Get The Look … Modern Industrial Kitchens

It seems we still can’t get enough of the industrial look but it’s about refining it and tweaking it to make it look like it’s your personal style and not that of the local pizza restaurant.

Yes, everyone’s at it and the sad, but true, fact is that if you want to really pull this look off successfully you need to think carefully about how much of it you adopt.

I wrote last week about Industrial Glamour, which is my new phrase for a slightly more grown up version of the look, and one that, in my opinion, works well for those of us who don’t live in airy loft apartments. If you are lucky enough to do so then check out the new blog mywarehousehome.com for ideas and stockists.

The key thing is to work with what you’ve already got. It’s a positive result if you can only afford one Eames chair, because you can stick it next to an old wooden one that you’ve painted (black, grey or white) and another that came from your mother’s house and it all fits together nicely.

The basis for the modern industrial kitchen is natural materials, exposed brick, painted beams, natural wood and stone or wooden floors. Throw over a few rugs (and it doesn’t matter if they’re vintage ones with holes in) and add some stainless steel cupboards.

Textiles and soft furnishings must be natural – velvet, linen, cotton and cashmere, depending on your budget. And it really doesn’t matter if there are visible cables. Either box them into a steel tube and leave them on the wall, or change the plastic flex for a twisted silk braid and leave it dangling.

It’s all about the mix. Take the kitchen above, I’m pretty certain that’s a Wolf range cooker, which costs thousands of pounds. I know this because I had a, much cheaper, Baumatic version in my last house. Anyway, the point is that the owners have bought a fabulous oven and set it against a natural brick wall. The, possibly, vintage Tolix stools contrast with the rustic wooden cupboard fronts. And they’ve added a chandelier for good measure. But it’s not a classic chandelier made from crystal so again it adds a touch of the unexpected. Try this if you want something similar.

The kitchen above also has an expensive cooker, but the overall look is much more organic in feel. It has the look of something that was built up over time with pieces that the owner loved. And if that’s not the case, then that, my friends, is the look you are striving for.

See the mismatched chairs in the picture above and the table that looks like it was made from planks of wood.

Finally, I wanted to show you this picture, which, I had had room in my kitchen is exactly the sort of sofa I would have wanted. I love that it is suspended from the ceiling – like a rigid hammock and the steel rods contrast beautifully with the linen cover.