The 'Unfitted Kitchen' Trend Will Make Your Space More Stylish and Personal
- Johnny Grey
- Apr 5
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 15
Here's how to achieve the bespoke kitchen of your dreams.
Rachel Gallaher is one of the design industry’s most prolific writers, contributing regularly to dozens of titles, including the Wall Street Journal, Robb Report, Dwell, Architectural Digest, Azure, Luxe, and Kinfolk.
Published on March 31, 2025
In the Article
What Is an Unfitted Kitchen
Why Are They So Popular?
How to Design One
Key Elements
Benefits
What Is an Unfitted Kitchen
Think of an unfitted kitchen like a design puzzle: You’re putting together individual pieces to create a larger, more stylistic picture. Instead of going to a dealer and purchasing an entire kitchen suite in one fell swoop, with this approach, designers and homeowners are now opting for a piece-by-piece installation. Often, this includes vintage or repurposed elements—and, crucially, no reliance on typical cabinetry.
While this would have been the norm before the rise of built-in cabintery in the early 20th century, the term and style have now become formalized as a modern trend.
“I came up with the idea [for the unfitted kitchen] decades ago after conversations with my aunt, the food writer Elizabeth David,” says interior designer Johnny Grey, who recently relaunched his company, the Unfitted Kitchen Co. “We both felt that fitted kitchens, the phrase we use in Britain, were unfriendly, borderline dysfunctional, and didn't do much for interior architecture."
According to Grey, freestanding kitchens are just as functional as their fully built-in counterparts— and they provide more versatility.
