Behind the Scenes

These days, a kitchen needs to be supremely equipped, a high-functioning space geared for performance and the utmost efficiency. Yet, not all of the room’s integral parts need to be on display. Such is the case in this home in Notting Hill, where London-based interior designer Samantha Todhunter strove to conceal the kitchen’s utilitarian nature.

“I wanted everything to disappear, for the kitchen to sit well as a really beautiful room on its own without screaming that it was a kitchen,” says Todhunter, who finished the striking, high-ceilinged space with a combination of marble and brass. The airy kitchen includes a casual dining area that flows into a living area. A wall of windows and glass doors connects to the outdoor patio and fills the room with abundant light.

A vast island that Todhunter kept expanding during the design phase takes center stage in the kitchen. To give the ample piece a more furniture-like appeal, the island is fitted with brass drawers rather than cabinetry and topped with Arabescato marble, which combines soft whites and dark-gray tones. The marble was also used for the backsplash behind the six-burner Wolf range, the only appliance in the room that isn’t concealed. “The iconic red knobs are a badge that this is truly a proper kitchen,” says Todhunter. “I love that Wolf has a cool industrial element to it. The brand sits well in a lot of different environments—from country homes to super sleek places."

“The marble veining is so amazing, we didn’t want anything to compete with it,” says Todhunter, who included just one upper cabinet on the side of the room with the backsplash. The sole upper cabinet has reeded glass doors that obscure the view of the homeowner’s daily dishware. On the opposite side, a wall of floor-to-ceiling white cabinetry conceals all cookware, food items, and the Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer. “It’s an incredibly functional kitchen, yet everything disappears behind the cabinetry,” says Todhunter.

A brass box was designed to go around the range hood and a long band of the metal rims a linear shelf above it that spans the length of the room; all of the drawer pulls in the room are brass as well. “The brass adds glamour and twinkle, it has a lovely finishing-off affect,” says Todhunter. “While you might find a marble dining table paired with brass, you don’t often see a whole room featuring the two. By bringing the two very grown-up materials together, the room feels important and elegant on its own.”