Caption:
This bespoke painted Shaker Kitchen by Higham Furniture is painted in Obsidian Green by the Little Greene Paint Company. It features a stunning Arabescato worktop and splashback. Knobs and handles are all by Corston Kilburn Furniture in Antique Brass finish. The kitchen has a Rangemaster range cooker with an induction top.

About this kitchen project, price, photographer and contact details:

To create this kitchen designed for entertaining, Higham Furniture worked in collaboration with Trevor Brown Architects, the firm responsible for refurbishing and extending this semi-detached five-bedroom Edwardian home in Kensal Rise, North-West London. The clients, a professional couple with two young children, wanted the overall space to combine a stunning contemporary open plan aesthetic with a modern in frame Shaker kitchen diner that referenced the original Victorian interior architecture in the rest of the property. As with all Higham Furniture projects, the kitchen was designed at its London studio in Fulham, and all cabinetry was handmade at Higham Furniture’s cabinet workshop in Denmead, Hampshire.

Arriving through an internal door from the original property, three wooden steps lead down to a short walkway into the extended side return. This includes a glass roof light along the entire length of extension, with a tall feature window to the side of it, which is designed to immediately draw the eye. This opens into a capacious 50 sq. metre space that incorporates the open plan kitchen and dining area, with a large 3.2 metre x 1.24 metre central island. Beyond the kitchen is a living area and TV room that features full-height Crittall- style doors along two elevations that lead directly to the garden.

All kitchen cabinetry is handpainted in Obsidian Green 216, a dramatic ‘almost black’ colour by Little Greene Paint Company, with the walls, ceiling and panelling painted in Shirting 129, also by Little Greene.
A long single run of symmetrical tall classic Shaker cabinetry faces the island which is set on a 70mm inset plinth. The door fronts feature 70mm rails and stiles and carcases are made from lacquered veneered ply with oak internals that include handmade dovetailed drawer boxes. To the right is a tall double door cupboard adjacent to tall housing for a Fisher & Paykel French Door Fridge Freezer. On the left-hand side is a further double door cupboard next to a Dual Zone Wine Cooler, also by Fisher & Paykel.

On both sides are top box cabinets for storing less-used items. Adjacent to them, are two overhead cabinets with decorative reeded glass fronts on either side of a shorter central housing for an 1100cm concealed extractor by Westin. This is directly above a 1100cm Rangemaster Nexus Range Cooker with an induction cooktop in stainless steel that is flanked on either side by a set of two deep pan drawers beneath a cutlery and utensil drawer. The 20mm thick splashback and worktops are Arabescato marble, which has a deep grey vein running through it to perfectly complement the monochrome palette.

The task side of the central kitchen island includes storage cabinets, pull-out bins and a 60cm integrated dishwasher by Miele. Cut into the worktop is a one and a half bowl undermount sink by Blanco and a Quooker Flex tap with CUBE fitting that provides hot, cold, boiling and sparkling water from the same tap. On the facing side of the island is a recessed area to accommodate three bar stools for informal dining and socialising, with an open shelving bookcase on either side of the seating area for storing the client’s collection of cookery books. Handles and butt hinges are all from the Corston Kilburn collection to add to the styling of this Shaker kitchen. The pendant lights were chosen by the clients.
This side of the island faces the dining area, which is situated beneath the roof light. This features a single run of stylish space-saving banquette seating against a painted Edwardian-style panelled wall, with a long dining table and dining chairs facing the banquette, to seat six people overall. The herringbone flooring was chosen by the client and was laid as part of the original renovation works.

In the recessed area next to the entrance walkway is a large walk-in pantry for storing dry goods, with baskets for vegetables and bread with glazed double doors and internal lighting to make a feature of the space at night. The interior features open shelving in a u-shape configuration both above and beneath the Arabescato marble countertop, and is also painted in Obsidian Green 216.

Shaker kitchens by Higham Furniture start from £35,000

Please credit photographer: Darren Chung

Contact:
Higham Furniture
T: 020 7381 0488
www.higham.co.uk