{"id":346677,"date":"2026-04-30T11:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/?p=346677"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:12:02","slug":"its-time-to-set-your-fitted-kitchen-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/its-time-to-set-your-fitted-kitchen-free\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Time to Set Your Fitted Kitchen Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Standalone elements and period pieces can bring flexibility and flair to the heart of a luxury home, writes Kate Youde<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"contemporary<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A contemporary Sydney kitchen designed by Pattern Studio featuring a Guatemala green marble island and cherry burl cabinet. Photograph: \u00a9 Tom Ross<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have Austrian architect Margarete Sch\u00fctte-Lihotzky to thank for the modern fitted kitchen. It was her design of the Frankfurt Kitchen for German flats in the 1920s, which prioritized domestic efficiency, that helped to popularize features like built-in cabinetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A century on, however, the unfitted kitchen is back in vogue. Rather than walls of matching fixed cabinets and integrated high-end appliances, this approach embraces freestanding pieces\u2014although a mix of fitted and unfitted elements is common.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why the move away from the sleek aesthetic of the built-in kitchen that has suffused luxury living in recent times? Lily Goodwin, co-director of Pattern Studio, <\/strong>identifies a desire for flexibility. Recent kitchens by her Australian design practice \u201clean toward a freer arrangement,\u201d merging with other living spaces in the home.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFully fitted kitchens often prioritize efficiency and uniformity but can lack personality and adaptability,\u201d she says. \u201cThe shift reflects a broader cultural move toward spaces that feel collected, lived-in and evolving, where elements can be added, changed or reinterpreted over time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kitchen<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A mix of fitted and unfitted features is common, as in this Carmel property<\/a>. Photograph: Sotheby\u2019s International Realty – Carmel Brokerage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pattern Studio combined different elements, rather than relying on a built-in system, when reshaping a house in the high-end Sydney suburb of Paddington for a father and his two adult children. The aim was to create a home that \u201ccould evolve with its occupants and support a shared, joyful way of living,\u201d says Goodwin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kitchen, designed as part of the broader living space, <\/strong>is anchored by a large island made from green Guatemala marble. The island\u2019s cabinetry has timber doors finished with a deep grain stain, while a freestanding custom cherry burl cabinet houses a refrigerator and a pantry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodwin says a successful unfitted kitchen needs \u201ca strong material language\u201d to unify the various components\u2014she recommends investing in materials that will \u201cage well and carry character.\u201d She also advises \u201ca balance between concealment and expression.\u201d As she explains: \u201cIt\u2019s less about removing structure and more about redistributing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kitchen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wall-to-wall units are absent from Pattern Studio\u2019s kitchen in a desirable Sydney neighborhood. Photograph: \u00a9 Tom Ross<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American designer Ken Fulk often incorporates \u201cbeautiful, interesting shelving that opens up the space\u201d into his kitchen projects, fuelled by his innate dislike of upper cabinets. <\/strong>\u201cYou can see things, you can reach things,\u201d says the AD100 regular, who has used this approach in his coastal home in Provincetown, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kitchen of a Californian beach house that Fulk designed through his eponymous design company features blue powder-coated steel and rope shelves. These hang in front of a wall clad in an intricate pattern of weathered driftwood collected from the shoreline. <\/strong>The floor, made from beach rocks and broken mosaic tiles, displays a wave design. Rather than a \u201cconstrained kitchen,\u201d Fulk says the line is blurred between this space\u2014featuring an island topped with leathered black basalt\u2014and the rest of the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"wall<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bespoke blue shelving in a Ken Fulk-designed beach house, California. Photograph: \u00a9 Douglas Friedman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ascribes this recent shift in how kitchens are perceived and used to the increased time spent at home during the Covid pandemic and greater access to design inspiration through social media. He thinks people have started to question the previous notion of a kitchen being for a specific use with rules attached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously it\u2019s one of the more highly functioning spaces in a house but that doesn\u2019t mean that it shouldn\u2019t be personalized, interesting, even eccentric,\u201d says Fulk. He likes to repurpose items and is currently customizing a draper\u2019s table for the kitchen in another of his homes, a 19th-century ranch in Napa Valley, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of \u201csameness\u201d\u2014think shades of white, marble or granite countertops, fitted cabinets and a built-in island\u2014Fulk says kitchens have \u201cfinally become more of a personal expression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kitchen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The kitchen of Ken Fulk\u2019s home in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Photograph: \u00a9 Douglas Friedman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While older luxury homes with existing points of interest lend themselves to a less fitted kitchen, spaces with a modern feel such as an industrial New York loft can \u201cbenefit from the tension of having something with history, something that doesn\u2019t feel so perfect\u201d to add character, Fulk adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This desire for contrast among interior designers and