At Papilio Bespoke Kitchens, we specialise in creating beautiful, handmade kitchens and luxury furniture with timeless elegance. We make unique kitchens personal to individuals and functional for families. And in recent years, we’ve noticed a growing trend in dark, atmospheric and black kitchens.
Black kitchens intentionally step away from the safety of creamy and neutral tones. Black kitchens are dramatic, chic and still not entirely mainstream. Dark kitchens are very much in favour of interior design professionals and homeowners, and we genuinely believe they can be beautiful and inspiring. The ultimate luxury kitchen can now be black for those who want drama, high contrast and style.
The Richlite Kitchen
We’ve designed several bold, dark kitchens in recent years, and our Richlite Kitchen has to be one of our favourite projects. We completely overhauled the sizable kitchen space in a large country manor house. Central to the design was the kitchen island made from a single oak section, allowing the grain to naturally weave along the entire length. Its work surface was made from a single sheet of black Richlite, offering great contrast to the stunning oak. We also incorporated black and reeded glass ‘Crittal’ style glazed panels to slightly divide the space, bespoke black limestone sinks set within in a black limestone worktop and the dark stone and Diamond Black Richlite cabinet doors. The finished luxury kitchen was a stunning mix of modern design with traditional craftsmanship finished in black and natural wood.
The Frome Kitchen
In other kitchen projects, we’ve introduced black within the design to create drama and eye-catching distinction. For example, our Frome Kitchen included a black kitchen island made from Valchromat. The engineered material was custom-made using water jets to create vertically fluted side panels to add drama. The work surface on the island is recycled paper and resin, which gives a phenomenally hardwearing surface that patinas over time, resulting in a leather-like finish. The island was finished with a solid brass trim left to patina over time, and the brass section counter sunk to the rear of the handle cut out.
The Bruton Kitchen
We love black or nearly black kitchens, but if black still isn’t your thing, but you want more drama and contrast in your new luxury kitchen, then adding black hardware, such as taps and light fittings, is a great place to start. Likewise, black or almost black countertops, such as the magnificent fossil-studded Belgium Blue Limestone worktop we installed in our Bruton Kitchen in Somerset, will work brilliantly with nearly all tones in a handmade kitchen.
