In the small village of Stebbing which is situated north of the ancient Roman road Stane Street, is this beautiful country property where the kitchen is at the heart of the home. The large open-plan space is completed with our true traditional shaker style which includes raised and fielded front panels and an angled skirting plinth. The galley layout, central island and personal specifications meet our client’s needs in every way possible and provide a hub of the home that can be enjoyed for many years to come.
Due to the property being a listed building, no walls or period features could be knocked down or changed, so a handmade bespoke kitchen was the perfect choice to add. Our clients didn’t want to change much about their property anyways, they just wanted to improve it to fit in with their busy family lifestyle and social gatherings. We are glad they couldn’t get rid of those exposed wooden beams because they are to die for!
Three colours were used amongst the traditional cabinets.
- Stony Ground by F&B was hand-painted onto the main run of units and the coffee station. This classic stone colour is a solid neutral with a slight underlying red, adding warmth and creating a soft beige finish.
- Lichen by F&B is hand-painted onto the island. Lichen is a calm and muted green which has an underlying blue tone. Just think of the creeping algae which ages stone so beautifully, Lichen is precisely that.
- Dusted Heather by Dulux is hand-painted onto the fridge, freezer and day pantry section. This mid, muted purple is inspired by the Victorian ladies love of mauve in the mid-19th century when the French president’s wife decided it was the pinnacle of fashion and all of London followed.
Our designer made sure that all the elements blended harmoniously, especially with the Shaws of Darwen double bowl sink, chrome Perrin & Rowe tap and chrome Quooker Pro3 Classic Nordic instant hot water tap. This area of the kitchen is also framed beautifully by Victorian wooded windows soaking up the views of the beautiful countryside that surrounds this wonderful home.
Our client sourced their Sage Ever Hot 120i cast iron range cooker. The classic design and function provide both versatile cooking capacity and kitchen warmth. Beautifully elegant and balanced, this appliance has the poise to grace any kitchen, modern or classical. Above this is a beautiful bespoke mantle that houses a Westin Prime extractor.
There was an exciting brief as our client wanted a solid oak table designed and built by us at HMK. This one-of-a-kind table in an oiled finish is 2m in length and 900mm in width with a 38mm thick full plank table top. The sturdy H-frame solid oak base completes the table and provides a chunky frame.
This bespoke table emphasises the social vibe our clients wanted to create in the heart of the home and easily fits 6 guests. How divine?!
We now take our attention to that day pantry which sits in the middle of the integrated Liebherr fridge and freezer on this standalone piece of furniture. This floor-to-ceiling unit opens up beautifully into the space where you find oak spice racks that have been designed on the back of the doors, three open shelves including a cold shelf and deep filled drawers below.
This is the perfect place to keep everything in the kitchen organised and easy to get to.
In another part of the space where the bespoke dining table lays is the coffee station. The doors open and close on a bi-fold mechanism which allows this special unit to become part of the kitchen as well as when entertaining guests, it can then be closed to blend seamlessly with the other traditional features.
When looking at the solid oak internals it features open shelving, a place for the microwave, a cold shelf and integrated LED lighting.
There’s plenty of other ideas to get from this beautiful space which includes the Heartly Grey quartz worktops finished in an Ogee edge, a pop-up socket featured on the island, the T&G found on the ends of the island and end panels of the main kitchen run and the chrome Perrin & Rowe knobs and handles that match the other fixtures and fittings.
The logic of this kitchen layout is that when the oven, sink and fridge are in a comfortable position with each other, the space will function efficiently.
Many kitchen islands are different and positioned in ways where surrounding views can be taken in by the client. They are built with generous proportions just like this one where plenty of storage is designed on either side, a place for a Liebherr wine cooler and open ends that keep the traditional country vibe alive!
