Tandridge Project – I. Kitchen notes

A lovely Edwardian family home in the heart of Surrey snapped up by our clients in the midst of the pandemic who then did just the right thing and lived with it for a while. This isn’t always possible, but when it is I think you really get to see how a house feels through the seasons and you just get to know each other a bit.

The house had already been extended and knocked about a little over the years, so one of the priorities for our clients in renovating this handsome Arts & Crafts house was to get it to all hang together again. An extension was easily agreed with the local authority to make the kitchen and dining space large enough to provide an informal soft sitting area. With two young children, open plan living really is the easiest way to enjoy this time especially with access into the garden during the summer months.

The big question / debate was where to locate the kitchen. When we visited the house, the previous kitchen was positioned centrally and the island went into the column above. We re-designed the space to have a lovely big L shape kitchen with a large island. The supporting column when we first saw it was very large but once the contractor team were on-site it was reduced right back, painted in the same colour as the walls with skirting and two discreet up and down wall lights.

We designed the layout so the dining table was positioned in the mid-section and you can see in the image above that the pillar helps to delineate the space and separate the kitchen and dining room in a subtle way especially with the far right nib just coming in slightly too.

The kitchen has a pitched roof at the rear which leads to this beautiful glazed section that was left untouched in the renovation. We designed the Nickleby kitchen cabinetry to terminate into the nib neatly and then added a Harris bench seat with Perennials upholstery to sit under the window. As this is a freestanding piece it feels less dense and heavy while still bringing a bit of softness to the area.

With such a long run, a false chimney to house the induction hob was a natural choice and then with the two Gaggenau 76cm 400 series ovens either side, we were able to place the sink on the island. Within the false chimney there is plenty of room for prep and a few accessories too – with the ovens either side it’s important to ensure a generous chimney so the space feels roomy enough to work in when preparing meals.

Believe it or not this kitchen actually started its design life with a large 1400mm Lacanche range cooker but after several versions and discussions we tried the design with the eye level ovens and never looked back. Because the Gaggenau ovens come in the larger size @ 76cm width they really solve the issue of wanting a really big oven for event cooking like Christmas Day but without having to have a range cooker and be bending down. With no range cooker we were also able to incorporate this lovely bank of six drawers which feature concealed top drawers for utensils and cutlery.

With any L shape kitchen you have an awkward corner, here we included a simple blind cupboard below and left the space open to the right hand side of the French door fridge freezer – this is such a handy nook for tucking away clutter – as anyone with children knows the counters get covered in stuff so quickly! But here, you can’t really see this corner from most of the rest of the room so it feels much more orderly.

The ubiquitous breakfast cupboard with counter space for the coffee machine and toaster and storage above. It’s lovely to see the Berkeley oak captured here – it brings such warmth to the cabinetry.

The corner shelving was left open and has integrated lighting included so this provides a beautiful glow in the evenings and really makes this area come to life. Again it’s wonderful to see the Berkeley oak within the open cabinetry here and a great linking piece to the open shelving above the fridge freezer just helping to subtly soften the expanse of stainless steel.

Another kitchen essential – a pantry cupboard. There is a walk in pantry in this kitchen but it’s the other side of the dining table so we really had to include a main large storage cupboard for non-perishables. Full length door racks for herbs, spices, condiments, packets, squash etc ensure everything you use all the time is easy to reach. Baskets are always useful for small bits in a pantry – we always use The Basket Company as they are beautifully made and very good quality.

A last look at the working side of the island where we flanked the under-mount sink with a full size Miele dishwasher and integrated bin. And then to left is a Gaggenau 200 series microwave oven for maximum convenience.

This is such a handsome kitchen and really does have a wonderful sense of balance. The island has four Havisham counter stools upholstered in a lovely rich green Italian leather with Berkeley oak frames. These are the stools with the lumbar support concealed within the upholstery (the Mortimer stools also have this) and are so supremely comfortable you can sit for a fair few hours.

We used the HM colour Soot on the island with the perimeter in Half Windsor and Mainsail on the walls. These colours are great friends and work so well together and they look particularly good with the Cheyne porcelain floor tiles. How to choose the right flooring for your kitchen? First of all take your time – this is not a decision to rush. Here we chose natural effect porcelain tiles with a sympathetic grout colour for a very easy and low maintenance floor.

So much goes into a kitchen design both in the design studio and with clients in meetings that can take hours and hours because we work in a holistic way – you can’t just chose a colour and a handle and worktop and you’re done. There’s so much more to designing a kitchen especially if you’re taking a long term view because this is the hardest working room in the home and needs to work.

Ultimately it is always a collaborative process and the idea is for us at HM to bring our years of experience in design, cabinetmaking and finishing to the table and clients bring their own aesthetic, needs, ideas and inspirations. We feel so lucky to work with clients on all our HM projects and regardless of the size/shape it’s the most satisfying thing in the world to know they love it and enjoy it everyday.