Since 1976 — Wooden kitchens

Wooden kitchens made to measure: whole kitchens, modern or country, in solid wood, with marble and stone worktops

WOOD · STEEL · MARBLE · STONEWARE

In short

Central quartzite island with spectacular veining, wooden counter and black stools — photograph of a Michelessi project.

Michelessi SRL, Aprilia (Via Pontina km 45.350), between Rome and Latina: stoneworkers since 1976, and today we design and build whole bespoke wooden kitchens, indoor and outdoor. Solid wood doors and carcasses in solid wood or blockboard (oak, walnut, chestnut, ash); the worktops in marble, stone, porcelain stoneware or wood are cut in our own marble workshop. Free 3D design and quote everywhere, free site survey in Lazio, installation by our own team throughout Italy. Phone and WhatsApp +39 06 9275383.

The block — a Michelessi vision

From the block,
blow after blow

01 A raw block of Calacatta Viola waits under the spotlight, in the dark kitchen with brass profiles. Mallet and chisel are already on the floor: the island is still all inside the stone.

02 Blow after blow the faces are squared, chips fly, white dust rises into the light. The chisel scores the drawers, opens the recess for the hob, carves the sink: the shape of the island comes out of the block slowly, without haste.

03 Then the stone is honed and polished: the purple vein catches the light, brass edges close the drawers, the black hob sinks into its recess, the gold tap finds its place. The island remains, and a veil of dust on the floor.

Keep scrolling — the scene follows you

Bespoke wooden kitchens: what we make, for whom and where

A bespoke wooden kitchen is a whole kitchen, designed to the measurements of your room and built with doors and carcasses in real wood, not a catalogue door adapted to the wall. Who builds it: Michelessi SRL, Aprilia (Via Pontina km 45.350, between Rome and Latina), with installation throughout Italy. We have worked stone since 1976 and today we design and build complete kitchens to measure: solid wood doors and carcasses in solid wood or blockboard; the worktops in marble, stone, porcelain stoneware or wood are cut in our own marble workshop; compartments for built-in appliances, island, tall units and panelling, indoor and outdoor.

The species are those of Italian kitchens: oak, walnut, chestnut, ash, cherry and fir; outdoors, teak, iroko and treated timber. The worktop is where our trade as stonemasons comes in: Calacatta, Carrara, Statuario, travertine, granites, quartzites, Dekton and Laminam, chosen slab by slab. The result is a kitchen that brings together two natural materials, warm matt wood and cool polished stone, with a single party responsible for the design, the wood, the stone and the installation.

For whom: for those renovating who want a kitchen that follows out-of-square walls, recesses and beams; for those furnishing a villa, a farmhouse or a seaside home; for those who need a kitchen in the garden or on the terrace. Where: the site survey is free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio; the 3D design and the quote are free everywhere; we install with our own team throughout Italy and follow projects abroad too, such as the one in Dubai.

Stoneware-clad kitchen with island, integrated sink, induction hob, hood and oven

The island presents itself in its pale stone-effect stoneware dress, crossed by slender inserts that mark out its drawers; above, the top integrates sink and induction hob in a single working surface, served by burnished taps. Behind, a marble-effect stoneware wall rises beyond the cooking zone, while powder-blue columns — with black ovens recessed — add the colour that gentles the whole scene. Dark bell lamps, stools at the counter, tall windows of a stately apartment: the ensemble has an urban, serene elegance. A wooden structure clad in stoneware is a sound formula: the constructive warmth of wood, the resistance of ceramic at the surface. With hood and oven completing the equipment, it is an indoor kitchen ready for real life: Michelessi builds it to measure, attending to joints, recesses and tonal pairings with an artisan's care. The powder blue, then, is the touch that lingers in the eye.

Central quartzite island with spectacular veining, wooden counter and black stools

The island is a fire made stone: quartzite with amber and black veining blazes along the flanks in its impetuous figuring, polished until it mirrors the room; above, a solid wood counter lays down its warm board and gathers black swivel stools. The sink sits flush in the top; behind, walnut boiserie conceals and reveals — black ovens, backlit vitrines of bottles, a recessed television. A pale floor leaves the whole stage to the material. This is the project for those who want a collector's stone at the heart of the home: quartzite, with its unrepeatable figure, is not chosen from a catalogue — it is encountered, slab by slab. Bespoke stonework orchestrates its veining across top and flanks, with cuts and joints that honour the natural movement. This is the art of Michelessi: craftsmanship that knows when a stone deserves the stage, and builds one around it.

