Signature Bespoke Handpainted Kitchen in a Mid-century Modern Style

We were briefed to design a modern Signature Bespoke kitchen for the newly-built home of our repeat clients, who are property developers with a keen interest in collecting 20th Century antiques including glass and ceramics. The kitchen is part of a larger open plan living space with double aspect glass panel doors leading to the garden. The room’s interior features a Birch-faced plywood ceiling and American Walnut rectangular feature panels mounted on white walls on either side of the island.

The kitchen features a single run of bespoke tall cabinetry with 22mm thick door and drawer fronts. This is situated behind a large kitchen island that acts as the demarcation between the kitchen and living space. Our clients specified their colour scheme to be in a dramatic contrast to the natural timbers cladding the walls and ceiling and the tall run is handpainted in Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore Paints with the island painted in Grapefruit 302 paint by Finnish brand, Tikkurila, a mustard yellow colour, which is colour-matched with the glass splashback. 

The tall run includes a side-by-side cooling wall comprised of a tall integrated fridge, tall wine cabinet with a UV glass front and a tall integrated freezer, all by Liebherr. Next to it are storage cupboards and housing for a Generation 7000 Pureline 60cm built-in pyrolytic oven by Miele, with a matching combination microwave above it. Further storage is situated above and below a mid-height integrated 60cm dishwasher, also by Miele.

To the right of the tall cabinetry is an inset area for the Franke undermount sink and chrome Quooker Flex 3-in-1 boiling water tap within a 20mm worktop in Trillium by Dekton, with bin and utility cupboards underneath. Directly behind is a mustard yellow splashback above an upstand with a shelf, also in Trillium. A visible walnut horizontal handle rail is designed beneath the worktop as a reference to the walnut wall panels in the kitchen. This accent is also featured throughout the island where the soft-close doors and drawers have chamfered tops and walnut handle rails, making opening them effortless.

On the working side of the kitchen island are different depth soft-close drawers for cutlery and spices and to house plates, pans and crockery. On the living side of the island soft-close drawers are intersected by open shelving to feature some of the client’s decorative ceramics by Clarice Cliff.

To the left of the island is a raised 60mm thickness solid walnut breakfast bar above a recess for comfortable bar stool seating. Integrated with the surface is a Kaelo, a dry cold chamber for preserving chilled wine at the perfect temperature for serving. For surface cooking, in the task area of the island, is an 80cm Novy Easy Vented Downdraft Induction Hob with a Novy Gas PRO wok burner integrated directly into the Dekton Trillium worktop. With no requirement for overhead extraction, our client chose three original 1970’s glass pendant lamps by Holmegaard to provide a perfect Mid-century aesthetic in this kitchen.

Designers: Gavin Alexander and Darren Taylor

Photographer: Paul Craig

As seen in: Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms Magazine, The Insider, Designerati Magazine and designerati.com