Black handleless kitchen design with a matt finish and luxury style using marble-effect quartz counters

Kitchen Advice

How To Design A Handleless Kitchen

Combining fashion and functionality, a handleless kitchen design provides a streamlined look thanks to its handle-free style. This article explains how to design a handleless kitchen, with top tips from our interior blogger, Olivia Edwards-Silk, so you know what to expect when designing your own handleless kitchen.

About Olivia

Interior blogger, Olivia, has spent the last few years putting her design advice into practice to make the Derbyshire home she shares with husband, Matt, her own. With the birth of the couple’s first child, Olivia has been keen to renovate her space to accommodate her growing family, whilst keeping her own personal style.

See Olivia's blog

1. Choose the right door style

When designing a handleless kitchen, it is important to choose the right door style. Not only does it play a crucial role in the overall aesthetics, it can also offer more opportunities to customise the look. We opted for a slab front. When paired with handleless cabinetry, this style gave us more freedom to personalise the design with profiles and plinths.

Discover door styles

Linear detail shown on Hockley Mirror Gloss White Handleless

2. Pick handleless cupboards

Choosing handleless cabinetry will save your trade professional valuable time during fitting, as it is already pre-notched to house a decorative trim. It also provides enough gap to allow your hand to open the door without extra work. For us, this meant our renovation was completed sooner, which was a bonus as we were anticipating the arrival of our newest family member.

See handleless cabinets

3. Play with colour

Going handle-free will keep your space looking pared-back, allowing you to be much bolder with your colour palette without it feeling crowded. We chose a statement charcoal shade to make a big impact, as we played it safe with our previous design. The result is a minimal kitchen with a signature style that also looks more spacious.

Explore kitchen colours

4. Plan linear features early

Linear lines both vertically and horizontally lend well to a handleless kitchen design thanks to its stripped-back appearance. When planned in early, you can use cabinetry to create this look, while adding plenty of room for storing essentials. We invested in taller cupboards, like our larder, to free up floor space and to allow us to store small devices out of view for clutter-free counters.

Discover tower storage

5. Be smart with storage

When designing a handleless kitchen the primary focus is to make it functional and clutter-free, which is where storage comes in. Adding smart accessories within cupboards is my top tip to ensure every inch of space is used. Within our room, we added plinth drawers which were a complete game-changer, along with internal cutlery drawers to ensure the exterior remained uninterrupted.

Browse storage drawers

6. Diguise devices

Disguising largeer items, like cleaning equipment, behind cupboard doors is a sure way to achieve a streamlined look characteristic of handleless designs. For devices that are not hidden from view, like ovens, microwaves, and warming drawers, consider having them installed in places where your eyes are not immediately drawn to - on an island for example.

Explore appliances

white quartz marble worktop with glossy finish

7. Invest in signature counters

The handleless look is sleek but when left too minimal it can become bland. This is where statement surfaces come in. A striking counter can give your space a whole new dynamic, so investing in a signature piece will make a room stand out. We chose a marble-effect quartz surface as its polished finish bounces light through our space lifting the dark tone.

See quartz worktops

8. Go flush with fittings

Similar to devices, it is important to keep functional features flush to carry the streamlined effect of the cupboards through to other areas of your room. We selected an undermount sink in white to ensure our surface remained uninterrupted and also to create a cohesive look between the bowl and the counter. This style is also really easy to clean too thanks to its rimless design.

Explore undermount sinks

Undermount sink with brass tap and white workop

9. Get creative with trims

Depending on whether you want a pared-back look or are looking to make a signature statement, decorative trims are the best way to get creative with a handleless kitchen design. We chose to have black profiles to blend in with our cabinetry and to continue a dramatic, linear style. The matt finish was also in keeping with our cupboard fronts for a muted aesthetic.

View profiles

10. Plan for custom features

Bespoke design elements are key to making a handleless kitchen stand out. Whether it is a bespoke larder for housing smaller devices or custom units built around RSJ steels, the extra details make all the difference for a unique look. We opted for a waterfall effect on our island to add a luxe look that had no exposed edges, making it kid-friendly.

See kitchen island worktops