Carrara marble kitchen with contrasting black glass-front cabinets and island with fresh herbs

Carrara Farm Kitchen

There is a country soul in this kitchen, dressed in noble stone: the counters and central island are Carrara marble, grey veins running free beneath the industrial lamps; above, black cabinets with glazed fronts display glassware and crockery like a family dresser reimagined. The white plank wall, the natural wood drawers, the range with its black burners: each element plays the contrast between rustic and refined. And at the centre, on the island with its vegetable rack, bunches of fresh herbs bring the kitchen garden into the marble. This is the charm of the Italian farm kitchen: true materials, a domestic patina, and bespoke stonework holding it all together — balanced by Michelessi with the sure hand of Italian craftsmanship, because even a kitchen with a farmhouse heart deserves the dignity of the most celebrated stone in the world. Basil on cool marble completes the picture better than any frame.

Kitchen with island clad in grey porcelain stoneware with golden profiles and marble wall

Arched windows and a wall of veined marble effect give the room the breath of a palazzo; at the centre, the island clad in stone-grey porcelain dresses itself in golden profiles — fine lines running along the volumes like threads of light — and carries the integrated sink with its gold tapware. Stools with gilded details complete the register, together with dark columns housing the built-in ovens. Fully equipped, this is a kitchen that plays the luxury card openly: technical materials treated like jewels, measured reflections, a curated scenography. The porcelain stoneware bears the practical side with its tireless surface; the gold does its own work, which is to shine. Made-to-measure holds it all in balance: proportions, alignments, cut-outs. This is the glamorous face of Michelessi indoor kitchens: artisan craftsmanship that knows how to be sober when needed — and magnificent when the project asks. The gold here is not ostentation: it is a line of light drawn with a ruler.

Classic grey kitchen with veined travertine top, oven, sink and yellow stools

The lines are elegant and the colour knows it: uniform grey doors, crossed by golden profiles that draw the handles and frames, meet a veined travertine counter — pale stone with a moving figure that also clads the wall behind the burners, as one single mineral gesture. Twin ovens sit in their column, the sink works beneath a suspended brass bulb, and yellow stools light the counter with their note of sun. Complete with oven, sink and range, this is a classic kitchen of contemporary proportions: few elements, all of them right. Veined travertine is the silent protagonist: Roman stone, warm and luminous, worked to measure in counters and cladding with the care its history deserves. This is the Michelessi métier: craftsmanship that sets gold against stone without ever sliding into excess — because true elegance is known by its restraint. The yellow stools confirm it: elegance, now and then, also knows how to smile.

Dark lacquered wooden kitchen with veined travertine island with bar table and induction

It is the hour when the city lights up, and the kitchen answers with its veined travertine island: pale stone, crossed by grey veining, falls in a waterfall along the flanks and carries the integrated induction hob, extending into a bar table where dark stools wait. Around it, surfaces of dark lacquered wood absorb the spotlight; a fitted wall with its LED strip lights the worktop, and doors keep everything in its place. Complete with sink and oven, this is a kitchen of metropolitan charm: sharp contrasts, noble materials, a penthouse atmosphere. The veined travertine is the luminous heart of the dark: working it in a waterfall demands exact joints and orchestrated veining — the bespoke stonework Michelessi practises with the artisan craftsmanship of always. The result is an island that seems lit from within: stone that gives light, while everything around it chooses shadow. Elegant darkness plays the backdrop: the pale stone takes, deservedly, the stage.

Veined travertine island with leather stools, grey kitchen with sink, induction and oven

The island falls in a waterfall of pale veined stone: the travertine top continues down the flanks without breaking its figure, and three cognac leather stools draw up with their club-room elegance. Behind, the dark grey kitchen works with the sink beneath a suspended wooden shelf, the induction hob, the oven and well-ordered doors; a pale veined wall amplifies the light, and flowers on the counter complete the grace of the whole. A brown timber floor anchors the composition. This is warm contemporary style played on the right materials: stone that ennobles, leather that ages well, grey as the backdrop. The travertine waterfall — mitred joints at forty-five degrees, veining aligned — is the detail that marks serious work: Michelessi work, Italian craftsmanship in stone for made-to-measure indoor kitchens. The cognac of the stools does the rest: it invites you to stay.

