Ashridge - A hand-painted Shaker kitchen with banquette seating
Our clients were seeking a classic and stylish Shaker kitchen with a contemporary edge, to complement the architecture of their five-year-old house, which features a modern beamed ceiling and herringbone flooring. They also wanted a kitchen island to include banquette seating surrounding one end of a large industrial-style dining table with an Ash wooden table top that our clients already owned. We designed the main run of in frame cabinetry with a classic cornice to completely fit within the recessed space along the back wall behind the island, which is hand-painted in Stewkey Blue by Farrow & Ball. This includes a central inglenook and an overmantel that conceals a Siemens canopy extractor hood above a white Everhot range cooker. Overhead cabinets and undercounter storage cupboards were included within the design, together with oak dovetailed deep drawer storage boxes. A Samsung American-style fridge freezer was also integrated within the run. A 30mm thick quartz worktop in Tuscany colourway extends on either side of the range cooker and this is repeated on the kitchen island as well, with an overhang on both sides of the u-shaped design to accommodate bar stools beneath. In the centre of the island, we created u-shaped banquette seating upholstered in grey velvet to surround one end of the large rectangular dining table. To store their collection of fine wines, we specified two undercounter wine conditioners by Miele to fit within each end of the island to store reds, whites and Champagnes. Along the length of the island, facing the Everhot is a large ceramic double-bowl Belfast sink by Shaws of Darwen and a Quooker Cube tap, providing hot, cold, boiling and sparkling water. On the task side of the island, two 60cm dishwashers by Miele are integrated at either end of the cabinetry together with storage for pull-out bins and utility items.
On a further run to the left of the island, we designed and made a large Shaker two-door pantry larder, hand-painted in All White by Farrow & Ball and featuring deep dovetail drawer boxes beneath. Extending on either side of the pantry is natural oak contemporary open shelving to mix with the traditional design of the kitchen. A further freestanding cabinet with a natural solid oak top was handmade to sit beneath the client’s wall-mounted television. Cup handles and knobs are all brushed brass by Crofts and Assinder, with matching brass butt hinges.