HIGH-SHINE LOW-FI kitchens are back. Blame our obsession with The Bear, or watching David clean his in documentary Beckham. Or perhaps it’s the result of perfecting our culinary skills during the pandemic – home cooks now think they’re Gordon Ramsay. Either way, stainless steel – loved by the pros for its durability and heavy-duty hygiene levels – is making a comeback.

‘It’s increasing in popularity,’ agrees interior designer Hollie Bowden. ‘In the past, there was a misconception of steel as clinical and only used in commercial kitchens. But paired with soft furnishings and fabrics, steel takes on a real elegance and softness of its own.’

Stainless steel is easy to clean, making it hugely practical. It’s also useful in a small kitchen, as it can help maximise light. Specialist companies such as Sola Kitchens and Abimis are the go-to among the design cognoscenti; there’s also Ikea’s Varsta range.

Those who live with a stainless-steel kitchen know all the hacks. When Angus and Charlotte Buchanan, the husband-and-wife duo behind creative design studio Buchanan Studio, bought their Edwardian townhouse, they wanted to do something different. ‘Commercial kitchens do away with all the frills, there are no unnecessary handles or fiddly cupboards or drawers. We were keen to bring some of this into our own home,’ says Angus. To avoid it feeling too clinical, they added a warm marble splashback and an Everhot farmhousestyle cooker. The result? A highly practical family kitchen with just the right amount of cosy.

Not only pleasingly simple, stainless steel has good environmental credentials too, being 100% recyclable. But what about scratches and fingerprints? ‘Our kitchen has a matte finish, which is very forgiving,’ says Angus. ‘Scratches do happen, but over time they build up a beautiful patina and for us it adds to the charm’.

Happily, you don’t need to refit your entire kitchen. Bowden suggests sourcing aluminium or steel furniture as a great way to start, citing Kuramata’s Sing Sing Sing chair or Takahama’s elegant steel-frame chairs as inspiration. While Copenhagen-based Frama CPH’s raw aluminium Rivet collection is a favourite among the well-heeled Danes, Zara Home’s metallic shelving (from £23.99) is a more affordable way to buy into the trend. For tabletop accessories, ceramics brand Bettina Ceramica is launching its first collection of stainlesssteel pieces this month. Rather than a palate-cleanser, a hint of stainless steel might be the palette-cleanser you didn’t know you needed – no Michelin star required.