Ledbury Studio’s Charlie Smallbone on the Art of Contrast in Kitchen Design

Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio, has developed a reputation for harnessing the beauty of metallic finishes in his kitchen designs. But for every panel of patinated copper or aged brass, there is usually a stunning piece of timber alongside.

“I’ve always enjoyed placing seemingly contrasting materials and textures alongside one another, to create a new and sometimes unexpected result,” Charlie says. “The warmth of wood’s natural grain pairs particularly well with the cool of metal, creating a tactile as well as visual effect, encouraging people to interact with that kitchen.”

Here, Charlie has picked out three of his favourite kitchen designs which showcase both the beauty of natural wood and its ability to create contrast.

A design of contrasts: Cotswolds kitchen

Charlie’s brief for the Cotswolds kitchen was to create a kitchen of contrasts. He achieved this by teaming planks of crown oak, which is vertically book-matched, alongside the industrial stainless steel of Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances. And he purposely left the doors and drawers handleless, so there is nothing to distract from the natural beauty of the wood grain.

There is further contrast between the wood cabinets and a combined breakfast and drinks cupboard, which is clad in solid sheets of patinated Verdigris copper and features a gold leaf eglomise mirror back panel.

A warm and sociable space: Sussex kitchen

For a kitchen that needed to feel both luxurious and totally usable every day, Charlie chose warm oak for the Sussex kitchen. The timber was carefully raked to bring out the natural grain, then stained to a rich contemporary tone.

To add the required drama, he introduced a larder cupboard with stunning wild walnut timber on the door panels, the swirling grain adding a real point of difference to the stained oak. The doors and drawers of the base cabinetry and island are handleless to allow the timber to take centre stage. By contrast, the larder and tall cabinetry are finished with aged-brass handles for a subtle hint of glamour.

Depth in texture: Primrose Hill kitchen

For the Primrose Hill design, Charlie included both fluted and flat oak cabinetry to add both depth and interest to the kitchen. Fluted dark-stained oak wraps around the wall cabinets above the sink run, which is then echoed in the painted fluted panels on the island.

In contrast, the base cabinets are flat oak panels, dark stained on the island and painted on the wall run, both allowing the natural grain to remain visible. Amber quartz worktops and splashbacks complete the scheme, complementing the pale tones and providing further balance to the darker cabinetry.