BESPOKE SLEEK MODERN KITCHEN WITH CHIC HOME BAR & ELEGANT DRESSING ROOM

A bespoke kitchen, integrated lighting and furniture design project.

This home is a beautiful early twentieth century building with original features.  The clients have a keen eye for design and wanted to work with designers akin to this.  The interior has been decorated collaboratively in an understated yet incredibly chic, luxurious and contemporary aesthetic with vintage elements; a toe in the past and a foot in the future.

The clients’ vision for a modern, minimal kitchen needed to reflect the style of the newly created extension with some soft natural elements; a more modern part of the house without coldness.

Tall, seamless cabinets running across the back wall and over the glass entrance way reshape the interior architecture of this part of the space, incorporating a cabinet door, which conceals a walk-through room to an external door and larder.

In the same colour and style, the base cabinets running along the adjoining wall are subtle as they merge with the wall to allow the area above the sink to become a focal point with a floating feature wall cabinet, shelf, antique mirror splashback and integral LED lighting.

The opposite wall is clad with horizontal panelling, tying the interior architectural elements together to unify the space; a linear cohesion. Echoing each room in the rest of the house with its original features, this extension now boosts its own refined contemporary feature, bringing depth to this new space.

The commanding island centrepiece juxtaposes the warmth of horizontal grain on the cabinets with a raw, metal grey surface that increases in width as it flows into the wider part of the room; a right-trapezium shaped, cantilevered worktop.

The shelving unit at the end of this wall, opposite the dining area, whilst minimal, is sympathetic to its surroundings and the style of the rest of the house via subtle cues within the design, materials and the way it is dressed.  This unit is in the same warm timber veneer as the island cabinets, connecting these individual pieces and reinforcing the softness with natural materials.  Adding an edge to this warmth is the strong, sleek sliding door, doubling as a blackboard for shopping lists and chalk drawings.

Farrow & Ball Purbeck Stone No. 275

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Overlooking the garden and swimming pool, the petite glass garden room was calling out for a sympathetic drinks bar, incorporating a polished-copper sink and taps, undercounter storage and wall display, in the style of a refined piece of furniture.

The interpretation is an elegant, freestanding bar and a separate drinks display in a fresh style with a nod to the vintage glamour of times gone by.

Positioned away from the wall and in front of the internal glass window allows the flow of space around the whole piece.  Its stand-alone appeal works in conjunction with its petite frame.

The body of the bar is in a warm, rich timber veneer, taking the form of two gentle sweeping curves and in parts reminiscent of the bow of a sailing yacht.  The light quartz top, a subtly elegant surface, incorporates the small circular sink.

Reinforcing the lightness of the bar, a raised glass shelf stands on slim, solid timber and copper-powder, spray-lacquered legs.

Perching on the adjacent wall, an open drinks display cabinet connects to the bar with the same timber veneer frame and floating glass shelves.  An antique mirror back-panel reflects the concealed LED back lighting, washing light through the glass and illuminating the area.

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The dressing room design combines the traditional style of the house with a contemporary touch to create a timeless elegance.  This is seen in the fine muntin bars on the wardrobe doors alongside clean lines replacing the cornice and skirting mouldings.

Bouncing light around the space, the framed, antique mirror doors and clear mirror surround of the make-up area project the positive illusion of depth.  The dressing table incorporates a dark oak top to match an existing antique family chair and specially cut mirrors house delicate wall lights.

The floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall cabinets and the one remaining original wall, housing the double doors, share the same colour in order to create clarity and calm; the features thereby not competing for space and attention.  With its elegant aesthetic, this structural furniture reinvents the room and its interior architecture.

Farrow & Ball Purbeck Stone No. 275

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Introduction to client by, and in part collaboration with, interior designer Tracey Warman. All other interior design aspects by Tracey.