Without a doubt, bringing metal surfaces into play when it comes to kitchens can produce some spectacular spaces. From the cold, professional look of a modern stainless steel kitchen to a warm copper feel, metal can define a design.
We’ve used metal in many of the Papilio bespoke kitchen designs. Close to my heart is the copper kitchen that is, in my humble opinion, a really powerful design.
We’ve used metal in many ways and find it adds a lot to the handmade kitchens we produce.
As a designer, making the most of the materials that might suit a particular kitchen design is always on my mind. Metal is interesting in that it can find a place in any design ethic. The ‘Scandi’, contemporary kitchens, modern, farmhouse, and even Shaker styles can be enhanced with careful use of metal in some form.
You’ll see from our range of handmade kitchens that we’re more about finding a way to perfectly execute the owner’s brief than about rigid adherence to a specific design. Some clients will ask us for a particular design, like a Shaker, while another will define aims and objectives that fit into their lifestyle.
Where we use metal, we do adhere to a few design ideas to keep the material under control. Like all materials, metal, if used without care, can overpower a design or reduce its impact.
Picking a dominant metal
The versatility of metal comes from the sheer number of forms it can take. The palette, patina, textures and luminescence all mean than many looks can come from even a single metal. Even the humble metal steel has many applications. Stainless, hammered, natural and other forms will totally change the design considerations in play.
For this reason, it’s important to identify a metal to take centre stage. That doesn’t mean you can only have one metal per kitchen, but multiple metals must work to deliver a theme.
This is a good example. Clearly the copper is the hero here, but other metals, such as the stainless steel of the appliances, play off it. Mixing warm and cool metals like this can be a great way of getting them to work together.
Colour, palette, and texture
As we’ve said, there is more to metal than just the plain forms. It can be worked and transformed into such a wide range of colours and textures. This means it can find its way into designs as a supporting player, rather than the lead actor, of the show.
Light fittings, backsplashes, taps, door handles, and other fixtures are a great place to add detail and bespoke customisation. Finding ways to express a customer’s unique personality from the design brief is an all-important part of what we do.
We use painted metal, metal with interesting finishes, and rich textures to add to our designs.
The stunning open shelving and Scandinavian clean lines allowed us to use warm metals with strong reflective properties to add highlights.
It’s always important to consider metal in kitchens with an understanding of how its use will affect the space. Clients can be hesitant to use metals, but our high-quality 3D renders allow them to see how it will build into the design.
The joy of a handmade kitchen is that we can use metals in ways that prefabricated kitchens simply can’t. We can choose the shape, colour, texture and form of the metal and have it made to an exact specification. We can even pioneer new ways to treat metal, if that’s what it takes to perfect a design.
If you want a forward-looking design team for your next kitchen build project, we’d be very happy to speak with you. We are Papilio and we always go the extra mile to design your perfect kitchen.
