Referred by a previous Higham client, this family came to us with a clear vision: a kitchen built for passionate cooking and generous entertaining, centred around a large island and a high-performance range cooker worthy of the space. Set within a 1970s property, the new extension gave us something rare, a room with dramatic vaulted ceilings and genuine architectural ambition, and the design brief was to match it.

The result is a classic English Shaker kitchen that feels both rooted and expansive. Painted cabinetry in Paint & Paper Library Stone III runs the perimeter, its soft off-white warmth sitting naturally beneath the soaring ceiling. The palette, cream, sage and stained oak, was chosen to ground the architecture rather than compete with it, with the sage in particular bringing a sense of the outdoors in, creating a space that feels calm at human scale even within such generous proportions.

At the heart of the room sits a substantial central island in oak with a Jacobean stain. A 40mm honed black granite worktop gives it real presence, the deep, dark surface anchoring the island against the lighter Valetta quartz of the perimeter and drawing the eye across the room. The surrounding worktops are specified at 30mm with an Ogee edge, a traditional detail that reinforces the classical character of the design throughout.

The cooking zone has been treated as a focal point in its own right. A curved alcove in heavily veined Valetta quartz frames the Lacanche Chalonnais range cooker, a 1405mm professional range with multiple independently controlled ovens and a generous hob surface, built for the kind of cooking and entertaining this family had in mind. Integrated extraction is hidden within the curve of the arch, flanked by traditional brass sconces, turning a utilitarian zone into a classical centrepiece. A Quooker Fusion Round tap in patinated brass delivers instant boiling water alongside a standard mixer, removing the small frictions that accumulate quickly in a heavily used kitchen. Centred beneath the large multi-pane window, a Shaws Ribchester double bowl farmhouse sink brings texture and authenticity to the sink run.

The walk-in pantry is a room in itself, soaring glazed folding doors with transom windows above, sage-green tongue-and-groove panelling inside, open shelves on brass brackets, bespoke pull-outs, and an integrated wine cooler and fridge. A hideaway dresser with bi-fold pocket doors tucks neatly to one side, giving the family a dedicated space for morning coffee and breakfast preparation, entirely out of sight when not in use. A Siemens integrated fridge-freezer, Miele dishwasher and hidden charging drawer near the seating area complete a kitchen designed as carefully for everyday life as it is for cooking at its best.

  • Style: Shaker with 60mm rails and stiles, cockbeaded drawer fronts
  • Drawers: Dovetailed Oak
  • Kitchen paint colours: Main runs – Paint & Paper Library Stone III (203); island – oak with a Jacobean stain
  • Pantry paint colours: Little Greene Sage Green 80; glazed doors and panels – Paint & Paper Library Stone II (202)
  • Wall colour: Farrow & Ball French Gray
  • Handles: YesterHome, Classic Aged Brass – 5″ Drawer Pull on non-shaker drawers, Mushroom Knob 36mm, Bow Handle throughout island and on shaker drawers, Turn Cupboard Latch on sink unit
  • Worktop: Classic Quartz Valetta HS323, 30mm polished (perimeter and pantry); black granite, 40mm honed (island)
  • Splashback: Classic Quartz Valetta HS323
  • Sink: Shaws of Darwen Ribchester 800, double bowl farmhouse
  • Tap: Quooker Fusion Round PRO3, patinated brass
  • Range: Lacanche Chalonnais 1405mm, stainless steel with brass trim
  • Extractor: Lacanche twin extraction unit

Photography: Paul Craig @paullmcraig(opens in new tab)

 

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