Polished solid wood kitchen with oval table, island with sink and brass details

The scene has the depth of a formal interior: dark volumes in polished solid wood, low shelves with chosen objects, a fitted wall housing the ovens — and at the centre the oval table in blond wood, carried by its sculptural base, standing beside the island with its sink. Articulated lamps descend from the ceiling on industrial joints; upholstered stools complete the invitation. Complete with appliances, this is a kitchen for houses that live by night: deep materials, calibrated light, conviviality drawn into the design. Polished solid wood demands impeccable finishing — every reflection is an examination — and the joinery delivers it. This is the high register of Michelessi indoor kitchens: bespoke work from master hands, and an oval table that gathers people the way only edgeless forms can: naturally. Around that blond wood, even the simplest evenings take on the slow pace of special occasions.

Classic white kitchen with framed doors and white marble floor with grey veining

Classic Candour on Veined Marble Floors

Seen slightly from above, the kitchen unfolds like a well-written page: white framed doors, orderly deep drawers, the pale worktop with its black induction hob, wood-effect panelling warming the wall. But it is the floor that steals the scene: great slabs with the look of white marble, crossed by grey veins running free from one side of the room to the other, like rivers seen from the sky. Such is the power of marble — true protagonist of the Italian tradition — to ennoble everything that rests upon it. Michelessi indoor kitchens are born inside this culture: the company has always worked marble to measure and knows how to set it beside modular finishes with balance, from worktop to floor. White, here, is not the absence of colour: it is a light that welcomes — the same light the marble workshops have pursued for generations, slab after slab. A floor like this is not crossed absent-mindedly: it is inhabited, with the gratitude owed to beautiful things.

Carrara marble kitchen with large island, fast-lunch section and dark wood columns

White Carrara Kitchen

A stone-effect wall forms the neutral backdrop, and track spotlights rain pointed light onto the protagonist: the great Carrara marble island, with its integrated sink and the fast-lunch section where three black stools line up in good order. The stone descends along the sides and draws a compact, luminous volume, crossed by discreet veins; behind, dark wood columns create the contrast that gives the whole scene its depth, while a potted tree brings a note of living green. It is the formula of the well-tempered contemporary: white and dark, stone and wood, technical light and ancient matter. Carrara marble, cut to measure, holds the centre of the composition with the ease of a champion. Michelessi attends to every step — slab selection, cuts, recesses, finish — with the rigour of Italian craftsmanship: because an island like this is the heart of the home, and the heart admits no approximation.

Terrace with stone and dark wood outdoor kitchen, pizza oven and dining table with seating

A Signature Terrace, Where the Kitchen Lives in Wood

A floor of dark decking stretches out like a stage, and the camera crosses it slowly: on one side the table laid with its light seating, on the other the outdoor kitchen running along the flowering wall, with dark wood doors and a pale worktop. Above, the dome of the oven stands against the facade of the building, a promise of long, fragrant evenings.

Outdoor kitchen with lit wood-fired barbecue, sink, black bases and lacquered wood worktop

The Black Fire, the Wood That Dresses It

The flame burns in its black frame and lights the wall clad in lacquered wood, which answers with amber reflections: a dialogue between darkness and warmth, orchestrated with an elegance almost worthy of an interior. Black bases run beneath the counter carrying the sink and the working spaces, shelves order tableware and objects on the wooden wall, and the dark beams of the covering close the scene above. The wood-fired barbecue, protagonist, promises fragrant cooking and long evenings.

Outdoor kitchen with built-in appliances, light granite worktop and treated wood structure, U-shaped

The Great U of Teak and Granite in the Woods

The U spreads generously over blue stone paving and the woods embrace it on every side: the treated wood structure, with its warm, orderly doors, bears the light granite worktop running along three sides, carrying the barbecue with its steel hood, the sink, built-in appliances and the counter where high seats await company. Little plants on the tops add their domestic green to the great green of the trees.

