Moveable feasts: Return of the freestanding unfitted kitchen

Freestanding, unfitted kitchens offer flexibility, writes Kya deLongchamps

The new Neptune Borough kitchen island, priced from €4,400; Suffolk larder from €6050. For the full line of Farlow, Suffolk and Borough freestanding elements see Neptune.com.

The unfitted kitchen may be trending for 2026, but we know it’s a free and easy style that’s been around for decades. Most kitchens (not entirely screwed together in contemporary MDF carcasses) are a hybrid. This chic mixture comprises exquisitely practical runs of built-ins, nestled up to the character and quirk of legged or untethered cabinetry, dressers, larders, and trolleys. 

Truly freestanding pieces offer design flexibility, but once in place, heavier cabinetry is unlikely to trot around the kitchen. What a movable feast does offer is a space that can develop organically, over time, incorporating new modular units, high-street finds, bespoke cabinetry, and salvaged treasure. It’s very budget-friendly. Consider loosening up with a kitchen table in place of an island, a timber larder that’s a true loner, or clever, wheeled, articulated pieces that roll up to the task.

Nothing new here 

Suppliers of kitchens across every budget bracket are leaning into the freestanding look in at least one of their ranges. Co-founder of Neptune kitchens John Sims-Hilditch created his first kitchen using standalone cabinets nearly 20 years ago. The company launched new freestanding kitchen pieces in February. Melissa Burke, home specialist at Neptune Kitchens, advises, “Freestanding kitchens are designed to be practical, interchangeable, movable, and a fresh, flexible approach to the heart of the home. 

"Life changes — and your kitchen should be able to change with it. Freestanding pieces give you the freedom to move things around, add more storage when needed, and you even have the freedom to take pieces with you to your new home.”

We know this look, we understand it. It’s really about degrees of commitment. Short runs of freestanding cabinets are usually a couple of united kitchen units behind heritage-style doors with legs rather than a kickboard. Modular and actually movable, they offer useful renovation possibilities. Unfitted kitchens are usually traditional, woody types, but they don’t have to be. 

The new Neptune Borough kitchen island, priced from €4,400; Suffolk larder from €6050. 

Raising even standard modern built-ins on legs makes them appear freestanding. This can compromise their available storage space. Work out what cubic metres of blind storage you need for your family round.

There are kitchens which go that bit further. Part of a stable of the unfitted variety known as the anti-kitchen, truly furnished kitchens appear to be held to Earth by their plumbing alone. Carefully styled to ensure their functionality, this look takes confidence. The results can be lip-licking with a chic originality that sits well in the flow of open or broken-plan kitchen/eating/living spaces. Unfitted units can be reconfigured or even taken with you if you’re moving or giving up a lease (worth consideration if they seem pricey per unit).

Anchors away? 

To introduce elements of the unfitted look, we’re looking for independent furniture like pieces that appear not to be anchored to the wall or belted to the floor with kick boards. In the Victorian era, timber furnishings were adapted to the great-house kitchen — set tightly against the walls, butted together and united by a counter in timber or stone. It’s that accumulated look we’re going for (at least in a rustic variety). Today’s unfitted kitchen from a commercial supplier is suggested rather than realised. With the exception of a table or legged island, preparation areas should still land right to the wall, and carry a seamless, practical counter. 

The slightest gap at the back of the worktop, slivers around sink edges and the caverns beneath a piece of truly legged furniture are hot spots for gathering grot.

This kitchen throws away every expectation with its metal sink unit and painted larder cabinet. Look closer and you can see that its user friendly for a swat with a mop below the sink and table. Secured to the wall is a dirt-defying up-stand. Styling by Vitra.

Melissa advises on choosing a quality new unfitted variety of kitchen “Choose materials that last. From solid oak to painted timber and natural stone, Neptune's kitchens, for example, are built to stand the test of time while looking timeless too. 

