For several years now developers have been converting disused factories and warehouses into modern apartment buildings, and as a result the industrial look has become a hot interior design trend. It's one you can easily adopt in your kitchen with a few of the right ingredients.

Stop looking at old machinery, concrete and unfinished wood as scrap yard fodder and start seeing it as the building blocks for a funky kitchen that will make a real style statement in your home.

The Independent newspaper spoke to a number of interior design experts about how to create an industrial finish and they all agreed that the key to nailing the look is to see fixtures and fittings in a new light and valuing imperfections rather than viewing them as design flaws.

"Previously an industrial cast iron cheese press would have been side-lined for the scrap yard," said Richard Morris, managing director of O SC ARS Interiors.

"Now, these pieces of industrial machinery can be seen taking centre stage in the modern day home, not as an item compacting cheese but instead acting as a beautiful kitchen shelving unit."

Peter Bowles, managing director of Davey Lighting, said the story behind the items you use to furnish your property is often as important as the pieces themselves.

"Where and how products are made or sourced has become a talking point. There's a move away from assembly line production towards things that are made in factories," he noted.

Lighting is a great way to bring in some industrial style. Choose factory lighting for the ceiling and fit a low hanging pendant light from a chain above your kitchen table.

And don't forget those small but all-important finishing touches. Think about the handles you use for your cabinets and the taps you use for your kitchen sink. A chrome kitchen mixer tap with a pull out hose will look incredibly funky in your new industrial kitchen.