Before and After: From cruddy to country
At the end of 2019 I put the finishing touches to a kitchen that was many months in the design and build process.
Client Brief:
My client, originally from Scotland had always dreamed of having a country kitchen with lots of detail, warmth and charm. The name Charles Rennie Mackintosh was thrown around a couple of times which certainly put the pressure on me, the clients expectations were clearly set very high but also gave me a very clear visual of the style she liked.
Before: With space at a premium and two entrances in to the kitchen it was always going to be hard to change the layout of the appliances and fortunately working within this space will always be functional for that reason.
After: This kitchen was all about the detail, and how to maximize the impact without taking up and loosing too much space.
The pantry, which is opposite the hallway entrance had always been a square eye sore. I told my client I wanted to make it look more like a piece of furniture and vary the depth to take away from its heaviness. By having tall elegant bi-folding doors and lead light windows at the top it was definitely a Mackintosh inspired look from his amazing chairs.
No sacrificing on function though as we made sure the top part of the unit was deep enough for all my clients requirements and easy to access drawers under bench height.
With the main area of the kitchen I managed to get some symmetry around the oven using a blind corner to the right and drawers to the left for access and function. For simplicity of the visual I manufactured the drawers to the left of the oven with the same molding as a door, I then put them on push-to-open runners and offset the door knob to finish the balance.
A beautiful hand made butler sink was sourced to give some authenticity to the space and a modern integrated dishwasher allowed us to not have too many things fighting for the limelight.
depth and character we given to the design with my hand finished details from the shaped toe kicks and fluted column panels, up to the Flemish glass lead light windows and shaped cornice molding.
I am very fortunate to have a fantastic stone fabricator that I work with, who fully embraced my requirements for detail. He manufactured the bench with no joins in the corners just behind the hob and sink really completing this amazing transformation.
As with any renovation, the final judgement comes down to how the client reacts and feels towards their new space.. and by her reviews I know this is one very happy customer!
If you would like to know more about this, any of my other projects or would like some advice on your own kitchen projects please feel free to contact me.
Jack Bradbrook for Interior Fittings (NZ)
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