The Kandya Cabinet

A while back, we spoke of our yearning for antique haberdashery cabinets. Alongside these beautifully crafted pieces of storage, there’s another piece of furniture, or rather, a manufacturer that has us swooning; Kandya.

In the post-war 50s, the British furniture company commissioned designers such as Frank Guille and Carl Jacobs to reimagine cupboards, drawers and more. The fruits of the collaboration went on to become Kandya’s signature – cabinets and kitchen units featuring contrasting panels and a playful mis-match of colour. Perhaps the designs were devised in rebellion to times of austerity, or it was about enlivening bleak home aesthetics – maybe it was simply a novel way of using up odds and ends.

One of our favourite antique stores, Elemental, regularly stocks the designer Rupert Blanchard’s up-cycled versions which look to Kandya for inspiration. These creations regularly cost in excess of £1000, but looking at the examples below - it's easy to see why a modern version, or indeed, an original Kandya cabinet, is wholly worth investing in. We best get saving! 

Original Kandya designs

Rupert Blanchard furniture