I am a commercial interior designer, but from time to time I get to work on residential projects. One of my commercial clients asked me if I would help them remodel the kitchen in their rather lovely Manor House. They had fitted the existing kitchen when they moved in several years before hand and wanted to refine the functionality whilst updating the look and feel.
The existing kitchen
The existing space had a snug at the far end of the kitchen with a wood burner as a focal point in the middle. The Aga was to stay in situ and there was a wall of electrical gubbins that needed to be accessed from time to time. A big part of the transformation was the replacement of the tiled floor which had underfloor heating below.
The design process
Initially I approached the Manor House Kitchen design by looking at all of the possible options for the layout. I responded to the client with my understanding of the design brief. The main points to cover were that we needed to look into how the spaces can be divided / zoned to improve the feel and functionality of the kitchen and surrounding spaces. Explore creating a form of pantry space. Reduce the size of the island. Retain most of the appliances (except coffee machine) that are existing but replace with modern equivalent and change floor to timber though out.
I discussed the functionality of the existing kitchen and explored several ways of improving the layout to give the clients more storage and better usability. One of the most important elements to get right was to make sure the junction between the kitchen and snug had the right balance of visibility and connection.
The technical details
The kitchen is very bespoke. All of the units had either size or functional requirements that made the unique. This meant we produced 21 technical drawings in order for the carpenter to be able build it correctly.
Pieces of furniture
From the outset the client wanted the new kitchen to feel like a collection of furniture where possible. This worked really well as I could design some of the cabinetry to be movable which gave the client the option of changing the final layout to suit there needs and preferences. I like designing adaptability into my interiors and see it as a good way of future proofing our spaces.
I am all about function and how it can be a good starting point for our particular form of creativity. My designs are adaptive and work with the buildings not against them. If you want a kitchen that is bespoke your needs now and in the future I would love to hear from you.