Modern U-shaped outdoor kitchen with light marble tops, wooden bases, fridge and built-in barbecue

The Great U with Marble Worktops

The U opens generously into the woods and lays out a true piazza of taste: great slabs of light marble run along three sides, luminous against the deep green of the trees, while wooden bases with classic doors pace the perimeter with ordered warmth. The built-in barbecue works beneath its steel hood, the fridge stands guard in the base, and white parasols open their corollas over the scene, ready to shade long lunches. The house with its great windows watches from behind.

Solid wood kitchen: what it is and how we build it

A solid wood kitchen is a kitchen whose doors, and where needed its carcasses, are made of the declared species through the whole thickness, not a panel faced with a thin sheet. Solid wood can be made of several pieces of the same species joined together, not necessarily of a single board. In frame-and-panel doors, the frame and the panel help to control the movements of the wood with humidity. It is the typical construction of classic kitchens; modern ones have a flat door, which can be made of boards joined together or of faced blockboard.

In our kitchens solid wood goes where it is seen and touched: solid wood doors, drawer fronts, shelves, island and panelling. Solid wood is not necessarily the most stable: where more stability is needed we use, when it makes sense, blockboard, that is strips of solid wood glued together and faced with the same species. We state it plainly in the quote: the botanical species, the section of the door and where there is solid wood, blockboard or veneer.

Solid wood has one quality that wood-effect materials lack: it can be repaired, because a scratch or a dent is sanded and re-oiled or re-varnished. It also has a limit worth knowing: it moves with humidity, so the construction, the finish and the care near the sink matter as much as the species. Species, finishes and price factors for solid wood are on the page solid wood kitchen.

The species: oak, walnut, chestnut or ash kitchen

The species decides colour, grain, hardness and the way the kitchen ages. Oak is the species manufacturers request most for kitchens; walnut has a marked, recognisable grain; chestnut, ash, cherry and fir each have a character and a style in which they sit best. The table sums up what matters in the choice: hardness is the one measured by the Janka test in the technical sheets of each species, given here as a comparison.

Species	Colour and grain	Hardness	Worth knowing	Where it sits best
European oak	Light brown, striped and flamed grain	High	Tends to darken; water and iron stain it because of the tannins	Modern and classic, islands, panelling
European walnut	Light brown to chocolate, dark streaks	High	Marked, irregular grain; a different species from black walnut	Classic and dark modern, with beige or black marble
American black walnut	Dark brown, sometimes purplish	Medium to high	Lightens over time	Panelling, tall cupboards and fitted walls
Chestnut	Light brown, coarse texture	Medium	Turns reddish; rich in tannins	Rustic and country
Ash	Light brown, beige sapwood, grain similar to oak	The highest of the group	Moves more than the others with humidity	Bleached or pigmented doors, pale kitchens
Cherry	Pinkish brown	High	Darkens in the light and turns golden	Classic, with pink marbles
Fir	White to reddish brown, straight grain	Low: a soft wood	Marks more easily than hardwoods	Mountain and country

Oak kitchen. Natural, bleached, brushed, smoked or stained dark: oak comes in many finishes; natural it sits well with white marble, dark with black marble. It has a page of its own: oak kitchen.

Walnut kitchen. European walnut and American black walnut are two different woods, and we treat them as such in the quote. It is the species of classic kitchens and of dark modern ones, with beige or black marble worktops: walnut kitchen.

Chestnut, ash, cherry and fir. Which to choose depends on the style, the light in the room and how much you like the wood to change: the guide is in chestnut, ash, cherry or fir kitchen.

Country, rustic and classic wooden kitchen

A country wooden kitchen is a simple kitchen with wood at its centre, without heavy ornament and with earthy colours; the rustic kitchen adds beams, stone and more textured woods such as chestnut; the classic kitchen prefers moulded doors in walnut or cherry. The three families differ in the details: country chic lightens the wood and pairs it with pale colours and brass lights; the Provençal style wants exposed beams; mountain rustic uses fir, larch and pine.

In our rustic kitchens stone plays its part: the stone splashback, the travertine or granite worktop and, outdoors, the barbecue and oven in refractory stone. Those looking for a rustic kitchen in wood and stone will find pairings and mistakes to avoid in country and rustic wooden kitchen; those who prefer a stone structure with wooden doors, in the masonry style, will find the Michelessi version in rustic, country and classic masonry kitchen and in masonry and wood kitchen.

