Pale gray painted cabinets, white accents and light wood bespeak Scandinavian interiors which have appeared so often in magazines  the visual shorthand is well established. It seems inevitable this palette would find its way into kitchens although gray might never rival the classicism of English white or the currency of mid-century Java as far as cabinets are concerned. Still, gray kitchens have their adherents (Martha Stewart among them) and this English beauty offers a deft combination of uncluttered simplicity, open storage and serious 19th century furniture in the form of a “larder” cabinet. Styled to hold food, it also could house a microwave, mixer and other appliances -- with dry foodstuffs and root vegetables stored in pull-out baskets below. We laud the combination of brushed knobs on cabinets along with rudimentary finger pulls in some drawers plus the unapologetic towel rail along one side of the island that makes any fancier essential seem a trifle foolish. So let's add this Newcastle Furniture kitchen to our fave list. The strapping Mercury range – sure would love to test-drive on this baby – may be familiar to UK kitchen mavens but it’s one not often seen on the Western side of the Pond. Perhaps it stopped us cold because we’re currently stove-shopping and we thought we’d looked at every possibility -- though ten minutes on rangecookers.co.uk makes it clear that we have miles to go before we choose. (Photos via Newcastlefurniture.com)

Tags: gray kitchen, gray kitchen cabinets, Mercury range, Newcastle Furniture