As part of their whole home refurbishment, which included a side return extension to their 1970’s property in Surrey, our clients commissioned Searle & Taylor to design a luxurious, yet minimalist L-shaped contemporary handleless kitchen. Our clients, a professional couple that share their home with two Madagascan Coton de Tulear dogs, wanted an open plan kitchen with clean lines and pale cabinetry that would blend well with the rest of their modern interior. They had already chosen the herringbone ash porcelain tiles from the Bathroom Warehouse in Winchester, which would provide the basis for the kitchen cabinetry’s neutral tones.
The brief included plentiful storage, a kitchen island with bar stool seating for two people, and storage for their collection of fine wines. Having seen the range of Gaggenau Vario 400 appliances, together with the Novy Panorama Pro 90cm Vented Downdraft Induction Hob demonstrated to them at our Winchester kitchen showroom, our clients, who love to cook and entertain, specified them for their new kitchen.
Using all available space, we designed an L-shaped kitchen using furniture from the premium EWE brand. The tall units and sink run feature matt glass handleless door fronts in Fango colourway, while the undercounter door fronts for the island are also matt glass in Sand. As with every Intuo kitchen, all internal cabinetry and fittings are by Blum.
The surfaces are all Dekton Radium by Cosentino in a 20mm thickness for the sink run while the worktop for the 3-metre by 1 metre island is in an 80mm thickness to add a different dimension to the aesthetic. The dual height island also benefits from a raised L-shaped 40mm thick breakfast bar in black oak, designed to complement the height of the Blake bar stools by Mindy Brown.
Flush-fitted within the the surface of the island is a 90cm Novy Panorama Pro Vented Downdraft Induction Hob. This has an integrated ventilation tower that rises up to 30cm to remove cooking vapours when cooking is taking place, and then retracts back into the surface to be completely concealed when cooking has ended. This dual function hob with integrated extraction means that no overhead cooker hood is required. Instead, above the island are three pendant lights by Libra with an antique glass finish.
The wet run behind the island comprises overhead and undercounter cabinetry bi-sected by an antique bronzed glass splashback that sits behind the Franke stainless steel undermount sink and stainless steel Quooker Flex Boiling Water Tap with Cube function that delivers hot, cold, and 100° boiling water, together with sparkling water all from the same tap. In the cabinetry beneath the worktop is bin storage and a 60cm integrated dishwasher by Gaggenau. To the right-hand side of the wet run are a tall integrated Gaggenau fridge adjacent to a tall freezer, both concealed by cupboard doors.
The cooking run facing the island includes further cupboards that incorporate two Blum Space Towers with four drawers in each for dry food storage and a housing for a bank of Gaggenau cooking appliances that includes two side-by-side 60cm pyrolytic ovens with side-opening doors. A 45cm combination microwave and a 45cm steam oven are installed above them. To the left of this run is a tall wine climate cabinet with UV glazed door front by Gaggenau with separate temperature zones for preserving our clients’ collection of fine wines.
With thanks to Teddie and Bailey, the Coton de Tulear dogs.
Searle & Taylor has been designing and creating beautiful traditional bespoke and contemporary kitchens for clients.
