The names to know for brilliant bespoke kitchen cabinet doors
Not every kitchen in need of a refresh requires a full refit. When it's feeling a little tired or you started out with a budget-friendly IKEA or Howdens kitchen and are looking for a way to similarly cost-effective way to upgrade, consider a little customisation. Plain fronts can be replaced with more vibrant doors, or even translucent doors. If you've got space on your walls, a new custom open shelved unit can help provide storage.
Interior designer Catherine Olley, for example, spruced up the IKEA kitchen in her playful Dulwich flat with custom kitchen cabinet doors from Naked Kitchens after she felt ‘restricted by the endless dark blue, grey or cream kitchens offered by off the peg kitchen companies…’ She further personalised them with Farrow and Ball paint and antique brass hardware.
These companies offer bespoke kitchen cabinets, doors and worktops that offer a kitchen rejuvenation without the full arduous (and more expensive!) renovation.
Seven companies offering brilliant bespoke kitchen cabinet doors
Courtesy of Goldfinch Furniture1/7Goldfinch Furniture
Everything that south London-based Goldfinch Furniture offers is made in its own workshop, with many different options for customisation. Bespoke features include a variety of timber finishes (its wood is also ethically-sourced), hardware and they also offer clients the opportunity to come in with an RAL code for paint colours.
While their full kitchens begin at £20,000, freestanding pieces generally start around £3000. Their modular range, which will launch soon, allows for a kitchen refresh at a slightly less expensive price point: 'Our new modular range comes in on average 25% cheaper and customers can go as small as they like - there's no minimum price order to the modular range,' says the founder, Mike Biddulph.
The consultation process includes site surveys, drawings, 3D images and material samples and the average lead time is 15 weeks.
Naked Kitchens2/7Naked Kitchens
Naked Kitchens sits on an old RAF base in Norfolk and they create their bespoke kitchens from birch plywood. If sustainability is a key factor for you, the company lay out their eco-credentials which include sustainable timber and a water-based paint.
The company offers a range of options for kitchen upgrades bold worktops in marble or quartz to bespoke units such as the freestanding larder, which has become an increasingly popular option amongst kitchen designers. It also offers doors for the popular IKEA and Howdens cabinets, which have a shorter lead time of approximately 4-6 weeks.
When it comes to colour, in addition to 30 of its own hues, Naked offers a custom colour-matching service which can replicate any chosen colour sample.
Ed Reeve3/7HØLTE
HØLTE also offers new custom hand-made designs made in the UK for pre-existing units whether they are from IKEA or elsewhere.
The most cost-effective and speedy option is the Holte ONE range which offers hand-made fronts to fit IKEA and Howdens kitchens. It offers five laminate colours in serene, minimalistic tones as well as five types of handles and five timbers. The handles, available both in sleek metal and powder-coated designers, range from £280 to £1400 and were designed in collaboration with UK manufacturer Sward Hardware
If you have a budget that stretches slightly further, HØLTE offers further levels of customisation, with fully bespoke worktops made of durable materials like quartz and composite stone and fronts costing up to £4500 and £8000 respectively.
James Stokes4/7Superfront
Superfront, based in Sweden, is one of the biggest names in IKEA customisation and have have been designing stylish doors, handles and feet in-house for years. House & Garden's former Style Director Gabby Deeming opted for custom Superfront doors for her IKEA TV bench, adding brass handles and legs.
They not only upgrade the BESTÅ, METOD, FAX kitchens but if you are looking to refresh an old FAKTUM kitchen, which was discontinued by IKEA, it is able to accommodate you there as well.
Both the wood veneer and coloured fronts are made from high quality MDF which have been treated with a UV-lacquer that has longevity in mind. While based in Sweden, it delivers all over Europe.
5/7PLYKEA
East London-based Plykea makes bespoke fronts for IKEA kitchens from plywood as their name suggests.
The consultation process begins either with a call or a meeting in the showroom where the designers get to understand your kitchen cabinet designs and desired materials, paint colours and hardware.
If you're looking for storage solutions as well as an aesthetic upgrade, Plykea also offers the Urtil range of modular, stackable shelves. These are just as customisable with the option of adding interior lights, sliding doors and reeded glass. A basic two-door unit, measuring 30 x 30 x 100cm would cost around £800.
Courtesy of HUCK6/7HUSK
HUSK is based in Bristol, close to the IKEA and Howdens stores, which is convenient as alongside its own bespoke cabinetry, it creates handcrafted fronts in-house for IKEA and Howdens units.
In terms of further customisation, clients are free to bring along the hardware of their choice. But it also offers its own integrated handles cut into the fronts.
If you have different units as a base or want fully bespoke HUSK cabinetry, it offers a full design service from £950, which helps you personalise your kitchen whether you want a full range of cabinetry or a few bespoke elements. Lead times are currently on average 8-10 weeks.
When it comes to paint options, it also has a cost-effective primed MDF collection with a ‘ready-to-paint surface that’s perfect for those wanting custom colour flexibility.’
Courtesy of Pluck Kitchen Design7/7PLUCK
All of Pluck's bespoke offerings are made in its studio in South London. Cabinetry for a full kitchen starts at £20,000 but it also offers customisable individual glazed cabinets and a standard double-door unit starts at £2600 inc VAT and London delivery.
Bespoke elements can all be chosen when you place your order and include internal colours, solid timber frames, glass type (reeded or plain) and internal lights. If you’re looking for an extra level of customisation, you can also choose the internal layout, perfect if part of the reason for a refresh goal is to upgrade your storage solutions.
