Kitchen Confidential | A Bespoke Kitchen in London

This light and airy kitchen situated in an Edwardian home in a lovely leafy green street in Barnes, South West London is probably one of the best examples of why having a bespoke kitchen design has so many advantages over using say, a modular design.

Bespoke Design

We have four kitchen ranges that our clients use as the design starting point from which we create their dream kitchen. This is a bespoke Longford design which really embraces the classic design qualities of simplicity, prestige and stability.

One of the most interesting aspects of designing a kitchen for a space is the consideration of the period during which it was built. This London townhouse was built during the Edwardian era which was truly a new beginning with a new king and a new style of interior design. Gone was the heavy, dark, cluttered look of the Victorian era, and in its place was something much lighter and more cheerful. Simplicity of detail was a defining characteristic of the Edwardian era so that became a guiding principle for the design of the kitchen. There is a no limit to the paint choices or ranges when it comes to selecting a colour palette. This Longford kitchen has a single off-white colour palette – “Skimming Stone” by Farrow & Ball with black worktops and a black Lacanche range cooker. The monochrome palette was something the homeowners really loved and it was softened with the use of natural wood for the huge Breakfast Pantry and island seating. This was really important as it’s a family kitchen, so the space needed to be welcoming and not cold and clinical. When choosing a colour palette for a kitchen, or any room in fact, it’s important to always consider the space, light and architecture and let these guide your decision making. These three factors really impact how a colour will come across in a space – a good tip is to take your sample pot and paint it on white card or thick white paper. Then look at it in the room over the course of the day. This also saves you going over the differing sample patches when it comes to decorating.

Bespoke Freestanding Pantry 

The natural oak pantry, which is a free-standing piece, integrates the refrigerator and freezer in the two central units, with separate pantries on either side and features beautiful raised panelling. This was a key design consideration for the homeowners who have a young family.

They needed plenty of storage for dry goods and didn’t like the idea of keeping dry goods in separate areas. For convenience and speed when preparing quick mid-week meals, having everything immediately to hand suits their needs perfectly.

The breakfast pantry has deep drawers, shelving, spice racks and condiment racks which means they are able to keep everything in one place – and handily, right next to the fridge and freezer. Also, because this piece is freestanding, it can be dismantled and reinstalled in a new home down the line.

Bespoke Extraction

The kitchen extension incorporated a series of sloping glass skylights, while on the opposite side is a functioning fireplace. This therefore meant that any wall cupboards were not an option and neither was ceiling mounted extraction. Positioning the Lacanche Macon range cooker under the sloping skylights made perfect sense from a design point of view and allowed easy access to both the prep area located in the island, and the refrigeration in the pantry.

Extraction is one of those boring but absolutely essential elements of planning a kitchen design. The big challenge here was to incorporate the extraction seamlessly into the design; no mean feat when there are only skylights above. Peter Humphrey, Design Director and Founder of Humphrey Munson,  worked with Westin to design a bespoke extraction unit that could be wall-mounted and thus negate the need for ceiling mounted extraction.