There’s nothing quite like creating the ideal kitchen - especially for customers you know and care about.
We first met Rachel and Ben Mitchinson in 2013. They chose us to design and install the kitchen in their first home. Three years and 2 children later, the family moved to their forever home. Which they were keen to put their own stamp on!
Our strong relationship with Ben and Rachel helped us understand and refine their new brief. They trusted us to translate their desire to have a ‘wow’ kitchen into a unique design. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and they wanted it to be perfect.
Having worked with Ben and Rachel recently, we felt that we had a good idea of what they expected from us.
The Brief
Rachel and Ben wanted us to create a light and modern kitchen. We needed to incorporate as much of the room as possible, including a TV area. They also wanted lots of design features and a mixed, but complementary colour palette.
Rachel wanted her built-in ovens at eye level for ease-of-use. (And to keep them out of the reach of the little Mitchinsons!). They also specified an induction hob with discreet cooker hood, a wine cooler and a 3-in-1 hot water tap.
They wanted to include a breakfast bar to make the space more sociable. It needed to blend into the rest of the kitchen so that we could use as much of the wall as possible. The space was long and thin, making an island out of the question. It also meant there was no middle space to use. The room is also light and airy, with plenty of windows, making finding wall space a challenge.
Our Design
One of the main challenges was to incorporate a large American fridge-freezer from their previous kitchen. It has a dominant size - we knew it would be difficult to integrate. Especially as we needed to make sure it complemented the sleek, smooth finish they craved.
We suggested using studwork to straighten out one of the walls. This meant we could bring the ovens off the wall slightly. It also meant the sloping ceiling wouldn't cause us any problems. From a design perspective, American fridge-freezers aren’t the most delicate of appliances to incorporate into a kitchen scheme. To address this, we decided to make the tall units either side of the fridge look like they were floating using the studwork and feature panels. Making this bank a different colour also created a separate feature. We used floating single height base units and wall units going into the TV area. Similar colours, materials and finishes linked the areas.
We also needed to include an inconspicuous extraction system. This was so the air could be re-circulated as the house has a heat recovery system. We decided to use a downdraft cooker hood and recirculate the air back into the room. We were mindful of where the intake was for the heating.
Working with clients like Rachel and Ben is a real collaboration of ideas. We’ve all thoroughly enjoyed the process, from initial discussions through to installation.
We Used:
● Neff appliances
● Caple Wine Cooler
● Corian worktops
● Hacker Systemat furniture
● Franke Sinks
● ISE 3-in-1 Hot Water Tap