Small Open Plan Kitchen with Marble Benchtops Design Ideas

This is an example of a small contemporary open plan kitchen in Sydney with white cabinets, marble benchtops, grey splashback, mosaic tile splashback, light hardwood floors, with island, brown floor and white benchtop.

Inspiration for a small traditional u-shaped open plan kitchen in Munich with an integrated sink, beaded inset cabinets, green cabinets, marble benchtops, white splashback, marble splashback, marble floors, no island, white floor and white benchtop.

This is an example of a small transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in Sydney with a double-bowl sink, white cabinets, marble benchtops, marble splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, white benchtop, recessed-panel cabinets, white splashback, multiple islands and brown floor.

Weather House is a bespoke home for a young, nature-loving family on a quintessentially compact Northcote block. Our clients Claire and Brent cherished the character of their century-old worker's cottage but required more considered space and flexibility in their home. Claire and Brent are camping enthusiasts, and in response their house is a love letter to the outdoors: a rich, durable environment infused with the grounded ambience of being in nature. From the street, the dark cladding of the sensitive rear extension echoes the existing cottage!s roofline, becoming a subtle shadow of the original house in both form and tone. As you move through the home, the double-height extension invites the climate and native landscaping inside at every turn. The light-bathed lounge, dining room and kitchen are anchored around, and seamlessly connected to, a versatile outdoor living area. A double-sided fireplace embedded into the house’s rear wall brings warmth and ambience to the lounge, and inspires a campfire atmosphere in the back yard. Championing tactility and durability, the material palette features polished concrete floors, blackbutt timber joinery and concrete brick walls. Peach and sage tones are employed as accents throughout the lower level, and amplified upstairs where sage forms the tonal base for the moody main bedroom. An adjacent private deck creates an additional tether to the outdoors, and houses planters and trellises that will decorate the home’s exterior with greenery. From the tactile and textured finishes of the interior to the surrounding Australian native garden that you just want to touch, the house encapsulates the feeling of being part of the outdoors; like Claire and Brent are camping at home. It is a tribute to Mother Nature, Weather House’s muse.

Die Kueche im Industrial Stil Wir haben hier eine U Form im Stil der Betonoptik gewählt. Die Hängelampen aus Kupfer und die Steinwand verleihen Industrieoptik und das Glas als Spritzschutz wirkt transparent und leicht

Cocina con isla Fotógrafo: Javier Ortega
Photo of a small contemporary single-wall open plan kitchen in Madrid with flat-panel cabinets, stainless steel cabinets, black appliances, with island, marble benchtops, grey splashback, ceramic floors, multi-coloured floor and black benchtop.

Photography by Richard Chivers. Project copyright to Ardesia Design.
This is an example of a small modern l-shaped open plan kitchen in London with flat-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, marble benchtops, light hardwood floors, no island and white benchtop.

Small modern l-shaped open plan kitchen in Other with a drop-in sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble benchtops, multi-coloured splashback, stone slab splashback, black appliances, dark hardwood floors and grey benchtop.

Ground floor extension, loft extension and interior refurbishment of a mid terrace Victorian home in South London by Bon Atelier. Photo credit: Bon Atelier

This is an example of a small contemporary single-wall open plan kitchen in London with a drop-in sink, flat-panel cabinets, black cabinets, white splashback, light hardwood floors, no island, beige floor, white benchtop, marble benchtops, marble splashback and panelled appliances.

This is an example of a small modern single-wall open plan kitchen in Other with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble benchtops, grey splashback, marble splashback, white appliances, marble floors, no island, grey floor and grey benchtop.

Refined Contemporary Kitchen — A Sanctuary of Light, Luxury & Natural Warmth This beautifully crafted kitchen showcases a seamless blend of natural textures, soft curves, and modern elegance. A sculpted stone island anchors the space with its smooth, organic form, complemented by minimalist timber stools and refined brass accents. Full-height light oak cabinetry wraps the room in warmth while offering concealed, integrated storage that enhances the clean, uncluttered aesthetic. The feature window splashback frames a lush green landscape, introducing natural light and a calming biophilic touch that transforms everyday cooking into an immersive experience. A statement linear pendant with glass globes adds gentle sophistication, while layered LED lighting ensures the perfect ambience throughout the day. Curved architectural detailing at the room’s edge softens the geometry, creating a harmonious transition into the adjoining living space. This interior exemplifies thoughtful design—timeless, welcoming, and meticulously resolved—reflecting the balance of luxury and liveability that defines every Sydney House Design project.

Michaël Adelo
Inspiration for a small scandinavian l-shaped open plan kitchen in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, marble benchtops, white splashback, panelled appliances, cement tiles, white cabinets, no island and subway tile splashback.

