In Plant-Based Chef Alfie Steiner's New Scandi-Style London Kitchen, Ingredients, Saucepans, and Cookbooks All Become Part of the Decor

If you've spent enough time on Instagram, you're likely already very familiar with the owner of this newly refurbished North London home. Alfie Steiner, perhaps better known by his Instagram handle @alfiecooks, has spent the past few years growing an impressive 5.2 million following, drawing crowds with his delicious-looking plant-based recipe videos. And now, after a lengthy renovation, we can expect vegan meals served with a side of serious interior inspiration.

While we'll all see a stylish modern kitchen, only a few months prior, the space told a completely different story. Having initially viewed the property back in 2025, it's safe to say it wasn't exactly love at first sight: "My first thought was, I can't live here," shares Alfie. After 10 years as a student rental, the house was a far cry from the sleek, modern home it is today. Run-down, dark, and dingy, there was plenty of work to be done. But with the help of Tom Guy from Guy Piper Architects, they managed to do exactly that — transforming the rundown rental into a light-filled, Scandi-inspired space, with a fully kitted chef's kitchen to boot.

Ripping out the entire ground floor and starting from scratch, this home is a true manifestation of Alfie's vision: a space that can function as his studio and backdrop, as well as a home for him and his fiancée, Angelica. And, as Alfie discovered, there was plenty to be learnt along the way.

The Brief

Before the renovation was even underway, there was one clear priority for this space: introducing more light. As with many of the city's period properties, the home was overwhelmingly dark, with a closed layout that prevented any natural light, leaving the whole space feeling dingy and unwelcoming.

For Alfie Steiner, the ability to open up the layout was make-or-break for this home. "The only way I felt comfortable buying the place was if we could knock down the wall and let more light in," he explains. As a full-time content creator, natural light wasn't just a preference; it was essential. His home doubles as his office and set, and without good lighting, shooting high-quality food content is close to impossible.

Along with an open-plan layout, sliding doors leading directly onto the garden have also helped bring more light into the kitchen, as well as some much-needed scenery for long work-from-home days.

"The plan was always for it to be open plan, with the kitchen running into the living room, so the space would work two ways: a home for hosting family and friends, and a studio where I can film and work," Alfie explains of his choice of kitchen layout.

This theme of enhancing light carries through into the interior design of the home, too. "The main inspiration was Scandinavian style: clean, minimalist, and built around light wood and bright, neutral colors," explains Alfie.

Opting for a bright, neutral color palette allowed the open-plan space to feel cohesive throughout, building warmth and texture through accessories and details, like a rust-colored sofa and colorful cookware displayed on the open shelves in the kitchen.

When working with a calming color palette like this, there's more room for experimentation when it comes to the finishing touches; you can add layers of personality and character without worrying about clashing with your overall design.

"Above all, I wanted it to feel homely and vibrant, but also sharp and smart enough to work as a home kitchen studio, where everything has its place, and the space works as hard as I do," says Alfie.

The Process

Despite his first impressions, it didn't take long for Alfie to see the potential in this home. "The kitchen was a decent size and had everything it needed functionally," he said. But in order to get it to a place where it would work as a backdrop for his career, seen daily by over 5 million people, some changes were in order.

But beyond the kitchen, there was also the issue of the student-friendly layout to work through: "On the other side, where the living room is now, there were two bedrooms separated by partition walls, because the landlord had squeezed in as many bedrooms as he could," he shares.

Perhaps if the home had been left in its original form, it would have been easier to embrace the home's existing layout, but with these newer additions, clearly made with student living in mind, a fresh canvas was required. So, they ripped out the entire ground floor and started from scratch.

From there, they began to construct the foundation of the home, a large, open-plan space where the living room, kitchen, and garden flow from one another seamlessly. The neutral palette remains consistent throughout, as does the tiled floor running across the entire ground floor, making for a more cohesive finish.

Every element of the home introduced new challenges and surprises to work through. Even the ground-floor bathroom — one of the smallest rooms in the home — came with its own kind of learning curve. "You don't realize how much goes into a bathroom until you start with an empty room," says Alfie.