Modern wooden kitchen: light, dark or natural wood colour

A modern wooden kitchen has flat frameless doors, a recessed grip or push-to-open mechanism, few wall units and a continuous stone worktop; the wood stays on show, natural or stained, and warms essential volumes. A frequent doubt is the colour. Light wood (natural oak, ash, bleached oak) lightens small spaces and sits well with white, with green and with Carrara marble. Dark wood (walnut, smoked or black-stained oak) turns the island into a sculptural block, sits well with black and grey, and a dark wood worktop hides scratches and stains better. The natural wood colour, finished in oil that leaves the pore readable, is the choice of those who want to watch the wood change over time.

The worktop does the rest: Calacatta or Statuario on light oak, Nero Marquina (the Spanish black marble with white veins) or dark sintered stone on walnut, travertine on ash. The pairings with white, black, beige, grey and green, and the ones to avoid, are in light or dark wood kitchen; doors, hinges and finishes are explained in doors, hinges and finishes.

Wood and marble, wood and stone, wood and steel kitchen

Wood and stone complete each other because they are opposites: marble is cool and polished, wood warm and matt. That is why the wooden kitchen with a marble worktop comes naturally to a workshop like ours: we design and build the doors and carcasses in wood to measure; the worktop, upstand, waterfall island end and splashback come out of the Aprilia workshop, where slabs are chosen one by one, cut on numerically controlled machines and finished by hand.

White marble (Carrara, Calacatta, Statuario) with light woods: natural oak, maple, beech.
Beige and cream marbles (Botticino, travertine) with ash or light walnut.
Black marble (Nero Marquina) with dark walnut, smoked oak or teak.
Grey veined marbles (Bardiglio) with grey oak or bleached larch.

Marble is sensitive to acids (lemon, vinegar, wine): those who cook a great deal and want a less delicate worktop choose granite, quartzite or a sintered stone such as Dekton and Laminam, and keep the wood on the doors. Steel comes in as worktop and splashback, for example next to oak doors. The full topic is in wood and marble, stone or steel kitchen; island examples in marble and wood kitchen and marble kitchen island; the marbles, one by one, in marbles.

Real wood or wood effect: solid wood, veneer, laminate

Solid wood and veneer are real wood, the second only on the surface; laminate and wood-effect melamine are a grain printed on paper and resin. The difference is not only in the look, because a good print can fool even up close, but in the life of the piece: real wood can be sanded and refinished, a print cannot.

Material	What it is	Can it be repaired?	How to recognise it
Solid wood	Wood of the declared species through the whole thickness	Yes: it is sanded and the finish redone	The grain on the outer face matches the grain on the back; no thin line along the edges
Veneer	A thin sheet of real wood on a substrate (blockboard, plywood, MDF)	Only within the depth of the layer	A thin line along the edges, from corner to corner; ask for the thickness of the veneer
Laminate and wood-effect melamine	Resin-impregnated papers with a printed grain	No	Identical colour on every door; names such as "walnut melamine" or "oak effect"

The reliable check is not the eye but the quote: the botanical species in writing, the construction section of the door with frame, panel and core, the finish. The full comparison, with the cases in which wood effect is a sensible choice, is in real wood or wood effect.

Wooden kitchen with island, linear, corner or small

Made-to-measure wood adapts to any plan. In the kitchen with an island the central wooden block with its marble worktop is the heart of the home, with the hob or the sink and breakfast on the free side. In the linear kitchen there is a single wall, with full-height wooden tall units and, if you wish, no wall units at all. In the corner kitchen the corner compartment is put to use with a pull-out basket unit or the sink. In the small kitchen light wood lightens the space and a stone shelf instead of wall units keeps it open. The standard plans (single wall, L, U, island, peninsula) are in kitchen layouts to start from.

Finishes and care: how to clean a wooden kitchen

A wooden kitchen is cleaned with a soft, barely damp cloth, without abrasive detergents, drying at once; liquids are blotted, not spread. The rest depends on the finish chosen at the design stage. Oil enters the pores and leaves the wood to the touch: it is refreshed from time to time and allows a scratch to be repaired by sanding and re-oiling the area. Varnish, matt or gloss, forms a film that repels water and wipes clean with a cloth: it is more convenient, but a deep scratch is hard to touch up. On oak and chestnut, rich in tannins, no steel wool and no standing water: with iron they stain black. Near the sink and the dishwasher, water should be dried at once and leaks dealt with at once.

