Kitchens for Contemporary New-Build Extensions

Contemporary extensions tend to produce one of two kitchen conditions. The first is a long single-storey volume with glazing on two or three sides; the kitchen sits within the volume and reads against the glazing. The second is a higher-volume return with a vaulted or pitched ceiling; the kitchen sits below the volume and reads against the ceiling geometry. Each condition asks a different proportional question and rewards a different cabinetry strategy.

For long single-storey volumes, we typically draw the cabinetry as a single architectural run rather than as a collection of fitted units. A nine-metre run of cabinetry in a single material reads as wall lining or built-in furniture; the same run broken into discrete units reads as a fitted kitchen imposed on the volume. The choice is led by the architect’s drawings and the brief, but the question is decided early because it determines the joinery rhythm throughout.

For vaulted or higher-volume returns, we draw the cabinetry to sit beneath the geometry without competing with it. Tall units are usually avoided in this condition; a long low run, sometimes with a separate freestanding island, gives the eye somewhere to land below the architecture above. Lighting is integrated to wash the ceiling rather than light the room from above, so the architectural volume reads at all hours.

Where the extension creates an open-plan kitchen-dining-living space, the cabinetry has to do two jobs: hold the working kitchen and present an architectural face to the living area. We resolve this either with a deliberate material change between the two zones, or with a single architectural language carried through both. The choice is the architect’s and yours; we contribute the cabinetry detail in either direction.

Contemporary extension kitchens reward restraint in the material palette. A single timber across the cabinetry, a single stone on the worktops, and one accent material for the island or feature wall typically produces a stronger result than a more complex palette. The architecture is doing the design work; the cabinetry supports it.

Common cabinetry choices for extension projects include hand-painted timber in a single neutral, smoked or fumed European oak, or rift-cut walnut on tall units paired with painted timber on lower runs. The choice is led by the architect’s palette for the extension itself: typically the same family as the floor finish, the structural timber and any internal joinery in the project.

Worktops in contemporary extensions tend to be either single-slab stone (Calacatta marble, Taj Mahal quartzite or a similar large-format stone) or a hand-finished timber for warmth where the rest of the palette is restrained. Stainless steel and concrete are workable options where the brief calls for them, though both ask careful detailing at the edge condition.

Lighting is integrated with the architect’s scheme. We coordinate concealed LED in the cabinetry plinth, integrated linear lighting in shelving and tall units, and any feature pendants over the island. The aim is to light the working kitchen for evening use without overwhelming the architectural light coming through the glazing during the day.