Case Study: Open Plan Warehouse Kitchen in Bermondsey

The London Kitchen Company were excited to work with Bermondsey-based client Cindy who was hoping to transform her kitchen from a cramped corner room with limited natural light, into a sleek and bright open plan space.

Located in London’s Shad Thames, famous for its Oliver Twist-esq cobbled streets and historic riverside location, Cindy was keen to retain the area’s original features, without becoming too much of a ‘kitchy industrial kitchen’, as she put it. As her flat was part of the area’s famous 19th-century warehouse complex, her goal was to give a subtle nod to the industrial feel to the flat, whilst keeping the design contemporary. 

To begin with, Sebastian spent time discussing Cindy’s vision. He aimed to understand how she uses her kitchen to ensure the space was personalised functionally, but also reflected her aesthetic ambitions.

Originally, the kitchen was separated from the main dining room with opaque sliding glass doors (see below), with lots of clunky cupboards and cluttered surfaces, making the space feel small and disconnected from the rest of the flat. 

Cindy’s kitchen before the renovation.

Cindy wanted to open up the whole area to make the flat feel more integrated, with a feeling of breathable space and elegance. But the challenge was retaining practicality: keeping enough storage where room was minimal.

“I had a vision of what I wanted, but as I’m not a designer I wasn’t 100% sure of what was going to work well. Sebastian helped to fine tune everything and make sure it was going to work for our purposes.”

Sebastian’s approach is to nurture his client’s vision, providing facts and ideas of what will and won’t work, but allowing them to take the wheel. 

“I like customers who get involved and have ideas – but who need someone to make it happen. I don’t want them to only listen to what I think - I want them to have all the facts. It’s about filtering what clients say through my experience and knowledge… there’s a catalog in my head!”

The project began with conversations about materials. To remain on-theme to the warehouse look, light-grey ceramic Dekton was chosen for the surfaces, hinting at a concrete-industrial feel. Dekon is a fantastic material, because in Sebastian’s words ‘it’s quite indestructible’. A fitting resilience for the warehouses’ 150 year heritage. 

For the cupboard doors, a light grey matte lacquer finish was used, followed by a 1mm ABS edging around them to ensure paint wouldn’t chip as the cupboards were used. 

In a bid to add more interesting nuances, a copper backsplash was used to amplify the industrial image and add a hint of colour to the otherwise neutral kitchen. 

Simplicity was key in this design. Cindy wanted to keep as much clear space as possible, keeping non-essential appliances stored away (except the coffee machine, of course).

As a result, The London Kitchen Co made sure the kitchen had smart storage, without cluttered open cupboards. For sophistication, Sebastian installed imaginative ‘handless doors’. Instead of opening from the outside, a secret copper rail is set back behind the cupboards, which was topped off with slick LED lighting.  

As with most London flats, maximising space is always a concern. In this particular warehouse, light was also an issue as windows were only present on one side of the apartment. The open plan design solved both issues, providing a more enjoyable living space. 

“We always had to turn the lights on before because the previous cupboards used to block the natural light… and I used to almost chop off a finger when cooking! Now we have a lot more light and the space feels so much bigger because we’ve opened up the entire room.”

Open plan kitchens are a popular modern choice, and Sebastian has an inkling as to why:  ‘Closing-off kitchens is rather old fashioned, a legacy from by-gone days where the wife would go off and cook, shutting the door behind her. Cooking has become a social thing now - the heart of the home where the family gathers.’

Oftentimes, the most creative kitchen ideas come from facing challenges. For example, the old exposed brick walls made installing plug sockets difficult. So instead, Sebastian added pop-up electrical outlets, both side-stepping the installation problem as well as saving space and adding to the simple aesthetic. To keep surface space conveniently clear, a top-of-the-range Quooker boiling water filter tap was installed in the Blanco granite composite sink, removing the need for a kettle. 

A core challenge was making sure the open plan space had no barriers between the kitchen and dining room. The location of the extractor fan posed a threat, so Sebastian suggested a ‘Bora Hob’, which instead of the usual upward extraction, pulls downwards through the centre of the cooking area, keeping the room separation free from obstruction. According to Sebastian: “They invented this so kitchen space could remain open. Why would you want to divide that up? It’s all about maximising space”

To demonstrate the product, Sebastian took Cindy to a Bora showroom where she had lunch cooked for her on a Bora Hob - and was fully convinced! 

Cindy spoke often about how Sebastian helped ensure the kitchen had ‘flow’. Following initial conversations, The London Kitchen Company designed Cindy’s kitchen specifically around her - the appliances used most often, how she tends to move around the space - and curating the room practically, from the location of the worktops, to the details within the cupboards. 

“It’s much easier if now I’m chopping and need to grab something from the fridge - the space is more efficient and bespoke.”

The result? Cindy’s kitchen is now ‘a more pleasant space to be in’. She said she’s ‘ able to converse with my husband - I feel less put away… the space feels bigger and everything is easier and closer. The old kitchen had lots of dead space in the middle. Now every inch is optimised!’

She spoke of the process as being a collaborative experience, and she enjoyed the personal approach. “Especially when having something custom done - working with The London Kitchen Co means you get a more personal experience than going with a big company. You get to talk through what you want, and receive brilliant aftercare.  Sebastian isn’t one who finishes a job and walks away - with one or two adjustments to do - he stays in contact.”

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