Signature designs · Hannah Melvin, Lead Designer
A signature shape.
A more sociable kitchen.
Sculptural, arrowhead islands invite you to gather in the kitchen. Explore three interpretations of Hannah’s distinctive design, from graphic bookmatched marble to softer green and charcoal schemes.
Hannah MelvinLead DesignerMeet Hannah →Discuss your island →
Designed around conversation
An island to gather around.
The pointed outline is a recognisable part of the design, but its purpose is social. Angled sides bring seats around the island, encouraging conversation and a connection with the activity in the kitchen. It becomes somewhere to prepare food, talk and spend time together.
Hannah develops the geometry around each room: how you move through it, where the working area sits and how the seating connects with the rest of the home. The three examples below share that approach, while their proportions, cabinetry and marble give each one its own character.
Islands as pieces of art.
Hannah recalls Colin Wong’s series of islands at KBB: designs conceived as art pieces as well as functional islands. His work has been an inspiration for some of her sculptural island designs. Hannah develops each scheme in her own way, around the room and the routines it needs to support.
Read Hannah’s recollection of KBB →Graphic contrast
Black-and-white marble, made the centrepiece.
Bold veining draws the eye across the angled island. The bookmatched pattern gives the surface a strong central focus, while upholstered seats follow the edges and make the conversation area part of the kitchen itself.
Dark cabinetry and warm timber surround the island. Open the tall doors and the room reveals another layer: illuminated storage and a concealed serving area.
A softer material palette
Green marble and a sculpted edge.
Here, the island’s angled outline is expressed through a deep marble edge above a fluted base. Woven seats and green cabinetry give the composition a different mood, with views across the living space and towards the garden.
The material story continues at the cooking wall. A bookmatched marble feature rises to a point beneath the fluted cabinetry, echoing the geometry of the island. The close-up photographs show how veining, surface texture and the meeting of edges contribute to the finished design.
Milton Keynes · Whole-house refurbishment
Charcoal marble, light and openness.
In the Milton Keynes kitchen, the angular island brings preparation and seating into one substantial centrepiece. Dark marble contrasts with pale cabinetry, while rooflights and garden glazing bring daylight into the room.
The angled seating edge and fluted base continue Hannah’s sculptural approach. These digitally styled views show the scheme with revised accessories and lighting; the original photographs remain available in the project story.
Explore the project and original photographs →The detail behind the design
Let the marble make the pattern.
What is bookmatching?
Bookmatching places mirrored sections of stone beside one another so the veining forms a reflected pattern, like the pages of an open book. In these designs, the pattern is part of the composition: its centre, direction and relationship with the island’s pointed outline all matter.
Consider the whole form.
The top, visible edges and vertical surfaces need to be considered together. An angled island gives the marble more than one face, so the way those surfaces meet is as important as the overall shape. The available stone and the room’s proportions guide the final design.
Our starting point is how you want to use the kitchen. We then explore seating, circulation, preparation space and materials together, developing an island that belongs in your home.
Beyond the kitchen · Also designed by Hannah
The same attention to detail, at a desk.
Hannah designed our own Kuche & Bagno office around a bespoke desk in Sensa Taj Mahal natural quartzite by Cosentino. The angled stone surface and smoked-glass mirror detail bring a sculptural quality to the workspace, with ash panelling behind it.
The timber gives the backdrop warmth and rhythm. The smoked mirror brings reflection into the lower part of the design, changing how the desk’s form reads within the room. It is another example of considering furniture, surfaces and the setting as one design.
Shown in the previously approved visualisation with the ash-panel wall digitally edited.
Discuss a bespoke desk or home office →Designed around the way you live.
Tell us what you would like your kitchen or workspace to make possible.