Much as most people love summer, there is no escaping the reality that the nights are starting to shorten and September is not so far away. Autumn is coming, whether one likes it or not.

Of course, for every person who laments the end of the long, sunny days of summer, others are delighted to enjoy the beautiful brown and gold colours of the season.

A key question is what anyone considering some new kitchen fittings might want to prioritise as the end of summer looms.

The House Beautiful checklist of the most desirable kitchen features lists a number of large elements, many of which may already be in your kitchen or the next big thing in the list. These include a washing machine, a second oven, a dishwasher, a smart fridge and a coffee machine.

Most of the items on the list were appliances, an exception being a kitchen island.

By comparison, fitting something smaller like copper kitchen handles might be a much smaller deal, but of you already have many of these other aspects, your focus will not be on big purchases but adding stylistic touches. Moreover, copper offers just the kind of colour that will look beautiful in Autumn and provide a reminder of the season’s glorious colours at other times of the year.

A kitchen with dishwashers and an island section represents the height of modernity, but some may want to go for a more vintage look. Country Life recently offered its thoughts on how to do this, with suggestions including brown varnished tables, uneven stone and wooden beams.

The article noted how the use of cream-coloured wall tiles complemented copper utensils. This should come as no surprise, as copper not only worked with the colour scheme of the kitchen featured, but is itself a material used in kitchen fittings for centuries.

So whether you want to add the finishing touches to a kitchen with all the mod cons, a stylistic accompaniment for a vintage design, or simply a colour that captures the glory of autumn, copper ticks every box and looks great in any kitchen.