Luckily, the team at Roca guided him through the process, finding the perfect fittings to give that dream spa bathroom finish. "The rain shower gives you full coverage, which matters when you're as tall as I am, and the Roca Plenum hand shower has three settings," says Alfie, adding, "I always finish on the last one, a single soft stream that feels almost like a massage."

When they first purchased the house, there was only one small bathroom, cramped into the corner of the ground floor. As part of the renovation, Alfie added a secondary bathroom on the upper level, offering them a private ensuite bathroom right off the main bedroom.

With limited space available, there wasn't a clear spot for the bathroom at first. But with some clever planning, they found a way to make it work: "There was a corner of the main bedroom that was just part of the room, and Tom [Guy from Guy Piper Architects] worked out that with a pocket door it could be closed off as a small ensuite bathroom," explains Alfie.

While renovations often reveal several challenges, Alfie was surprised to discover that the biggest challenge of all was finding a way to live normally while the renovation was happening. "My office is my home, so I was filming, managing people, and starting some big projects while all the building work went on around me," he explains.

Though the result makes it all worth it, building a home from the ground up isn't exactly the most relaxing process, and many underestimate the emotional toll of renovating, especially while still living in the house. With builders constantly coming and going, your space is not really your own, and a constantly changing timeline can force you to adjust your plans and expectations. Not to mention the logistical difficulties it can introduce: "For the first month we had no shower, so I showered at the gym, and at first we had a toilet that didn't work, so we used the loos in local restaurants," he recalls.

And, though many people may brush over it, there's a certain level of doubt that can inevitably creep in after such a major commitment. After the months of hard work and money spent, it's impossible for expectations not to be high, and oftentimes, the reality of it all can feel a little different from what you may have anticipated. "We'd built all of this, and it was our home, but it didn't feel like it, particularly through the first winter when it was darker and colder and you wonder whether you've made the right choice," he admits.

Eventually, though, it all began to fall into place: "It took six to nine months. We went away in February, and when we came back, I thought, 'This feels like home.' That was the first time," says Alfie.

The Design

It's common for the kitchen to be labeled the heart of the home, but in this space, it couldn't be more true. Not only does it function as the central hub of activity — the natural gathering space for friends and family — but it also plays a central role in Alfie's work, serving as his home office, studio, and backdrop for his recipe videos.

It's perhaps unsurprising then that his vision for the space was clear from the jump. "I always pictured an open design: neutral and Scandinavian-inspired, with light woods and bright, neutral colors, then open shelving to show off pops of color so it feels homely and vibrant." By blending open shelving with traditional closed kitchen cabinetry, they were able to find space for decorative, character-adding "clutter" while keeping any true clutter hidden away.

"We went to Wickes for the kitchen cabinets and, with all the above in mind, chose Natura Dawn, an oak veneer, to create the light wood look we wanted," explains Alfie. The wooden cabinets were complemented with white kitchen worktops — Wickes's hard-wearing Metzo White surface — for a bright but neutral finish.

Maintaining as much countertop space as possible was another priority for Alfie, as was a centrally-located kitchen island. "Through making content, I've learnt that the more worktop space, the better," he explains. "There's always lots going on when I'm shooting, so being able to move from hob to board seamlessly is so important. Having an island as a filming space has been brilliant, too. It allows for more front-on filming and talking to the camera, which is great for YouTube and longer-form content."

Having to consider how the kitchen would look on camera, as well as day-to-day, added a whole new dimension to the design process.

"The open shelving has become a real backdrop for my content; it lets me display things and bring some color into the shot, so it's visually identifiable as my kitchen," he says. Undercabinet lighting with strip LEDs helps add extra warmth to the backdrop, too.

The kitchen appliances and finishes were also chosen with content in mind. "The Zip hot water tap has been a game changer too — instant hot water for quick cooking, and the spray function makes cleaning up after shoots so much easier," Alfie explains.

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Want to get some more kitchen tips from the people who know the space best? Check out these chefs' kitchens for even more inspiration.

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