Goodbye fitted units, free-standing kitchens are flexible and full of personality

Home is a feeling that starts in the kitchen and sets the tone for the rest of the house and the family in it.

So why settle for a boring, proprietary – and often eye-wateringly expensive – kitchen when you can create an individual hub that instantly says “home”?

Freestanding kitchens are a fraction of the price of fitted kitchens and can add personality to a home with mix-and-match cabinets, pops of bright color and open shelves with storage jars, dog-eared cookbooks and ornaments.

And what’s more, when you move, you can take everything with you.

Pretty yet practical: A charming farmhouse kitchen, complete with sideboard and pantry, adds rustic charm to a home

Desired sideboards

A good place to start is with a sideboard, cabinet, or pantry, depending on the size of your kitchen. This becomes an important repository and focal point to which the eye is drawn.

The Chester Charcoal Large Sideboard (£1,649, cotswoldco.com) gives you plenty of room to stash away everything you need in the four cupboard spaces below, while providing optimal shelf space for displaying books, ornaments or a vase of flowers.

For a smaller option, consider the Stow sliding door sideboard in warm white from (£1,250 cotswoldco.com).

Or John Lewis offers the Laura Ashley Dorset storage cabinet in white/natural with glass panel doors (£1,295, johnlewis.com).

Racks for everything

Stretching is key – and more importantly, cheap. Use any wall with no feature to arrange shelves or add a statement shelving unit. Check out the Witham oak plate rack (£198, rowenandwren.co.uk).

For a convenient way to store your herbs and spices, choose a handmade Rustic Berryfield spice rack, sustainably made in the New Forest (from £128.99, rusticdreams.co.uk).

For extra shelving around your sink, stove or worktop, consider an expandable kitchen storage rack in black or white (£69, aplaceforeeverything.co.uk).

Shown: Witham oak plate rack (£198, rowenandwren.co.uk)

Shown: Witham oak plate rack (£198, rowenandwren.co.uk)

Swish sideboards

Extra cabinets are always useful and can accommodate china, gadgets and electrical appliances.

The Larissa sideboard has a clean, uncomplicated design and is modestly priced (£174.99, wayfair.co.uk), but it requires assembly.

The large Farrow sideboard (£369.95, roselandfurniture.com) comes assembled. Add a lamp, fruit bowl and display your cookbooks on top with a pull-out wooden cookbook holder (£29, aplacefor everything.co.uk).

Light it up

A well-placed lamp with a neutral or funky shade can be a game changer in a kitchen.

Select the neutral Linnie table lamp (£135, cotswoldco.com) or add a splash of color with the larger Wobster in orange lacquered wood, paired with a straight empire shade in Matthew Williamson Pink Ikat (lamp, £170, shade £137, pooky.com).

Pooky also has a good selection of wall and pendant lighting, including a Pick wall lamp (£110) and a larger Dexter pendant in copper (£123).

Freestanding centerpiece

In a freestanding kitchen there is a need for functional surfaces on which food can be prepared and served.

You will also need a freestanding sink. Choose one from Murdoch Troon in a range of colors and specs with a butler or Belfast sink (prices start from £1,645, murdochtroon.co.uk).

A butcher block or trolley is a useful addition to most kitchens.

The John Lewis butcher’s cart is made from FSC-certified beech wood and its surface is suitable for cutting and food preparation (£280, johnlewis.com).

For a centerpiece, such as a breakfast bar, you should hire a master craftsman.

Harry Boyt of Birtle & Co will be handcrafting a bespoke island from any British wood of your choice in his workshop in Suffolk (POA, birtle andco.co.uk).

Storage tips

To create a homely foodie kitchen you need storage jars.

Store your flour and sugar in XXL 7 liter glass jars (£29, aplaceforeverything.co.uk), grains and pasta in a Pebbly bamboo lidded glass jar (£13.50, aplaceforeverything.co.uk) and pickles and homemade jam in Scion Mr Fox glass jars (from £14.50, dexam.co.uk).

And finally, add some understated style with Sophie Allport Bee pottery: Utensil service £28.50; jar £29.50, plus an Archive Sunflower Print, £55 (sophieallport.com).

Savings of the week… Arc lamps

Deal: John Lewis has slashed the price of his black and copper lamp by 20% to £100

Deal: John Lewis has slashed the price of his black and copper lamp by 20% to £100

Achille Castiglioni, an Italian architect, designed the arched floor lamp Flos Arco in 1962. It is now back in fashion with lovers of simplicity.

If you want the real thing, complete with a Carrara marble base, it’s reduced from £2,300 to £1,955 at Heal’s (heals.com).

But there are also decent copies of the lamp with its dome-shaped shade available.

For example, at Wayfair you’ll find the Loreta arc lamp for £127.99, down from £149.99 (wayfair.co.uk).

John Lewis has reduced the price of its black and brass version by 20 per cent to £100. This offer ends on Sunday (johnlewis.com).

The price of the Lindby Lennart lamp in antique brass is now 14 per cent off at £119.90 on lights.co.uk.

The online store also has the Phileas in black and gold, which is now £69.99 but was £94.90.

If you’re on a tight budget, the gold and matte black bulb in the Range now costs £39.09, down from £45.99 (therange.co.uk).

Whatever you pay, you will appreciate this functional and beautiful lamp.

ANNE ASWORTH