A kettle hisses on the stove, an aroma of a Victoria sponge cake wafts through the aged room: The beauty of British kitchens is that, even in their modern evolutions, technological trimmings run second to sensory comfort. Authenticity stands in for shine, and a humble assemblage of wares, collected over time, gives these well-loved rooms a delightful air of industry.
Here at home, Americans are borrowing a page from England’s flour-dusted playbook, with kitchen-adjacent rooms such as butler’s pantries, larders, and sculleries increasingly finding their way into stateside architecture.