Outdoor wooden kitchen: which woods stand up

An outdoor wooden kitchen stands up if the wood is a durable species (teak, iroko, chestnut) or a treated one (heat-treated, acetylated), if the structure carrying the worktop is not afraid of water and if the worktop is a stone suited to the open air. This is how we build them: a structure of dry-laid refractory stone blocks, of steel or of treated timber; doors and cladding in outdoor timber; worktops in granite, quartzite, sintered stone or travertine; barbecue and oven in refractory stone. Marble is chosen with due care, because it is sensitive to acids.

Teak sits in the highest durability class of the European standard EN 350, but only in the heartwood; iroko between the first and the second; chestnut in the second. Fir, ash and cherry in their natural state are not suited to the open air, while heat-treated ash moves up a class. Untreated teak takes on a silver-grey patina: it is a change in appearance, not damage, and heat-treated timber also turns grey if it is not protected from UV rays; it is best to decide at once whether to accept the grey or to protect the wood and renew the protection as the product instructions say. The page outdoor wooden kitchen explains woods, use classes and care; Michelessi outdoor kitchens in stone and steel are under outdoor kitchens, with the examples outdoor kitchen with stone barbecue and stainless steel and stone outdoor kitchen; for the roof over the kitchen there are the pergolas.

The wooden kitchens department in detail

How a bespoke Michelessi wooden kitchen comes to be: from site survey to installation

The path is the same for every kitchen, indoor or outdoor, and has a single party responsible from start to finish.

Site survey and measurements. We measure the room or the garden, the water, gas, drain and power connections, the out-of-square walls and the beams. In Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio the site survey is free; elsewhere we start from your measurements and photographs, with a guided remote survey; the slabs can also be viewed by video call.
3D design. Our technical office draws the kitchen in three dimensions: plan, heights, compartments for the appliances, species, finish, worktop stone. We correct it together until it is the right one. The design and the quote are free everywhere.
Choice of wood and slab. Samples of species and finishes side by side; the worktop is chosen in person, slab by slab, in the Aprilia workshop.
Construction to measure. Solid wood doors and carcasses in solid wood or blockboard to the measurements of the design; worktop, upstand and sides in stone cut on numerically controlled machines and finished by hand.
Installation. Our team fits carcasses, doors, worktop and appliances, throughout Italy; we follow projects abroad too.

The same path applies when the kitchen is part of a larger job: bathrooms, stairs, floors and fireplaces in stone for the same house are under renovations.

How much does a bespoke wooden kitchen cost?

We do not publish price lists, because the price of a bespoke wooden kitchen depends on factors that change with every project, and a figure per metre would be misleading. The main factors: the construction (solid wood, veneered blockboard or wood effect); the species and the selection, with or without knots; the finish (oil, varnish, lacquer, brushed); the type of door (frame and panel, moulded or flat); the linear metres, tall units and island; out-of-standard work (recesses, crooked walls, beams); the hardware; the worktop, upstand and sides in stone; the appliances to be built in; the installation. Real wood costs more than laminate and melamine, and solid wood is among the constructions that cost the most; in return it can be repaired and refinished. How the factors weigh, and what to ask of every quote in order to compare them, is explained in how much does a wooden kitchen cost. The quote and the 3D design are free everywhere.

Wooden kitchens in Rome, Latina, Lazio and throughout Italy

The workshop and showroom are in Aprilia, on the Pontina road at km 45.350, less than an hour from Rome and close to Latina, where you can see slabs and samples. The site survey is free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio; we install with our own team throughout Italy, and we have followed a project in Dubai. The other Michelessi kitchens, in marble and in refractory stone, are under kitchens, indoor kitchens and masonry kitchens, in the masonry style, built in refractory stone; for the most frequent questions there is wooden kitchens: questions and answers.

The quote is free wherever you are: request it here.

