I decided to write this post after receiving a lot of messages from my followers asking me how my kitchen is laid out (from the inside out). I received questions like; Where does your bin live? What cupboard designs did you opt for? Where do you store your pots and pans?…etc.
Before I could share the insides of my cupboards with you all, I had to give them a darn good clearout because quite frankly, they were a huge embarrassment to me! My larder, in particular, was full of half empty food packets, some out of date produce and basically looked cluttered and disorganised.
I have never been one to like plastic packets for food, especially for small dry substances such as rice, couscous, sesame seeds or lentils. I find that the resealable label often gets covered in the food, resulting in the label no longing sticking and the packet opening up and spilling the food all over the shelf!
Storage jars are a great way to keep things neat, tidy and organised. I prefer glass jars so you can see what is inside. I am not a fan of jar labels so I don’t use them, I do however pop a small label on the bottom of my flour jars so I know which type of flour is in them.
I also love baskets/hampers as they can hold a multitude of things and can be stacked neatly on shelves. The one pictured below was given to us as a get well gift for my husband after he was in the hospital and contained vintage sweets.
I have some stunning storage jars from the Danish brand Hübsch, notably one of Scandinavia’s leading home interior brands. They specialise in simplistic, modern and exceptionally well-made home interiors. There is something about this brand that really resonates with me – I found the below quote on their website and it is a pretty good reflection of how I think about the insides of my living space.
Where Happiness Lives
“We believe that we can create happiness around us by designing quality products in unique style, by offering the best service everyday, and by meeting our surroundings with a smile on our lips.”
Hübsch 2018
These storage jars are beautifully simplistic in design, they feature a glass cylinder and a solid oak lid. They are easy to open and close and have a great seal to lock in the food and keep in the air. I have two different designs, one is more tube-like in shape with a flat bottom and an oak lid with a leather loop handle, the other is more circular in shape and has a curved oak lid. I really love the oak lids as they sit beautifully in my oak larder.
I also have another variation of a storage jar, the Weck jar with stainless steel clips. It is a very traditional style of jar, which originates by design from Germany. These come in a range of sizes and have excellent air-tight qualities.
Storage containers are also a great way of keeping breakfast cereals in order and looking neat and tidy. I use plastic ones from IKEA for our cereals.
In the pull out baskets within my larder, I store biscuits and snacks (our naughty bits!) and the children’s cake making supplies. Below these are my wooden pull out drawers and these contain our wooden chopping boards and the children’s plastic tableware. Some people store vegetables in these but I keep all my fresh produce in the fridge drawers.
Our kitchen dresser with folding doors acts as both a storage unit and display unit. When open it gives a warm, inviting look to the kitchen and when closed, it simplifies the whole space making it look clutter-free.
The small cupboard to the right of this unit acts as a secret hideaway for our food waste bin. By adding this small cupboard it makes use of what otherwise would have been ‘dead’ space.
Below the dresser to the right, we have a blind corner optimiser cupboard and to the left, a standard cupboard with shelves.
Our dishwasher is to the left of the sink and below the sink we have a false drawer and 2 cupboards for cleaning products. Top left, we have our mugs cupboard and top right, our glasses cupboard. Bottom right of the sink, we have our cutlery drawer and plates/bowls cupboard.
With the hob situated on the island and the ovens placed directly behind this, most of our cooking equipment is stored in the drawers of the island. Our recycling bin and rubbish bin are housed to the left of the hob which is an ideal spot as all our cooking prep is done on the surface above. Having it in this location makes tidying up really easy!
On the other side of the island, we have our more formal tableware and serveware, as well as our wine fridge.
And so you have it, my kitchen uncovered! I hope you enjoyed a nosey through my cupboards..!
Such a stunning space Sarah-Jane – beautifully designed and organised – I particularly love your larder and clever bin storage.
Hi S-J, I adore your kitchen and hope to create something similar. Did you have the whole thing made bespoke?
Author
Hi Michelle, yes it was made by a kitchen brand called Tom Howley.
