Journal

From Closed-Off to Connected: A Kitchen Transformation
From closed-off to connected, this kitchen transformation focuses on light, flow, and how a space truly feels to live in, with thoughtful details and a design shaped by everyday life. Read more...
IKEA Smart Home Range 2026: What It Means for Kitchens
The Future of the Home Is Getting Smarter IKEA’s New Smart Home Range Explained Smart homes used to feel complicated, expensive, and slightly intimidating. But IKEA’s latest launch is changing that — bringing smart technology firmly into everyday homes, not just high-tech showhouses. Recently featured by Homebuilding & Renovating, IKEA has introduced 21 new smart home products designed to make technology easier to use, more affordable, and genuinely useful in daily life. And honestly? This matters more than you might think — especially when designing kitchens and living spaces today.... Read more...
Forbo vs Fenix: Choosing the Right Laminate for Your Kindroot Kitchen
Compare Forbo Furniture Linoleum and Fenix NTM. Discover differences in durability, finish, colour and sustainability for your Kindroot kitchen. Read more...
Why I Built My Kitchen Planner: A Calmer Way to Plan a Kitchen Renovation
Kitchen renovations don’t fail because of bad design — they fail because of fragmented planning. Here’s why I built My Kitchen Planner and what I learned along the way. Read more...
Doing the Right Thing Shouldn’t Be This Hard
There’s a common assumption that being a “good” company is simply about having the right values. Care enough, and the rest will follow. In reality — especially in UK manufacturing — doing the right thing is time-consuming, costly, and often invisible. Behind every ethical claim sits real work: audits, paperwork, higher wages, slower supply chains, and ongoing fees. Many of the things customers reasonably expect — fair pay, responsible sourcing, inclusive practices — are not free, and they’re rarely standard. Why We’re Choosing This Path Anyway At Kindroot, we believe ethics... Read more...
Our Why
(or: What’s your dream, really?) Someone once asked a question so simple it landed like a stone in my chest: What’s your dream? Not the polished one.Not the one that fits neatly into a pitch deck.Not the one you say because it sounds impressive. The real one. I’ve been thinking about that question a lot lately — because when you strip everything back, this business didn’t start with a product. It started with a feeling. A feeling of walking into spaces that weren’t made for you.Of being told — quietly,... Read more...
Happy New Year: A Fresh Start, One Calm Corner at a Time
There’s something special about January.It’s a doorway — not into pressure or reinvention, but into gentle refreshment, slower mornings, clearer surfaces and spaces that support how you actually live. This year, rather than aiming to overhaul your entire home, we invite you to begin with just one corner. A shelf.A cabinet run.A larder interior.A reading nook by the window. When a single area feels resolved, intentional and beautifully designed, the entire home shifts — the energy, the daily flow, the way you show up inside it. Why One Area Matters... Read more...
A Gentle Christmas, From Our Home to Yours
As the year softens to its end, we wanted to pause — not to add to the noise or rush, but to offer a moment of stillness, gratitude, and warmth. Homes hold so much at this time of year.The gatherings, the quiet mornings, the familiar scents from the oven, the twinkling light against winter woodgrain.Whether yours is full to the brim or peacefully understated, we hope it feels like a place you can exhale. A Season of Honest Comfort Christmas doesn’t need perfection.It doesn’t need a tablescape that could belong... Read more...
Neurodiversity at Home: When the Kitchen Becomes Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Much
The kitchen isn’t always the heart of the home.For neurodivergent minds, it can also be the most intense sensory space in the house: bright task lights, clattering pans, extractor noise, smells, textures, ticking timers, refrigeration hum, multiple people moving in and out. It is a space of demand. A neurotypical brain might experience this as “busy.”A neurodivergent brain often experiences it as overload. Neurodiversity encompasses ADHD, autism, dyslexia, OCD, sensory processing differences and more. But the thread connecting many of these experiences is sensory regulation — how the nervous system... Read more...
IKEA vs Howdens Kitchen Units: A Designer’s Perspective
When planning a new kitchen, one of the earliest (and most important) decisions is what sits behind the doors: the units themselves. Two of the most common options we’re asked to compare are IKEA and Howdens. Both can work well — but from a design, proportion and usability perspective, I consistently lean towards IKEA. Here’s why. 1. Proportions Matter: Plinth Height & Storage One of the biggest (and often overlooked) differences between IKEA and Howdens is plinth height. IKEA plinths: approx. 80mm Howdens plinths: approx. 170mm That extra plinth height with... Read more...
Day Three: Why Authentic Networking Matters
Day three of KindRoot has already set the tone. This week has brought my first client Zoom call, an energising collaboration conversation with Karolina at House of Estila (where our kitchen is featured and where we meet clients), and early discussions that are already looking ahead to 2026 and beyond. What’s stood out most isn’t just the momentum — it’s how those conversations are happening. Moving Beyond Transactional Networking Too much networking in our industry is transactional. Who’s selling what, to who, and at what margin. At KindRoot, we’re choosing... Read more...
White London Plane Pantry with Circular Routed Handles
Planning Your Dream Pantry: The Beauty of Thoughtful Storage
A well-designed pantry isn’t just storage — it’s flow, ease and daily calm.It’s where breakfast becomes effortless, ingredients stay visible, and appliances tuck away neatly without cluttering your worktops. Read more...