Designing a striking kitchen

Combining a contemporary design of kitchen into a house with traditional features means that every tiny detail must be carefully selected to ensure that the area complements rather than clashes with the existing house. Luckily our Sales Designer Kyle Gasking rose to this challenge when designing this striking kitchen which has a distinct hygge style to it.

Kyle said: “The kitchen had to be laid out in such a way as to provide a very social atmosphere for anyone cooking within the limited space. This included a connection with a breakfast bar and dining room area to ensure the client could interact with her husband and children while cooking. For this reason, having a hob on a central island, facing into the room was paramount.”

The existing layout was U-shaped but not well utilised. As part of the renovations new large picture windows were installed on one wall so that the client could make the most of the connection with the garden space while cooking. As frequent entertainers they also wished for a large dining space which then flowed into the traditional living room and yet still retained a cosy atmosphere.

Kyle used colour to link between the design features as the client wanted to change the colours within the room to suit the season. So a very simple neutral warm colour was used as the base of the design with modern, light grey, flat faced Leicht Ceres doors, while the island had a chunky 60mm full wrap around breakfast bar feature in a delightful walnut.

The colours and the surround panels for the kitchen tall units were mirrored on the sideboard and TV areas to ensure the room flowed. The mirrored splashback was used on the sideboard and sink run areas to reflect the views from the windows and bring the outdoors into the room. Silestone worktops in white Arabesque complemented the design.

Surrounding the tall units and the TV unit in the living room, thick Stoneham Ebony contrasting panels were selected as a special feature. Lighting up the room are clever lighting panels beneath the breakfast bar which highlights the grain of the wood and this impressive breakfast bar design.

It’s often the finer details and little extras that can make a kitchen. In this home Kyle designed glass units on the dining room sideboard area to provide a display area for the client’s unique crockery. This area also had to double up as a drinks area, so a drinks fridge was installed behind one of the base unit doors.

And the verdict? Kyle adds: “I love this design and would choose a similar one for my own house! The clients are equally pleased and say that we have created a stunning space, but at the same time have created a very practical working kitchen.”