Handmade Kitchen | A Modern Take On A Classic Kitchen | Aberdeenshire

A handmade kitchen designed around a love of cooking, and a home that was quietly transformed around it.

For years, the previous kitchen in this Aberdeenshire house had been dark and laid out in a way that made cooking difficult. It had become disconnected from the rest of the house and a room they stopped enjoying being in. They knew what they wanted instead: a modern take on a classic handmade kitchen, light and well laid out, with a space the whole family would actually want to spend time in. This meant the project not only started with just a kitchen, but by moving and reconfiguring doors, repositioning walls and a room that was quietly reconfigured from the ground up.

A modern kitchen with light wood flooring, white cupboards, a dark island with stools, built-in appliances, a vase of flowers on the island, and large windows letting in natural light.

A kitchen design brief worth building on

They had designed kitchens before, which meant they came to Drumoak knowing exactly what hadn’t worked in the past, and arrived with detailed drawings and an A4 list of ‘must haves’. The brief was clear from the outset: a kitchen with the warmth of a classic, handmade kitchen but flawless modern features to put the love back into the underused space.

Having a clear brief made for a strong starting point, but it was the details in between that shaped the finished result. In the Drumoak showroom, ideas that had existed on paper came to life on screen, and with that came questions and possibilities that might not have been considered before. Options for layouts and alternatives that were worth weighing up, and a few decisions that looked very different once they could actually see them.

The couple’s brief made for a strong starting point, but turning the plan into the finished kitchen the couple had dreamed of was going to take a little more guidance from our sales manager, Roger. In the Drumoak showroom, those plans came to life on screen, and the process surfaced questions and options that hadn’t been part of the original thinking – different ways the layout could work, alternatives worth comparing, and decisions that looked entirely different once they could actually be seen rather than imagined.

A modern kitchen island with blue cupboards and a white worktop featuring a built-in black glass hob and integrated downdraught vent. The floor is light wood, and part of a white rug is visible.

Close-up view of blue kitchen cupboards and drawers with silver handles and knobs, topped with a white worktop. The focus is on the cabinetry, with a blurred background.

The island was a good example. The shape they had originally imagined gave way to something simpler once the alternatives were laid out side by side, and it was a change they were glad they made.

“You could say I was maybe not the easiest customer to have, because I knew exactly what I wanted – but the way Roger worked with us to get everything as it should be was brilliant. The visualisation software was fantastic. You could turn the design, compare versions side by side. It made every decision so much easier.”

The kind of kitchen you want to cook in

The kitchen is handmade and hand-painted in two complementary colours – Ocean, a considered blue-grey, and Pearl for the lighter elements – with a Ceasarstone Intense White quartz worktops running throughout at 30mm with a double bevel edge. The result is a kitchen that feels both classic and thoroughly modern, the painted cabinetry grounded by clean lines and a suite of fully integrated Siemens iQ700 Studioline appliances that sit flush and unobtrusive within the runs of units.

A modern kitchen with built-in Siemens ovens and a stainless steel fridge featuring a water and ice dispenser on the door. White cabinetry surrounds the appliances.

The pantry, made by hand in Drumoak’s own workshop, has quietly changed how much cooking actually happens in the kitchen. Before, a pull-out corner unit made getting ingredients awkward enough that the thought of cooking felt more effort than it was worth. Now, everything is immediately to hand, and the kitchen is used in a way it never was before.

The Siemens iQ700 Studoline appliances – a pyrolytic oven, compact steam oven, compact microwave oven and warming drawer – sit side by side in a single run, the result a seamless layout of appliances that feels as considered as the kitchen around them.

Modern kitchen with white cupboards, black built-in double ovens, stainless steel fridge, and a white island worktop. A window with a patterned blind and flowers in a vase are visible in the foreground.

“The steam oven has been a revelation. I’ve got new favourite recipes I’d never have tried before. And the bread – I haven’t bought a loaf since January.”

A comfy place to gather to sit a while

The banquette seating area has become one of the most used parts of the whole project. Where a dining table once sat largely unused, there is now a built-in seating area with clever storage underneath – big enough to seat seven, comfortable enough that friends stay for a second coffee, and bright enough that it is always where everyone ends up.

A dining room with a wooden table, four wicker chairs, built-in bench seating with cushions, framed pictures on the light grey walls, a radiator, a small wooden trolley, and wooden flooring.

A project that doesn’t keep you up at night

For the couple, one of the most valuable parts of the experience was never having to manage it. The scope of the work went well beyond the kitchen itself – the hall door was moved, pocket doors replaced a narrower opening into the dining room, bifold doors opened up a space that had previously felt closed off, and a small wall indent that had made the room feel like two spaces rather than one was adjusted. Each change made the room more cohesive, more light-filled and more useful – and none of it required the clients to coordinate, chase or problem-solve.

Working with the same trusted tradespeople time and again means that when something needs attention on site, it is dealt with before it becomes something to worry about.

“Considering the amount of work that was done, it was painless. I don’t think we’ve ever had any major work done that wasn’t extremely stressful – but working with Drumoak wasn’t stressful at all”

A light filled space perfect for spending time in

The kitchen is warm, considered and made to be cooked in. The overall design of painted cabinetry in Ocean and Pearl, Caesarstone quartz worktops, and a suite of integrated appliances that sit quietly within the overall kitchen. This reconfigured space now fills with light from every direction, and the banquette seating area that was once a dining table nobody used has become the place everyone wants to be.

A white ceramic vase with floral designs holds pink lilies and white flowers, placed on a white surface with a blurred background of a modern room.

Bright, modern kitchen with white cupboards, a blue island, white worktops, built-in oven, sink under a window, wooden floor, skylight, and a small rug in front of the island. Dining area visible in the background.

“We spend so much more time in the kitchen now. It’s so bright and comfortable. We used to just sit at bar stools – now this is where everything happens.”

If you have been putting off a project because it feels like too much to coordinate, get in touch – our team will put your mind at rest.

Speak with our team today