Our clients were planning a large extension to their imposing Edwardian home. They were keen to introduce a modern element to the project while remaining empathetic to the feel of their period property.

Our first meeting took place in the clients’ home on a bright Sunday morning some time before building work commenced. We learned they were busy professional people who loved entertaining and that the extension space would be the heart of their home, often on display to visiting friends and family.

We saw the potential for a most gorgeous space; with the kitchen stepping down into a more informal living area, and a wall of bi-folding glass doors leading down the garden to a natural wild pond.

We suggested putting all the tall appliance units inside a recessed wall with just the doors visible so as not to detract from the ambience of the space. We all agreed that the island should be the focal point; almost furniture-like, with presence and a sense of place that was in keeping with the home’s era.

Our clients were happy to make significant financial investment where required, but were keen to reduce costs where this didn’t impact on the overall aesthetic or functionality. Their desire not to be shoe-horned into or restricted by, a specific or standard door range had led to a lack of progress with other design studios. Although they wanted to incorporate different styles into the kitchen, a degree of synergy needed to flow through the space. We suggested a bespoke timber in-frame door for the visible areas of the island and hob run, and a cost-effective matching standard overlay door for units not on display. We designed a contrasting modern j-pull door for the bank of tall units, but created harmony by ensuring door edge profiles and sheen levels complemented the traditional door sets.

We made the tall bank of appliance and storage units ‘disappear’ into the wall by designing a plastered stud frame for the units to sit inside.

The tall larder units contain internal drawers and shelves that have been sized and located precisely to the client’s specification. The heights of the bespoke j-pull doors were particularly important to the client, who is petite.

The clients had already visited two luxury kitchen design studios who were unable to fulfill their exacting brief. We were recommended by the kitchen fitter who usually works with their builder, and who had seen some of our projects.

We are an independent company and not tied to a single door supplier. We were able to select the best combination of fully bespoke, made to measure and off-the-shelf doors, to exactly meet the client’s specification.

Many of the units in this kitchen were non-standard sizes, specifically tailored to the dimensions of the room. As we make every unit to order, it was possible to alter sizes right up to the wire. This proved important given some enforced changes during the build.