How a bespoke wooden kitchen comes to be

Site survey and measurements
We measure the room or the garden, the water, gas, drain and power connections, the out-of-square walls and the beams. In Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio the site survey is free; elsewhere we start from your measurements and photographs, with a guided remote survey; the slabs can also be viewed by video call.
3D design
Our technical office draws the kitchen in three dimensions: plan, heights, compartments for the appliances, species, finish and worktop stone. We correct it together until it is the right one. The design and the quote are free everywhere.
Choice of wood and slab
Samples of species and finishes side by side; the worktop is chosen in person, slab by slab, in the Aprilia workshop: marble, travertine, granite, quartzite or sintered stone.
Construction to measure
Solid wood doors and carcasses in solid wood or blockboard to the measurements of the design; worktop, upstand and sides in stone cut on numerically controlled machines and finished by hand.
Installation
Our team fits carcasses, doors, worktop and appliances, throughout Italy; we follow projects abroad too.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bespoke wooden kitchen?

It is a whole kitchen designed to the measurements of the room and built with solid wood doors and carcasses in solid wood or blockboard, instead of catalogue modules adapted to the wall. Michelessi SRL, in Aprilia between Rome and Latina, designs it in 3D, builds it with marble, stone, porcelain stoneware or wood worktops cut in its own workshop and installs it with its own team throughout Italy.

Solid wood or veneered kitchen: what is the difference?

In solid wood the declared species fills the whole thickness of the door; in a veneered door a thin sheet of real wood faces a substrate such as blockboard or MDF. Solid wood can be sanded and refinished, veneer only within the depth of its layer. In the quote Michelessi states the botanical species and the section of every door.

Which wood should I choose for the kitchen: oak, walnut, chestnut or ash?

Oak is the species manufacturers request most: warm colour, striped grain, available in many finishes. Walnut is the choice of classic kitchens and of dark modern ones. Chestnut is rustic and textured; ash is the hardest of the group, pale and suited to bleached stains; cherry darkens in the light; fir is soft and suits mountain homes. The choice depends on style, light and worktop.

Does a wooden kitchen go well with a marble worktop?

Yes: marble is cool and polished, wood warm and matt, and the two materials complete each other. White Carrara or Calacatta marble goes with light woods such as natural oak and maple; Nero Marquina with dark walnut or smoked oak; travertine and Botticino with ash or light walnut. Michelessi cuts the worktop in its own workshop in Aprilia and builds the wooden doors to measure.

Light or dark wood kitchen: how to choose?

Light wood (natural oak, ash, bleached oak) lightens small spaces and sits well with white and with Carrara marble. Dark wood (walnut, smoked oak) gives the island character and sits well with black and grey; a dark wood worktop hides scratches and stains better. The light in the room matters too.

How do you clean a wooden kitchen?

With a soft, barely damp cloth, without abrasive detergents, drying at once; liquids are blotted. Varnished wood wants a mild detergent; oiled wood is refreshed with oil from time to time and repaired by sanding the marked area. On oak and chestnut, rich in tannins, no steel wool and no standing water, because with iron they stain black.

Is wood in the kitchen afraid of water and heat?

It is afraid of standing water and swings in humidity: near the sink and the dishwasher, water should be dried at once and leaks dealt with at once. Near the hob the wood is kept at the clearances given in the appliance instructions.

How long does a bespoke wooden kitchen take?

We do not give one time for every kitchen, because a bespoke kitchen starts from the 3D design and then goes through the building of the doors, the cutting of the slabs and the installation, which change with the species, the finish, the number of pieces and the measurements. The times are agreed together, in writing, once the design is approved; the design and the quote are free everywhere.

Why do you not publish a price list for wooden kitchens?

Because there is no price per metre valid for everyone: the cost depends on construction (solid wood, blockboard, wood effect), species and selection, finish, type of door, linear metres and island, out-of-standard work, hardware, stone worktop, appliances and installation. Real wood costs more than laminate, and solid wood is among the costliest constructions, but it can be repaired and refinished. The quote and 3D design are free everywhere.

Where do you deliver and install wooden kitchens?

Throughout Italy, with our own installation team; we follow projects abroad too, such as the one in Dubai. The workshop and showroom are in Aprilia, on the Pontina road at km 45.350, between Rome and Latina. In Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio the site survey is free; the 3D design and the quote are free everywhere, starting from your measurements and photographs with a guided remote survey; the slabs can also be viewed by video call.