homeowners has benefited Robert Young Antiques in London, which reports an increased interest in sourcing period pieces <\/strong>to customize modern kitchens in the past three years. Gallery Director Florence Grant says popular heritage items include wooden farmhouse tables, dressers, butcher\u2019s blocks and stick back chairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space dictates demand. While a London pied-\u00e0-terre is unlikely to accommodate an antique Welsh dresser, it could house a spice cupboard or a nest of drawers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"antique<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Windsor Comb Back Chair from Robert Young Antiques, London. Photograph: \u00a9 Robert Young Antiques<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think [people] have realised that the older bits of furniture aren\u2019t just for older atmospheres,\u201d says Grant. \u201cThey look really sculptural in modern settings, so people are popping a Windsor chair in their kitchen and it ends up looking really cool and trendy.\u201d <\/strong>She thinks the interest stems from people being \u201cmore relaxed about having the imperfections on show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freestanding arrangement of an unfitted kitchen complements the way we live now, according to Goodwin, as it embraces the overlap between cooking, socializing, relaxing and work. <\/strong>She believes this more bespoke trend is leading towards kitchens \u201cthat feel increasingly indistinguishable from living spaces\u201d elsewhere in the home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re likely to see a continued blending of furniture, architecture and joinery, where kitchens become softer, more adaptive and more reflective of individual lifestyles\u2014spaces that can evolve over time rather than remain fixed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embrace al-fresco living: here\u2019s how to design the perfect outdoor kitchen<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Standalone elements and period pieces can bring flexibility and flair to the heart of a luxury home, writes Kate Youde A contemporary Sydney kitchen designed by Pattern Studio featuring a Guatemala green marble island and cherry burl cabinet. Photograph: \u00a9 Tom Ross We have Austrian architect Margarete Sch\u00fctte-Lihotzky to thank for the modern fitted kitchen. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770377,"featured_media":346679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1399,1398],"tags":[1415,1423,1461,1505],"class_list":["post-346677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-and-design","category-featured","tag-australia","tag-california","tag-massachusetts","tag-united-kingdom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Kitchens_Carmel.jpeg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1sbz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":343046,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/how-to-design-the-perfect-kitchen\/","url_meta":{"origin":346677,"position":0},"title":"How to Design the Perfect Kitchen","author":"SIR Admin","date":"November 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"At-home entertaining hits its peak with the holiday season. For a space that rises to the challenge, it pays to get personal, writes Elizabeth Fazzare Healdsburg, California | Sotheby's International Realty - San Francisco Brokerage With the holiday season upon us, kitchens have to perform at their best. Recent research\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home and Design"","block_context":{"text":"Home and Design","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/home-and-design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/California-kitchen.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/California-kitchen.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/California-kitchen.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/California-kitchen.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":344026,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/how-to-design-the-perfect-outdoor-kitchen\/","url_meta":{"origin":346677,"position":1},"title":"How To Design the Perfect Outdoor Kitchen","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"June 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Warm weather and long summer evenings are an opportunity to embrace alfresco living with an open-air cooking and dining space, writes Mandi Keighran Napa Valley, California | Sotheby\u2019s International Realty - St. Helena Brokerage With a growing emphasis on indoor-outdoor living, the garden kitchen has moved beyond a simple grill\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home and Design"","block_context":{"text":"Home and Design","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/home-and-design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/header.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":341660,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/new-and-notable-sales-over-10-million-may-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":346677,"position":2},"title":"New and Notable Sales over $10 Million: May 2024","author":"SIR Admin","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"From a one-of-a-kind estate in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, to a waterfront tour-de-force in Gardone Riviera, Italy, these are this month\u2019s five featured notable properties for sale over US$10 Million. 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Classic Charm in Sagaponack Kathy Konzet | Sotheby's International Realty\u00a0\u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home and Design"","block_context":{"text":"Home and Design","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/home-and-design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/sagaponack2-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/sagaponack2-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/sagaponack2-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":341254,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/new-and-notable-homes-for-sale-over-10-million-april-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":346677,"position":4},"title":"New and Notable Homes for Sale Over $10 Million: April, 2024","author":"SIR Admin","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"From a luxurious estate in Dublin, Ireland to a waterfront tour-de-force in West Vancouver, Canada, these are this month\u2019s five featured notable properties for sale over US$10 Million. 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