As luck would have it, Instagram is jam-packed with kitchen inspiration aplenty, from the historic to the classic to the ultra-contemporary and minimal. Here are just some of our favourite grids over which to drool.
Photo by Collov Home Design on Unsplash
Charlie McCormick
We should start by saying that this is the kitchen of both gardener Charlie McCormick and his designer and architect partner, Ben Pentreath. The duo lives between London, an exemplary Georgian parsonage in Dorset and a small but perfectly formed bothy in Scotland. We love the glorious yellow walls of their Dorset kitchen, which is as cheering as can be. We also love the total eschewal of de rigueur fitted cupboards and accoutrements. The range oven sits in the recess of the large fireplace; jugs adorn the mantlepiece; flowers are dotted about like happy punctuation; and there is no ubiquitous island, replaced instead by a useful and characterful table upon which to make cakes and for dogs to perch. Utter perfection. Follow him here for more inspiration.
Hill House Vintage
We adore Hill House Vintage’s feed, both for the beautiful country interiors and for the infectious enthusiasm of Paula who, in her perfectly proportioned Norfolk Georgian house, has created a whole world that almost half a million followers have fallen in love with. Her kitchen – which is very much a working example – is as much a joy as the woman herself, festooned with flowers and cakes on stands. Exactly the sort of place that would have us rolling up our sleeves and mixing in Mason Cash bowls with the no-nonsense industry of Mrs Patmore. Follow her here for more inspiration.
Home With Helen And Co
Home with Helen And Co is the account belonging to Helen Ford and her fiancé, David Ainley. Like so many others, they spent lockdown renovating their home, which is, in their case, a bungalow in Yorkshire. Unlike most others, however, they opted for pastel-hued, well, everything. Regard their Wren Kitchens makeover, a symphony in pinks, golds and lilacs and sigh in happiness at their utter commitment. Follow here for more inspiration.
Petworth
Nope, we do not, alas, live in a National Trust estate. But we can dream, and when we do, it is of this 200-year-old kitchen at Petworth, with its excellent collection of shiny copper pans and its hardworking long table. If your sensibilities tend towards the likes of Plain English and Farrow & Ball, you will doubtless adore this, the sort of kitchen from which both brands take quietly restrained inspiration. Follow here for more inspiration.
Plain English
If, like us, you do not live in a National Trust stately home, but you do wish to ape that very lovely look while keeping a firm eye on contemporary living, do follow Plain English, which we think of as the original and still the best of the all the bespoke kitchen designers. Who could resist this work of art in green and blue? Follow here for more inspiration.
Heidi Caillier Design
We love open shelving in the kitchen – provided, of course, you’re able to keep it spick and span. This example, by Heidi Caillier Design, is the stuff of our dreams. Happily, the rest of her feed is full of more knock-out beauties. Follow here for more inspiration.
Ridge And Furrow
Elle Kemp is the designer behind Ridge And Furrow, and her feed mostly documents life in a former piggery which she and her husband renovated to exquisite perfection. Everything is understated and dark, but designed for maximum chiaroscuro drama, making the whole appear as if it has wandered out of a sixteenth-century Dutch master painting. Clever and beautiful. Follow her here for more inspiration.
John Pawson
If you are a fan of minimalism, no one does it better than architect John Pawson. This kitchen is in his Cotswolds farm, which dates from 1610. And while we would fail miserably at such spartan living, we admire it – and its excellent golden hour shadows – very much. Follow here for more inspiration.
House & Garden
House & Garden’s glorious feed is, of course, awash with kitchens that we covet. We especially liked this one on a recent peruse; a Chelsea home designed by interior designer David Mlinaric for one of his no doubt endlessly grateful clients. We love the Emery & Cie tiles and the green banquette. Follow here for more inspiration.
Matilda Goad
It may not be a kitchen as such, but it is a kitchen appendage. And it’s impossible not to love Matilda Goad’s pantry, with its pretty floral skirt and its kilner jar-festooned shelves. Joyous. Follow her here for more inspiration.
est_living
est_living is dedicated to showing ‘unforgettable spaces’, and we wholeheartedly agree that this is one such. The work of Taiwanese multidisciplinary studio Ecru Studio, this is a family home in Taipei. We love the abundance of natural materials, from the stone floors to the simple wooden cupboards. Follow here for more inspiration.
Emma Sims Hilditch
Emma Sims Hilditch is the founder of her own eponymous interior design company, as well as the creative founder of Neptune. She specialises in contemporary country interiors that riff on the below stairs aesthetic of days gone by, while polishing them up to perfection for a contemporary clientele. We love the wood-clad walls, the AGA and the Crittall French doors here. Follow here for more inspiration.
Fabled Thread
Who could fail to adore Eppie Thompson, founder of The Fabled Thread? We love the sunshine warmth of her egg yolk yellow kitchen, which attests to the fact that when it comes to kitchen design, there is no need to go slavishly follow the fashion for muted tones; if a good splash of colour would cheer you on a daily basis, then why on earth not? Follow her here for more inspiration.
Alistair Fleming
Kitchen design company Alistair Fleming is one of the best in the business. Its feed abounds with exquisite craftsmanship, of which this is an example. We love its functional simplicity and its quiet but absolute confidence in the quality of work, which allows for a total and refreshing absence of look-at-me showiness. Follow here for more inspiration.
Freight HHG
Unlike the others on this list, this exceptionally lovely kitchen is installed in a shop, rather than a home. We adore the arresting shot of yellow against the pared back walls – and the fact that this sublime East Sussex interiors mecca has a kitchen at all. We’re on our way for a coffee. Follow here for more inspiration.
Elle Decor
Elle Décor’s feed is wall-to-wall with beautiful images, as one would expect. We particularly like the still life drama of this Harlem bachelor pad by architecture firm, Re-a.d. The exemplar of brooding masculine design, without too much machismo. Follow here for more inspiration.
Beata Heuman
We could stare at Beata Heuman’s grid all day. We adore examples of her design studio’s own kitchens, but on a recent peruse, fell in love with her favourite London kitchen (pictured here), which belongs to the cookery writer Skye McAlpine and was designed by Pentreath. Those jelly moulds! Pure joy. Follow her here for more inspiration.
Sarah Brown
Do you dream of a pink kitchen? Interior designer Sarah Brown’s absolute knock-out example roundly shows that pretty colours needn’t be confined to bedrooms; they can look just as gorgeous in the kitchen, especially when paired with some balancing industrial lighting. This looks so inviting, we’re longing to come straight over for aperitivo hour. Follow her here for more inspiration.
Mad About The House
Kate Watson-Smythe is the journalist behind the UK’s number one interiors blog, Mad About The House. She is also the owner of this kitchen, whose shelves are, we think, a stroke of genius. We love open shelving, but so often it doesn’t accommodate quite enough stuff for anyone who isn’t a proper minimalist. This is an excellent and practical way of making the most of the space. Hats off. Follow her here for more inspiration.
World of Interiors
Is there anything so glorious as spending time gazing at The World of Interiors Instagram feed (that is, apart from flicking through its glossy pages?) We say no, especially since it throws up such beauties as this light and spacious kitchen. Follow here for more inspiration.
By Nancy Alsop
July 2021
