Transitional Kitchen with Black Cabinets Design Ideas

The owners of this contemporary new-build home in Walberton wanted to transform their compact kitchen into something truly special - a grand, open-plan space designed for cooking, living, and entertaining. Entertaining was at the heart of their vision: a sociable hub with generous seating, intuitive functionality, and the flexibility that a busy modern family demands.

The Kitchen Incorporates tall inky cabinetry that reflects the proportions of the room, with cornice detailing that echoes the original coving

Storage was a top priority for our clients, and kept front of mind throughout the whole design - like you see in this gorgeously oversized pantry unit housing open oak shelving, condiment racks, and wicker baskets. Making food storage both functional and beautiful.

deVOL Kitchens

Matt Clayton Photography

Neptune Black ( Charcoal) shaker ( suffolk range) kitchen with brass handles and knobs . supplied by woods of london photo's by Chris Snook

Mark Hardy

Striking black painted Shaker kitchen with gold/brass handles and fittings – Classic shaker cabinets with brass hinges, solid shaker skirting to range cooker run and recessed plinth on the island – An Induction range cooker (superfast cooking and so easy to clean) framed by the towering classic Shaker mantle (its all the way up to that high vaulted ceiling) with hidden cupboards left and right – powerful dominant black painted furniture with white quartz worktops – note “no wall cupboards” just two big wide bi-fold dressers hiding all the small appliances, clients microwave and crockery/plates cups saucers etc. Endless pan drawers again next to the range for ease of use, notice the big larder cupboard for all dry food storage next to the two huge fridge and freezer cabinets. The big feature here is the large island with double Belfast sink on, and gold/brass monobloc tap. The end of the island has a feature farmhouse oak slatted table base on top of which is a massive 1200 X 600mm professional end grain chopping block – just what you'd see in a high-end butchers shop – perfect for chopping meat/fish, preparing vegetables etc. will last years. Note the breakfast bar position on the outside of the island away from the busy cooking area but close enough for guests to chat while cooking. Photography - Peter Corcoran

A sleek, simple design for a new build home, featuring clean-cut lines and a neutral palette that blends effortlessly into the open-plan living area. A hidden pantry adds discreet functionality, with the entire space expertly designed and fitted for a minimalist, modern finish.

Country Kitchen with white quartz counter top and smoke black joinery.

The oak island is the focal point of this kitchen. Its tongue-and-groove back and end panels bring a touch of craftsmanship to the space. The Horizon Carrara Quartz countertop adds a sleek and sophisticated surface, while the oak bar stools with metal legs offer casual yet stylish seating. The Little Greene Lamp Black cabinetry, accented with Armac Martin Burnished Brass handles, creates a contrast against the light oak floors and the crisp quartz. The open shelving, with oak interiors, subtly ties the island’s warmth to the rest of the kitchen, while the Franke Mythos undermount sink and Quooker Flex tap seamlessly integrate into the design, maintaining the kitchen’s clean lines and functional elegance.

Bespoke Black Cabinetry complimented with the deep white worktop and Buster &Punch handles. Large island with built in appliances and finished in the fluted cladding.

A beautiful bespoke luxury in-frame Shaker style kitchen in Beckenham. The units are painted in sophisticated Off Black from Farrow & Ball and are coupled with stunning stone features in Moonrock Quartzite - the full height stone splashback, shelf and stunning waterfall island. Bespoke features include a large integrated pantry cupboard and bar unit; both with pocket doors, a brass Quooker tap, handles from Buster & Punch and appliances from Siemens, Fisher & Paykel and Air Uno.

Luxuriously dark cabinetry, light worktops and walls with a spacious feel - this is a cool take on a classical kitchen design. Custom made for a couple with a keen eye for design, who work hard, know how to relax and absolutely adore their pups. Their kitchen renovation was part of a whole house restoration. With busy careers and two pups the brief highlighted two main aims. Firstly, to create space to enjoy the kitchen, for cooking and relaxing. Secondly, to provide customised storage so that everything has a place to help keep the space tidy. The main kitchen area is where the culinary magic happens with space to unwind. The home bar for gin and wine lovers, includes wine racks, antique mirror, glazed shelves for the gin collection and two fridge drawers for wine and mixers. Designed with pocket doors it can be left open to admire the beautiful bottles, or closed – maybe for Dry January?! It’s positioned cleverly next to their outdoor ‘lounge’ area complete with comfortable chairs and an outside rug. The larder cupboard has spice / oil racks, baskets and boxes at the bottom for treats. There are electrical points inside so the coffee machine is plugged in here and ready to serve that morning espresso. Being able to keep the kitchen tidy was important so we created a ‘home for everything’ using drawers within drawers, an Oak baking tray divider, pan drawers with lid holders and integrated chopping board and tray spaces. The ovens, warming drawer, induction hob and downdraft extractor are positioned together with the plenty of prep worktop space. The cooking section is aligned with the washing area including Fisher and Paykel dishwasher drawers, beautifully glossy white ceramic sink and boiling water tap. With a slim Oak shelf above for displaying favourite things. The Island serves as a breakfast bar as well as a sweet spot for a casual supper. There is a Zebrano wood knife block inset into the Island worktop so that their Global knife collection is on hand for food prep by the hob and oven. The table and chairs are painted in the same colour as the cabinets and upholstered in black and white, with bench seating by the window including drawers for dog toys conveniently by the doors to the garden. The second part of the design is the walk-in butler’s style pantry. This area was designed to keep the kitchen ‘clutter’ out of the main area. And it is a brilliant area to stack all the dirty dishes when entertaining as it’s completely out of sight. The cabinetry is an a classic ‘u’ shape and houses the fridge, freezer, cupboards for large appliances, oversized dishes and one for the mop and bucket. The tall cupboards with bi-fold doors are for food storage, and you can see from the photos that everything is beautifully kept – rice, pasta, popcorn, quinoa all in lovely named jars. It’s an organisers dream come true. There is also a sink for washing vegetables and oodles of prep surface. Colour pallet The cabinetry is hand painted in Farrow and Ball ‘Off-Black’. Dark and inky, it just lures you right in, timeless and deeply refined. With the cabinetry being grand in proportion too, with detailed cornicing it creates a really bold statement in this space. It can be daunting to go for a dark shade of black, blue or green, but you can see the drama of the cabinets is perfectly matched with plenty of natural light, the white walls and warm Oak floor tiles. The white patterned Domus ‘Biscuit’ tiles bring texture and playfulness. The worktop, Caesarstone Ocean Foam, is a white quartz with speckles of grey crystals. In a classic polished finish it lets the rest of the room do the ‘singing’ while providing a clean light reflecting practical surface for preparing and enjoying food and drinks. The floor tiles bring the warmth. No two tiles have the same pattern so they really do look like wood, but are better suited to the pups as they don’t scratch and are non-slip. Lighting Design The slim black framed windows with doors onto the garden flood the kitchen with natural light and warmth during the day. But atmospheric lighting into the evening was important too, so we incorporated custom lighting in the glass cabinet, gin cabinet and pantry. “It is so well integrated and was a really important thing for me, along with all the smart lighting in the room, and Mike did a great job with it all.” It was such a pleasure to make this kitchen. They wanted to work with a local company and we feel so lucky they picked us.