Some clients who happen to be Architects from Fernhurst, West Sussex had lived in their bungalow for many years and decided they needed more space. They designed the new build, and a second storey and kitchen extension was added. They felt however, that the new kitchen space was too dark. Friends of theirs, whose kitchen we had been refurbishing, suggested they should call us. The 'new' light was sourced by knocking into the utility room.
The brief was to provide them with something a little bit unusual. They knew roughly what shape they wanted, but wanted us to come up with a concept.
Only the AGA remained from the existing kitchen, but was slightly moved. The initial feeling was to change the front of the AGA to beige. I suggested that keeping the original jade green would add the necessary splash of contrasting colour; reflections of which, would be picked up in various, soft green hues from the unusual glass splashback we fitted behind it. The splashback created a window-like, ethereal space, with ever changing light and reflections. The cabinets in this kitchen run all the way up to the ceiling, including some above the AGA; those vertical lines on the white are actually cabinet doors, which we mounted on touch latches. The stripy Zebrano either side of the AGA forms the fronts of more storage cabinets, which again have been mounted on touch latches to give that sleek, uninterrupted finish. Below the hob, sited next to the AGA, is a back-up oven; concealed by doors, which are on a pocketed door mechanism, enabling them to slide back and out of the way when the oven is in use.
The cabinet surfaces around the kitchen are completely flat, devoid of any detailing and the wall cabinets, as previously mentioned are handle free and on touch latches. Note how the horizontal grain of the spectacular Zebrano wall cabinets have been matched to follow through both walls. A painstaking but very rewarding task for our cabinet makers.
We incorporated a prep sink directly opposite the food storage area where a tall fridge freezer is also housed.
The fridge freezer was sited next to a walk-in larder, all forming part of the food storage area. A great deal of effort was made to choose a stainless steel fridge freezer, which didn’t show fingerprints! An ice maker and drinks compartment form part of the outside of the doors.
The main sink was set below speckled Kashmir White granite, with drainage grooves cut in. The granite worktops were fitted throughout, which gave a neutral colour, picking out the same tones as the smooth, creamy floor tiles.
The white, minimalist cabinet doors were offset with stripy handles, which we made especially for our clients, using the same, eye catching Zebrano veneer. We shaped the handles by laminating them to give an attractive and easy to grip feel. They were attached to the cabinets with stainless steel rivets, adding to the contemporary look and complementing the other stainless steel features around the kitchen.
Their kitchen was then featured in Beautiful Kitchens magazine...
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