Helen Powell, interiors writer, stylist and founder of the award-winning Design Hunter blog, chose Caesarstone’s Cloudburst Concrete for the worktops in her contemporary minimalist kitchen.
When planning her kitchen, Helen wanted a bright, light filled space that would be much larger than the tiny and dated original kitchen in her newly purchased 1930s home. To achieve this, an extension was added, with the new kitchen space being approximately the same size as her lounge, which helped create a natural symmetry on the ground floor. Her goal was to “create a kitchen and garden with as much design impact as possible on what is essentially quite a tricky corner plot.”
A key consideration was the cabinetry, which took some time to decide upon. Helen and her husband Graham wanted an airy, light and minimal feel for the kitchen. They considered the timeless appeal of shaker-style cabinetry versus more contemporary styles. Whilst panelled cabinetry and a marble motifed worktop was part of Helen’s initial considerations, she felt it may have been a little too ‘safe’ as a design choice.
“While it’s a tried and tested look that works well and is popular for a reason, we both wanted to create something that felt a little more individual to us,” explained Helen.
Helen decided instead to opt for standard Ikea units with custom doors and drawer fronts from Husk. The bespoke fronts have a matt, soft touch, anti-fingerprint FENIX surface, whilst selecting push-to-open handle-less finishes for a clean-lined, minimalist aesthetic.
For the worktops, Helen visited the Caesarstone London Studio, in order to see the large stone displays in a relaxed setting and having been inspired by our Form Follows Food trend book at the start of her kitchen project.
Helen and her husband had been leaning towards 5031 Statuario Maximus from the Supernatural Collection, taking samples of their flooring and cabinetry colour with them to the Caesarstone Studio to see how this would look against the surface. However, during the course of their visit, the preference changed to 4011 Cloudburst Concrete from the Metropolitan Collection.
“We loved the striking veined effect of Statuario Maximus but in the end felt that the contemporary, industrial feel of Cloudburst Concrete was just a bit more ‘us’. The subtle tones worked perfectly with the other elements we’d already chosen for the kitchen and it just instinctively felt right.”
The billowy, cloudy texture of the white Cloudburst Concrete surfaces added the lightness that Helen was so keen on, whilst also adding a touch of industrial appeal with a rough concrete finish that matched the contemporary look that Helen had pivoted towards.
When it came to installation of the surface by fabricators Bellagio, and the arrival of the worktops, Helen was delighted: “When the fabricators arrived to fit the worktops, we immediately knew we’d made the right choice.”
The couple opted for a 20mm worktop with just a simple upstand to keep the design looking sleek and minimal.
Whilst appliances are often an area many people look to cut costs on over the course of a kitchen refurbishment, the couple wanted to avoid this, instead opting for “the best quality appliances that we could afford”, explained Helen, with a Miele oven and an American-style fridge freezer from Fisher & Paykel amongst the new additions.
Despite the high specification of the appliances, according to Helen, it is the worktops that continue to garner attention, not least for their ease of maintenance:
“The thing I’m probably asked about most is the worktops. We’ve had them fitted for about a year now and they are still like new.”
Photography: Helen Powell / Design Hunter
