Lily Phillips
Anderson Sinclair Ltd
Keeping this house’s character whilst making it appealing for a worker in London was my key criteria here. I didn’t want it to feel too much of anything, not too traditional, not too modern, not too unwelcoming but the correct balance of everything.
The kitchen itself is a vast space made up of the kitchen area and a large dining area, separated with a restored forge. I kept the high pitched roof on show as it allowed me to go with a deep grey matt painted door without making the space feel small and confined. The feature brick wall matches with the existing forge that was being restored and helped bring more of the house’ character inside.
I decided to use Mereway’s Signature Kitchen range in their diamond grey finish. To me it is the perfect balance of a traditional in frame shaker kitchen in a modern smooth matt painted finish. I paired the dark grey units with rich natural oak interiors which would compliment the oak beams, and pale Dekton marble look worktops to help bring a light and airy feel to the space. Using a pale oak floor also compliments the beams and allows the dark units and feature brick wall to stand out.
Making the most of the wall space I had in the kitchen, I decided to have two tall banks. One containing a large pantry and the integrated tall fridge and the other housing 3 ovens. I decided to use Siemens appliances as they could then have full size ovens, one being a pure oven, one being an oven and a microwave and the other being an oven and a steam oven.
The rest of the walls are taken up with lower level storage, mostly being drawers. I chose a double butler sink as the style of house suited it more than a modern undermounted sink and placed an integrated dishwasher one side and an integrated bin unit the other. There is a lot of storage on the two walls alone in this kitchen, which is why I added some decorative open shelving on the walls, having more closed storage felt too blocky and too standard.
The island is taken up with 3 large drawer packs on the hob side, an integrated under counter freezer and storage on the other; and wine coolers built into the sides of the island drop legs; Again another modern twist in a traditional style kitchen. The hob is also placed on the island with a downdraft extractor hood meaning the ceiling didn’t need any amendments for ventilation. I chose a large flexi-zone induction hob so whoever buys the house can use whichever size pans on it when cooking.
Even though there is a vast dining area in the same space as the kitchen, for additional seating in the room, I decided on bringing the seating level down in the island; I feel it helps create a much more relaxed and social feel when using bench seats and isn’t as modern as high bar stools.
I believe this space allows the kitchen to be the true focal point of the home and would appeal to a high end client who loves the country or city. The modern elements appeal to the busy London lifestyle, whilst the character feel keeps it in keeping with the property.