Our clients have always loved the location of their house for easy access to work, schools, leisure facilities and social connections, but they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the form and size constraints of their home. As the family has grown and developed their lifestyles and living patterns had changed. Their three bedroomed link detached house was starting to feel small and it was proving to be increasingly unsuitable for their lifestyle. The separate downstairs living areas were dividing the family, they were struggling to fit in a room big enough to accommodate them all to sit down and eat together. As a result of the small separate living, kitchen and dining spaces they were spending little time in each other’s company. They desired to create a long term solution for their young family to grow into and enjoy. Rather than moving house or self-building from scratch, they decided to stay in the location that they loved and to add a modern extension to their existing home. They aspired to create a modern, functional space for everyday family life, whilst improving the curb appeal of their home to add value. We were appointed by our clients to create a design solution to replace the old, cold, and leaking conservatory to the rear of the property, with a modern, light filled, open plan home extension. The intention for the new large open living space was to break down the room barriers and respond to the needs of the family to support their home life into the foreseeable future. Delivering on time and within budget were essential. With a young family and pets at home it was essential for minimal disruption to their daily lifestyle. The family needed help from our team at Croft Architecture to swiftly and successfully acquire Planning and Building Control Approval for their project to progress rapidly, ensuring project completion on time and to their determined budget. In Context A families, needs, wants, and desires are constantly changing as they mature, yet our family nests stay static, and can obstruct the ease and enjoyment of everyday life if they don’t adapt in line with modern living requirements. Our Approach The client’s home is located in a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire. Their original house is a three bedroomed link detached family home that’s located on a mature housing estate close to the Trent and Mersey Canal. The original home is immediately connected to the properties on either side via the garage link, with a neighbouring property flanking wall also located at the base of their rear garden too. Before progressing with the project we advised the family to inform all of their adjoining neighbours of their intention to extend. It's often much better to take the neighbourly approach and to inform neighbours of works in advace, so that they can express any concerns,which are often easily resolved. Other matters to discuss with neighbours may be the need to have a Party Wall agreement. For more details about Party Wall Regulations click here to take a look at our blog. To create the space that our clients aspired to achieve the neighbouring properties needed to be taken into consideration. Design Approach The site available was compact so a balance needed to e struck to provide a generous amount of floor space for the new extension. Our clients needed our help to create a design solution that offered them a generous amount of extra space whilst bearing no visual impact on the neighbouring properties or street scene. The development of the design for the home extension referenced the style and character of the homes in the immediate neighbourhood, with particular features being given a contemporary twist. Our clients had done their own research and planning with regards to the required look, finish and materials that wanted to use. They liked oak beamed structures and they wanted to create a light space that seamlessly opened into the garden, using a glazed oak beamed structure. However, oak comes a price and our clients had a determined budget for the project. Numerous companies were contacted for prices to reflect their budget and eventually perseverance paid off. The oak structure was sourced locally in Staffordshire. The design of the newly extended family space complements the style & character of the main house, emulating design features and style of brick work. Careful design consideration has been given to ensure that the newly extended family living space corresponds well with not only, the adjoining properties, but also the neighbouring homes within the local area. It was essential to ensure that the style, scale and proportions of the new generous family living space to the rear of the property beard no visual impact on the streetscape, yet the design responded to the living patterns of the family. The extension to the rear of the home replaces a conservatory spanning the full width of the property, which was always too cold to use in the winter and too hot in the summer. We saw the opportunity for our clients to take advantage of the westerly afternoon/evening sun and to fill the space with natural light. We combined the traditional oak framing with modern glazing methods incorporated into the oak structure. The design of the extension was developed to receive the sunlight throughout the day using roof lights, with the evening sun being captured by the floor to ceiling grey framed bi-folding doors. The pitched roof extension creates an internal vaulted ceiling giving the impression of a light, airy space, especially with the addition of the large roof lights. The updated light grey, high gloss kitchen and light grey marble countertops help reflect the light from the skylights in the ceiling, with a zesty lime grey block splashback creating a perfect accent colour to reflect the family’s fun personalities and to bring life to their new living space. The extension is an open room with the kitchen and dining room all sharing the same space. White walls have been combined with wooden flooring and oak structure to create a sense of warmth. The oak beams really come into their own in this large open plan space, especially with the vaulted ceiling and large folding doors open seamlessly into the back garden. Adding an oak framed extension with the floor to ceiling glazing has enabled the family to get the ‘wow factor’ within their budget. Externally, our team at Croft Architecture have created a clean, traditional addition to the existing period property, whilst inside the dwelling now has a new, sleek, light and spacious family ‘hub’ that seamlessly connects with the existing home and the garden. Our team has also worked closely with the client to consider the project as whole and not just the home extension and new additional garden space. The design of the external space has been carefully remodelled to ensure that the ground not only, works for the family, but also successfully enhance the visual appearance. A strong working relationship between our team, the client and the planners enabled us to gain the necessary permissions promptly, rapidly propelling the project forwards within a short time frame. We enjoyed working with the project team and we’re extremely pleased to successfully deliver the completed project in accordance with our client’s timescales and budget.

Photographer: Marcelo Zerwes
Design ideas for a small contemporary u-shaped open plan kitchen in Melbourne with a drop-in sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble benchtops, white splashback, ceramic splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, with island, yellow floor and white benchtop.

Christine Francis
Inspiration for a small contemporary open plan kitchen in Melbourne with marble benchtops, white splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors and with island.

Inspiration for a small contemporary single-wall open plan kitchen in Paris with an undermount sink, beaded inset cabinets, medium wood cabinets, marble benchtops, grey splashback, marble splashback, panelled appliances, medium hardwood floors, no island, brown floor and grey benchtop.

La Cucina: qui i protagonisti sono materiali e colori, dal top in gres effetto marmo di piano e penisola, al legno massello del tavolo, alle due tonalità di grigio della cucina su misura, in un deciso contrasto cromatico con il pavimento in gres effetto legno, connubio perfetto di tradizione e modernità.

La transparence du lustre de cuisine, était nécessaire pour ne pas fermer la vision complète de l'espace. Ampoule à filaments couleur chaude obligatoire, pour faire scintiller l'ensemble la nuit tombée.