We love the industrial aesthetic, as it takes the best and most beautiful parts of the materials that we have spent decades working with and marries it with effortlessly stylish interior design.

From shelving to desks, benches and even worktops, scaffold board is as remarkably adaptable as it is exceptionally functional, and we craft and curate a finely crafted range of industrial-style furniture and fixtures.

Most of the time, when we explore industrial-style designs, the focus is on living rooms and open-plan living spaces, as these are the rooms where industrial style makes the most impact without any major practical considerations to think about.

However, industrial interior design works everywhere, including bedrooms, bathrooms and even kitchens.

To prove it, here is a guide to help you take your kitchen to the next level, with a design style that is equal parts functional, quirky and chic.

Not to be confused with a commercial kitchen, with harsh lights, white walls, gleaming steel worktops and equipment far too large and power-intensive for a standard kitchen, an industrial-style kitchen borrows from the authentic industrial aesthetic seen in lofts and living rooms.

Whilst both focus on practicality in a way that all good kitchens should, industrial-style kitchens are not quite as rigidly focused on serving food at scale, but instead borrow heavily from the industrial heritage of the historic buildings they are typically installed in or around.

As with other classic industrial loft designs, industrial-style kitchens include features such as these:

• Exposed brick and exposed brick effect.
• Highlighting existing industrial features such as chimneys, ventilation pipes and exposed pillars.
• Using vintage light bulbs, especially those which use glowing yellow filaments to create a warm aesthetic. This is the opposite of a commercial industrial kitchen, which needs cold, bright lighting for food safety reasons.
• Use of brushed stainless steel and character-filled reclaimed wood as a design base, celebrating the materials.
• A design style which only improves its character with age and frequent use.

This final point is a huge reason for its popularity in recent years; far from the showhome likes of modern farmhouse or Scandinavian modernism, industrial-style designs are rich in character, and you can only add to that when you live in your home. 

It is rustic without feeling outdated, and can incorporate modern fixtures and fittings without requiring your whole design to feel sterile and difficult to manage and maintain.

Authenticity is the key central component of any industrial-style kitchen. Add pieces with function, with character and with history, and it is difficult to go too far wrong.

We offer a lot of options when it comes to character-filled, authentic industrial materials, with our shelving kits being essentially a must-have addition to give your kitchen a practical mix of rustic and industrial appeal.

Similarly, if you want to add an accent wall which mixes the appeal of scaffold board and exposed brickwork, fit a back wall with scaffold brick cladding. This is an ideal way to instantly add industrial appeal if you do not have exposed brick walls to work with in your home.

You have a lot of scope for adding an industrial flavour to your kitchen, but there is one particular feature that we are asked about the most.

Given the water, liquid stains and chemicals that are often used in a kitchen, some people have wondered if it is possible to incorporate scaffold boards into a heavily used kitchen worktop.

Not only is the answer a resounding yes, but it is perhaps the best type of wood to use for a worktop, as anything you do to it will only further the story the wood tells.

Rustic kitchens tend to rely heavily on wooden worktops, as they were traditionally the only option in an age before marble, polished stone, and composite materials became more widely accessible.

However, it is important to note that the prep for the wooden worktop and maintaining the wood to avoid it getting stained or damaged is different to stone.

• Sand and prepare the wood for treating: Our worktops and scaffold boards come pre-sanded, but it is important to do this when you need to reapply an oil treatment.
• Oil the surface: We offer a choice of finishes, all of which use a Danish oil to bring out the fascinating character and unique grain effects that come from a scaffold board with a long and interesting life. It penetrates the grain and protects your wood from the inside.
• Apply a second coat: The first coat penetrates, but the second builds the water and stain resistance you need to make your worktop truly practical and effective.
• Do a water test: Once your second coat dries, spill a tiny bit of water onto the surface and see how it forms. It should create droplets, which is a hydrophobic effect that means none of it is penetrating. If it is flat, it needs a third coat.
• Mop spillages quickly: Much like how you should clean wine and orange juice spills quickly from a stone worktop to stop it from causing permanent scars, the quicker you clean a stain, the less pain you will go through cleaning it later.
• Use heat mats and chopping boards: Whilst more heat resistant than you may expect, wooden worktops can be scorched by particularly hot pans, so try to put a cloth or heat mat over them. Similarly, to avoid scratching the surface and exposing the finish, use some of our beautiful reclaimed chopping boards.
• Regular maintenance: In general, you will need to sand and reoil your worktop every two years at least, but it is worth doing the water test every six months or if you have a big spill to make sure the oil has not been stripped away.

Ready to bring authentic industrial character to your kitchen? Explore our collection of reclaimed and new scaffold board worktops, shelves and tables, each one conveying the character and inherent durability that makes industrial design so timeless.