A Timeless Kitchen Design for Wells Family Home
Every kitchen we design evolves from a personal story and by listening to our customers.
Never was this more the case than this home in Wells, which was full of characterful features, but needed a new kitchen to create a stunning but practical open plan space for the whole family to enjoy.
The starting point for this design was the focal point of their original kitchen: a 2 oven oil-fired Aga in bottle green! As our customer explained: “When I moved into my home a couple of years ago, I inherited an Aga, which I had no familiarity with or knowledge of how to use.”
When we started the process to redesign this kitchen, the Aga did not feature and our customer was clear that they wanted an “all singing, all dancing with whistles” integrated oven with a warming drawer and induction hob.
However, as the design evolved through careful consideration and reflection about how the kitchen was currently being used, it was apparent the Aga had become part of family life. More than that, it has become the heart of the kitchen, as it provided a constant heat source, which in a Victorian Farmhouse, had been invaluable in the chillier months, as well as drying endless clothes from teenage sons.
Having carefully reviewed different oven and range cooker options, our customer decided on part-exchanging the old Aga with the same model, in a new colour, that would blend perfectly with the theme of the new kitchen: white.
This became the ‘story’ that is at the heart of this kitchen design.
Now came the fun part from a design perspective – understanding and working with the aesthetics of the home and the owner’s taste in interiors. Their love of mixing old and new, allowed us to place the very best bespoke kitchen cabinetry, alongside the traditional Aga.
Our designer suggested pared back and timeless shaker style cabinetry in a pale grey finish, with Silestone worktops in white to match the Aga. The design needed to ensure that the cabinetry would not date over time, being made of solid oak (with a grey wash to tone down the amber hues of the oak to complement the white and light grey palette) with solid painted Tulip wood doors.
With the focal point defined, the second key element centred on refrigeration, and for this we recommended going to the opposite end of the scale, in terms of contemporary design, with Fisher & Paykel – this really is the ultimate in modern and sustainable cooling technology and it most certainly does what it says on the tin!
Their integrated French door fridge provides maximum capacity as well as a spacious bottom freezer drawer; with both elements concealed behind shaker doors and drawer fronts to provide the perfect pairing with old and new, whilst adding an element of surprise.
This theme continued with bi-fold doors opening up into a pantry and coffee station on either side, with deep drawers below. Our client wanted these functional cabinets to look like a dresser.
For the owner of this Wells farmhouse, this new kitchen was an investment in their home, family and lifestyle.
It was imperative to get the design brief right, as every customer has different values, tastes and budgets, meaning every kitchen is a one-off by its very nature.
Customer testimonial: “The attention to detail was outstanding – everyone we dealt with was professional and committed to helping us achieve our dream kitchen.”