A kitchen with warmth and character feeds the soul, says Alexander Mackison of Architecture Office

We feel our most comfortable when our homes reflect who we are. But this is harder to achieve in some rooms than others, like the kitchen, where functionality often competes with personality. It doesn’t have to, though.

The Edinburgh flat of Juli Bolaños- Durman, a glass artist whose objects are made from salvaged materials, is an extension of her identity. “It was really a dream brief, because we had the clear parameters of adopting her ethos to repurpose found objects,” says Alexander Mackison of Architecture Office, who designed the home in collaboration with Juli. “I think when you celebrate materials that aren’t perfect, wellbeing can emerge from the expression of material character. The grain of timber; raw edges of stone; the softness of light through a voile. These qualities invite awareness and stillness, responses that are felt rather than consciously understood.”

The pair knew they didn’t want conformist cabinetry or sanitised, high-shine surfaces in the kitchen, so commissioned Silvan Studio to make a bespoke timber kitchen. “It was an open conversation, figuring out what offcuts or excess materials they had in their workshop,” says Alexander. Slowly a design emerged for a patchwork of cabinets made from various oaks, cherry, douglas fir and ash. They look perfectly at home resting on the original floorboards, which wear their time-worn patina with pride, the different gradients breaking up the streamlined linearity that can so often sap the soul from a kitchen.

And this is a kitchen filled with soul. Juli loves hosting, so a dining table opposite the units allows her to cook and entertain while her friends chat. If you’re wondering where all the appliances are, they’re hidden out of view behind a linen curtain. That way, the eye is pulled towards the craftsmanship on display, both in the cabinetry and the assortment of colourful glass objects gathered on the shelf above. A reminder of what humans can do. And doesn’t that make you feel good?

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