Given the flexible nature of a freestanding kitchen, longevity is a real plus.” If you are using antique or vintage elements, they must stand up to everyday wear, be the correct and consistent height, be entirely stable and (where needed), water-resistant. My own otherwise politely tied-down kitchen includes my Nana’s Victorian mahogany wine cabinet (bought for £1 in the 1970s), a Georgian fruit-wood table found in a skip, and a matching second-hand pine larder and sideboard I’ve painted four times!

Built-in buddies 

For many householders, entirely doing away with the convenience and economy of built-in cabinets is a mistake. Instead, let the movers-and-shakers form an element of the kitchen — one of its aesthetic and practical devices. Standard kitchen units use every split centimetre and offer the easiest and most affordable choice for not only macro-storage but also stacking a couple of built-in ovens. These necessities are termed “hero pieces” (I love that). 

Enhet units united by a worktop by Ikea add up to a relaxed kitchen that can grow with your budget. With open storage in unfitted pieces ensure you have the manners to maintain the look.

Think about making this part of your kitchen a particular colour or laminate finish — adding determined personality. Alternatively, use a tonal scheme, removing handles with recessed pulls and reducing the presence of built-ins to elegant boxes or a living wall behind streamlined doors. Now step up, focus on your freestanding friends, a dresser, stout open shelving topped in counter, metal-framed kitchen units incorporating a sink or hob — whatever you fancy. The point is to tease open the homogeneous, expected monoliths of glossy cabinets. Painted country kitchens can easily combine the outward appearance of heritage, unfitted units (legs lifting them off the floor) married to vintage or antique pieces in a variety of materials.

Table talk 

One of the easiest ways to set your kitchen free is to lose a weighty island in favour of a working kitchen table matching the height of your preparation areas. It might even feature a dropped area for a snacking bar. Overall, it’s intended to be used standing. By taking away blank cabinetry below the table (at least in part), light can fly, increasing the perceived size of the kitchen. Wood tables are also an Irish vernacular. They instinctively soften the surroundings and invite us in. 

There’s a lot of planning in this outwardly unplanned unfitted kitchen. That said, timber, for all its beauty, will always take more of a beating. File picture

Mashing up genres should be carefully handled, and this is doubly true in the tight quarters of a kitchen. For a contemporary set-up, look for a streamlined table with its feet firmly in the 20th century rather than an ornate, antique-informed busybody. Let the warmth and honesty of the timber do the talking. Portable kitchen islands on wheels can solve a range of problems, but ensure your flooring won’t be marked by trundling them about and mark out their everyday park-up.

Storage notes 

Melissa Burke points to the versatility in your flexible friend. “Let pieces do double duty. For example, kitchen islands aren’t just for prep — they often include drawers, shelves, and even space for stools. Clever, compact freestanding designs allow you to do more with less. Make storage a style statement. Expressing your personality in a space can be a huge part of making your kitchen the heart of the home. Think larders, with beautiful oak interiors or glazed dressers that show off your ceramics. These aren’t just practical — they’re made to be seen and admired. 

"Remember, too, this is a kitchen that can grow with you. If you think you may need more room down the line, this style of kitchen is a really safe bet, because you can always add another piece. That’s the beauty of freestanding — it’s a kitchen that adapts to you and with you.”

Dressers and larders 

Freestanding dressers and larders come in a wide variety of guises, winkling open the clean acres of standard built-in cabinetry. This is a perfect moment to include vintage pieces or re-purpose something unexpected. You might have a simple two-door timber unit to hold your dishes featuring open and closed storage, and this can carry a colour to harmonise or contrast with the rest of the kitchen. The latest conception of these age-old favourites in the larder/barista bar. 

For inspiration in industrial metal types, try Aspinge kitchenettes from Ikea, the Studio line from Frama of Copenhagen, supplied by Flou.com, or Vipp Modular, best known for its iconic bins (c.1939), Vipp.com. If your dreams are more great-house than loft, The Victorian Kitchen Company, Victoriankitchencompany.ie, can create and paint something to suit any space, including magnificent storage cabinetry to use as room dividers between kitchens and living quarters. These can include feature papers and paint colours revealed every time you swing open a cupboard door.