Kitchen Area with Two-Tone Handleless Cabinets

The counter is a black granite countertop and the wall behind it is a marble backsplash. Granite was picked for the work zone because it shrugs off heat from a pan and the odd knife slip far better than marble. The marble is kept up on the splash, away from direct chopping, where it stays clean. Under-cabinet lighting runs along the base of the wall cabinets to light the counter at night.

Yes, both runs are handleless, opened by a groove or a push catch rather than a pull handle. The main reason here is cleaning, since a handle in a kitchen collects grease and grime that you then scrub around. A flat shutter just wipes down in one pass. It also keeps the long cabinet run looking like one calm surface rather than a row of fittings.

A tall stainless steel refrigerator stands at one end of the run, and tall wall cabinets carry dry storage right up to the ceiling. Along the counter the wall cabinets sit above the granite with under-cabinet lighting beneath them. On either side of the kitchen, glass display niches hold crockery, glasses and a coffee machine on show. A ceiling fan keeps the air moving while you cook.

Those are glass display niches, set into the units that frame the kitchen opening. They have grey backs and small spotlights, so the glasses, mugs and jars inside stand out against the dark. Open niches like these are handy for the pieces you reach for daily and want on show, rather than shut behind a door. The trade-off is they gather dust and need a wipe more often than a closed cabinet.

It suits a small kitchen well. The two-tone cabinets with a lighter upper half are exactly the trick that keeps a compact galley from feeling tight, and handleless shutters save the few centimetres a handle sticks out into a narrow walkway. Tall wall cabinets make up for a small footprint by going upward. In a small flat the main call is where the refrigerator sits, since it eats the most room.

The cabinetry and the stone lead the bill. A handleless finish, tall wall cabinets and a full-height tall unit mean more carpentry and better hardware than a basic run, and that is where the money goes. A black granite countertop and a marble backsplash add a stone cost that depends on the slab. Layout length, the shutter finish and how many tall units you want decide the final figure.

Day to day it is easy. The handleless shutters wipe clean in one pass with no handle to scrub around, and a black granite countertop takes daily use without staining if you wipe spills reasonably soon. The marble backsplash wants a mild cleaner and nothing acidic, since lemon or vinegar dulls the polish. The open glass display niches are the one part that gathers dust and needs a regular wipe.