Please credit: Higham Furniture
www.higham.co.uk
Please credit photographer: Paul Craig @paullmcraig

Caption information:
This modern painted in frame Shaker kitchen was designed and made by Higham Furniture. It features a 3-metre Nordic-style ebony-stained oak island with storage cupboards and drawers on the task and facing sides. The 30mm thick Bianco Eclipse quartzite worktop extends at one end to enable seating around it for four people for informal dining. All major appliances, apart from the Bora Pure Surface induction cooktop with integrated extractor are camouflaged from immediate view, with two side-by-side Neff 60cm built-in ovens installed undercounter at the far-end of the island. Tall cabinetry includes a full-height breakfast station, flanked on either side by an integrated larder fridge and freezer by Liebherr. The sink run includes a quartzite splashback with a floating shelf above the worktop, a signature style for Higham. Within the worktop is a Rustique ceramic sink by Rangemaster with a Quooker Fusion boiling water tap. Two integrated undercounter 60cm Miele dishwashers are installed in cabinetry beneath. Handles are by Alexander & Wilks, wall lights are by Pooky and cabinetry is painted in Slaked Lime by Little Greene. Kitchens by Higham Furniture start from £35,000. www.higham.co.uk

About this kitchen – full case study details:
Comprising part of a new 42 sq. metre rear garden extension to a four-bedroomed late-Victorian semi-detached house in South-west London, this elegant in frame modern Shaker kitchen was designed, made and installed by Higham Furniture. The extension features glazed panel doors along the rear elevation with a vista to a large landscaped sloping garden.

The original brief from the clients, a professional couple with two children, was for a kitchen that would feature a single wall of panelled Shaker-fronted storage cabinets that would also conceal tall cooling appliances. They wanted a large statement island with natural timber fronts to incorporate all aspects of the kitchen’s functionality, which was to include a seating area for informal dining. The clients wanted all appliances, apart from the hob, to be camouflaged.

Tim Higham, founder of Higham Furniture had several suggestions at the design stage. The first was that the size of the large solus island they initially wanted was to be reduced for better traffic flow in the room. It would also allow for a single large slab of 30mm thick Bianco Eclipse polished quartzite to be fabricated for the worktop at the maximum slab size of 3050mm x 1950mm. This striking material, chosen by the clients, has a deep mottled grey vein running through it, which is different for every slab. The alternative would have been to glue two separate smaller slabs together to create the larger worktop, which would look less impressive, as it would not be book matched and would have a seam running through it.

Tim’s next suggestion was that the functionality of the island could be compromised by incorporating both the cooking and sink runs if it was also to include a dining and social space at one end of it. Not only would there be splashes and spills, there would also be nowhere else to stack plates, pots and pans straight after cooking, so the surface area on the island could become cluttered and look uninviting. Instead, Tim suggested a separate sink run behind the island. The clients agreed.

At the wholly-owned Higham Furniture workshop in Denmead, Hampshire, the team of cabinetmakers created in-frame cock-bead Shaker kitchen cabinetry that comprises lacquered oak veneered ply carcases with tulipwood doors and drawers fitted on maple frames. All doors feature 60mm rails and stiles except for a corner piece adjacent to the end of the shelf, which is a panelled Shaker style All painted cabinetry is Slaked Lime by Little Greene.

The tall run includes a Liebherr integrated larder fridge to the left hand of two double-door cabinets, one a breakfast station, the other a full-height larder. To the right-hand side is an integrated tall freezer, also by Liebherr. Above are three sets of double-door top boxes and one with a single door nearest the glazed panel doors. A gap of 10cm above the top boxes allows for the ventilation required by the cooling appliances. There is a 70mm inset plinth featured throughout the kitchen cabinetry and the island.

The central breakfast station was designed to suit the needs of the clients who also wanted open shelving to store cook books, crockery and small appliances together with a bottle rack for red wines above a shelf for wine glasses. Underneath the Bianco Eclipse shelf are three drawers for kitchen utensils and serveware flanked by two pull- out wooden trays on either side.

To complement the neutral porcelain C’a Pietra floor tiles and the pale-coloured cabinetry, Tim suggested the Oak cockbeaded frame, and Shaker door and drawer fronts on the island be painted with an Ebony-stain to bring out the warmth of the woodgrain. This also extends to the legs of the supported overhang, which provides enough table space for four people to sit around it, another signature style by Higham Furniture. A mix of storage cupboards and drawers are on both the task and facing sides.

The task side features a deep pan drawer beneath a shallow cutlery drawer, which was designed with a deep drawer front to disguise the motor for the Bora Pure Surface Induction Cooktop with integrated extractor within the island. The surface of this appliance is flush-mounted within the worktop to provide a seamless view of it. By opting for a vented induction hob, the clients did not need an island hood overhead, thus adding to the camouflaged kitchen aesthetic they required.

The end panel of the island facing tall cabinetry incorporates two side-by-side Neff 60cm built-in ovens. The clients were less keen to have ovens at waist height behind a cabinetry door-front so this was the ideal option for the cooking zone. By situating the ovens facing the tall cabinetry ensured that no additional cooking appliances were immediately visible when walking in to the kitchen. Two further slim drawers for oven trays were designed beneath each one.

The sink run is situated against the back wall behind the island. It features the same 30mm quartzite material used for the worktop, together with a splashback and a quartzite shelf on antique brass brackets, a signature style by Higham Furniture. Beneath is undercounter cabinetry for additional storage, also concealing two Miele integrated dishwashers. The undermount ceramic sink is by Rangemaster with a patinated brass Quooker Fusion Boiling Water Tap. All aged brass knobs and handles are by Alexander & Wilks. Wall colour is Portland Stone Pale by Little Greene. Wall lights are by Pooky.