There are many manufactured materials to choose from when designing and building new contemporary kitchens. But with many state-of-the-art materials designed for longevity and everyday use, it’s sometimes tricky to choose the right one for your new kitchen. The good news is that at Papilio, we can help with the decision-making because, as luxury kitchens specialists, we’ve had decades of experience working with some of the best materials available.
One particular composite that we get excited about is Valchromat. A type of MDF but infinitely better, more resilient and aesthetically pleasing. Essentially, Valchromat is made up of wood fibres that are engineered for high performance. In addition, it allows for excellent colour pigmentation, making it very versatile and visually appealing. Valchromat is an ideal material to use in a contemporary kitchen because the fibres from which it is made are individually impregnated with dyes and chemically bonded with special resins to give it a solid and hardwearing finish and colour. The unique physicochemical features of Valchromat also allow for different finishes, including waxy, oily and gloss. For our design team and cabinet makers, it is a wonder to work with and offers excellent versatility.
Another reason why our team get excited when our clients choose Valchromat for their contemporary kitchens is that it marries very well with natural timbers. The contrast between modernity and tradition makes for an exciting handmade kitchen. Teaming dark tones of Valchromat with golden oak or walnut or warm yellow Valchromat with pale timbers can achieve showstopping modernist results.
For our Frome Kitchen project in Somerset, as part of a major kitchen renovation, we designed and built a praiseworthy central kitchen island made from a double thickness sheet of Valchromat, which we custom-made with a water jet to give a fluted effect. The beauty and versatility of Valchromat make it ideal for complete customisation. For the project, the existing Edwardian architecture needed to remain at the forefront, but the family wanted ultimate functionality for the kitchen space. The result was the conception of a mid-century-style kitchen. The kitchen island was finished with an elegant brass rim accentuating the black tones of the multi-dimensional Valchromat. We intentionally tinted the walnut with red tones for the kitchen cabinets and added marble worktops for additional contrast. The floor-to-ceiling black-framed windows and doors leading into the garden offered extra natural light to make the materials sing, resulting in a stunning open-plan kitchen with style and function at its heart.