Hi there, what a lovely kitchen, please can I know where and what your floor tiles are? Thank You 🙂
Author
They are mazzano marble from pure-stone.co.uk
Hi. Love everthing in your kitchen. Its pretty much exactly what my wife and i are doing in our victorian semi. Are the colours of the cabinets Tom Howleys own colour as its very similar to f&bs purbeck stone which we may use but yours is nicer. Many thanks. Matt.
Author
Yes, it’s Tom Howley paint but their colours are very similar to Farrow and Ball. My blog post on Colours in my home gives you the exact colour names so check it out!
hello i love the colours you used on your cabinets what are they? thank you
Author
If you hop over to my post on colours, you’ll find the details!
Fab post! Thinking of putting our hob on the island like what you’ve done. Just wondering what you did re extractor fan?! Thanks a mil!
Hi! What colour are your door handles and knobs? Are they polished nickel or chrome? What diameter are the knobs? Also is your tap nickel or chrome? Many thanks!
Stunning! Could you please let me know what your counter top is as it is very much like the one we want. Many thanks
Author
It’s quartz by the company silestone x
Thank you, is it the iconic white counter top or does it have a slight speck in it?
Author
It’s the colour Yukon x
Gorgeous! Please could you let me know where your ceiling pendants are from?
Author
They are linked on ‘my home style’ page on the blog!
Hi Sarah, I love your kitchen, we will have something very similar at our house, a question I have, how is the Silestone worktop? Do you like it? Is it easy to clean? Thank you!! Marselle
Author
So pleased with it! I just use waitrose ecological cleaner to clean it and it works everytime! X
Hi Sarah, can I ask what brand is your fridge freezer please, it looks great! Thanks
Author
Fisher & Paykel
Hi – what and where did you get the floor from please?
Author
http://www.pure-stone.co.uk
Hi SJ, really love your kitchen. Could you tell me how to access your blog on colours. I can’t see it listed anywhere…Thanks Rosie
Author
If you scroll back a bit you’ll find a post all on colours used in the house!
Hi, lovely kitchen. We are currently in the process of designing something similar. One practical question. Do you have any sort of hood extraction for your electric hob? Either in the ceiling or built into the island?
Author
No, we decided against a hob extractor and just installed a normal wall/ceiling extractor within the room to apply with building regs. Haven’t looked back!
Your kitchen is just WOW……. could you tell me please have you found the marble floor strong and durable? Basically, have you dropped anything heavy on it yet that’s tried it out haha? Thank you
Author
Nothing has cause any damage… yet!
Hi SJ
Great blog post – I love your kitchen! Is one of your ovens a microwave oven because I couldn’t see a microwave behind your bifold door dresser? If you do have a microwave oven, do you find it suits your needs because it seems many are a lot smaller inside than regular ovens?
Thanks
Cassie
Author
Thank you! We have ours in the utility room as we don’t use it much so didn’t see the point of it taking up valuable space in the kitchen x
Thank you for coming back to me so quickly! x
What a useful post, thank you SJ! Do you know the approximate length/width dimensions of your kitchen island? Rhona x
Hi Sarah-Jane, I was just wondering the same too! We’re modelling our refurb kitchen off yours & would love to know the size of your island (love your blog & Instagram page) xx
Hello! loooove your kitchen! What brand is your over and microwave please?
Hi! I stumbled onto your kitchen via Pinterest searches for remodeling my pantry – I LOVE yours!! What is the depth of your cabinets? I am looking at 18 inches for my pantry shelves but would love input!
What is the color of your cabinets? You have the same countertops that we are having installed at the end of the month. They look very nice and I can’t wait until we have them.
Author
The island is colour matched to Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue and the wall units are coloured matched to Cornforth White, also by Farrow & Ball.
I absolutely love your kitchen. What colour have you painted the walls because they really enable the kitchen cabinetry to be the star of the show!
Author
Hi, I used Wimborne white for the walls in our open plan space.