovation to increase the room's height – the wooden beams were an accidental, but happy, discovery adding to the rustic but simple feel of the room. The range's backsplash is made of aged copper and the cabinetry is by DeVOL. The kitchen chairs are solid elm chairs by Olavi Hänninen from Golborne 44.
Michael Sinclair6/19Most Cotswold country cottages lean towards a quaint, soft and busy aesthetic. In contrast to that expectation, this cottage by Sarah Delaney uses simple reclaimed boards as cabinet fronts which contrast neatly with the stainless steel countertops. The poured concrete floor completes the austere but textured feel.
Dean Hearne7/19A minimalist kitchen does not have to lack in colour, as this one in Nicola Mardas' house in Deal proves. Sleek cabinetry and a lack of shelving on top create a minimalist scheme, even with the use of vibrant green paint. The kitchen was designed by the architectural studio Camu & Morrison, and Nicola chose the colours. The cabinets are painted in Little Greene's ‘Woodland’, while the walls are in Farrow & Ball's ‘Middleton Pink’.
Owen Gale8/19Interior designer Laura Logan has carved a calm family home out of a jumbled Victorian terrace in Leytonstone, working with EJ Studio to create spaces filled with light. The former cramped kitchen has been turned into a utility room to the left, while the kitchen now is an open, bright space with natural, organic materials. A vintage refectory table sourced from eBay sits in the middle of the kitchen, with coordinating wooden cabinets from Custom Fronts. Too complete the minimal effect, a small selection of Laura's beloved ceramics sit on the open shelving.
Michael Sinclair9/19Wood and marble are reliable materials when trying to achieve minimalism without starkness. In this sleek west London family house by Sarah Delaney, the Solid Wood Flooring Company’s wide-plank oak floorboards provide a warm contrast with white matt-lacquered units by Bulthaup and worktops in Silestone in blanco zeus. Two small ‘Plaster Cone Hanging Lights’ by Rose Uniacke are suspended from a vaulted ceiling clad in ‘Hanley’ glazed brick tiles by Balineum, which reflect light onto the polished surfaces of an island and shelves in Calacatta marble.
Christopher Horwood10/19Interior designer Evelina Mamedovaite brought a sense of calm and escape to this formerly disjointed coach house in Hackney. In the kitchen, the walls are painted in ‘Shaded White’ by Farrow & Ball and ‘Tate Bute’ with light band sawn oak floors from Solid Floor run throughout the entirety. The kitchen joinery is in ‘Drop Cloth’ by Farrow & Ball, with dark bronze handles from Cordea Ironmongery.
James McDonald11/19The kitchen in a Kensington house by Kate Guinness, designed and made in collaboration with 202 Design, shows how colour can still be minimalist. Walls in ‘Plaster V’ contrast with cabinets in ‘Kigali’, both shades from Paint & Paper Library. The rug is from Tate & Darby and removing that element would make this a very minimalist space.
Alexander James12/19An ultra-modern and ultra minimalist kitchen in an Edwardian villa extensively renovated by William Smalley. The custom 10-metre long brushed steel worktop is made by Ottima. The space also demonstrates William’s attention to detail: each sink is exactly centred on a window and the oak-fronted cupboards align precisely with the grid of the sandstone floor. In a refreshing rejection of the current mantra that the kitchen is the heart of the home, the owner always intended it as a working space rather than a social one.
Joachim Wichmann13/19Arabescato marble from Fontanili Marble UK is plated on the alcove wall and counter tops in the kitchen of this Victorian terrace designed by Pernille Lind. The kitchen – which is deVOL – was painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Cord’, a soft greyish yellow to compliment a honey hued wooden floor.
14/19This kitchen belonging to the architect and interior designer Rients Bruinsma is a good example of focusing on materials above all else. Plain Dutch with tiles in a medley of whites contrast beautifully with a dark walnut worktop and table – all the more, as the tiles are worn and irregular in texture and tone, whereas the wood has a smooth sheen. The imperfection of the tiling, without spacers and grout lines, only enhances this effect.
15/19Alastair Hendy's converted Shoreditch loft follows a very minimal design principle. The layout, anglepoise lights, large professional oven and sink fitted into a freestanding wooden unit create a professional, urban feel that's in keeping with the loft aesthetic.
Chris Horwood16/19Oak finger parquet flooring adds an authentic organic contrast to the other manmade materials in the kitchen of James Shaw's Shoreditch house. While the kitchen may have a splash of colour and feature different materials, it retains a minimalist feeling.
Paul Massey17/19Finding a compromise between the minimalist tastes of its owner and her love of tactile fabrics and pattern, Rita Konig – winner of our Interior Designer of the Year award, sponsored by Farrow & Ball – has subtly enhanced the airy interiors of this Manhattan house. The kitchen, with its glass-fronted cabinets revealing a display of glassware, is by Patti Seidman of Mullman Seidman Architects.
Sarah Griggs18/19If you removed various decorative elements from this Chelsea house by Studio Duggan, it would be a calm and minimalist space. Zellige tiles on the chimney breast tone with the materials used for the cabinetry and worktops. The general feel is contemporary and light, manifested in the leathered Bianco Rhino marble countertops and handleless cabinets.
Michael Sinclair19/19A kitchen in a Cotswolds home restored by Catherine Chichester: cupboards drawn up by the artist John Simpson are teamed with an island designed with architect Stef Claes and topped with ‘Radianz’ quartz from Granite Planet. A wall unit from Vinterior displays ceramics by Robin Walden. The tumbled limestone floor is from Beswick Stone.
