The Tankerton Kitchen
The Backstory
We recently completed this stunning kitchen for a family in Tankerton. This project features gorgeous bespoke details and truly showcases our clients’ incredible style.
Our clients, Mick & Helen have lived in their home for a whopping 16 years, extending when they were expecting baby number 2. “In fact, the back of the house was off the day we brought our daughter home.” Helen jokes. And since then it had been a work in progress. Their first kitchen was put in at the time of extending, but didn’t last long.
“I questioned why you can go to a 1930’s house, and still find the original kitchen and yet ours was a clown’s car after 8 years; so, we decided that we’d invest in something built to last.”
“We live close to Canterbury as we are in Whitstable, and I really wanted to go with a local company. Our previous kitchen was a rushed decision, and it was already falling apart after only about 8 years. We took the very deliberate decision that we wanted to invest in high quality that will last from a sustainability perspective, and that’s very much what led us to Herringbone and the bespoke route. We also have an unusual age of house, one where many kitchens wouldn’t suit the era, so that was also a deciding factor – especially when Luke [our designer] clearly understood that challenge and ran with it.”
The Design
This project features a classic layout of a main run of cabinetry, an island parallel and a tall unit to one side of the room. Four tall units beautifully anchor the focal point of the space, including reeded glass wall units and the satin brass boiling water tap from Quooker over the ‘piecrust’ Belfast sink.
“We knew that we wanted the kitchen to flow with the rest of the house; that it needed to have that ‘red thread’ that joined the look and feel to everything else, especially as we’re very open-plan.”
Mick & Helen chose their cabinetry from our ‘Westgate’ range. The Westgate is named and modelled after the Canterbury Westgate Towers and works especially well with art-deco and mid-century inspired spaces. The kitchen island houses a Bora induction hob as well as a worktop overhang with plenty of seating, making this open plan space hugely social and inviting.
The Details: Colours, Hardware, Worktops & More
For their colour scheme, the couple decided on a gorgeous dark sage green, with a fun pop of pink inside the cabinetry! The Sparkbrook collection handles & knobs in a satin brass finish pair beautifully against the green while the quartz worktops in the colour ‘Verona’ adds depth and texture with its subtle, mottled veins.
“Our house is a real mix of mid century, living alongside art deco and what we’ve ended up with fits like a glove. By throwing in some ‘scandi’ lighting and accessories, it has all played beautifully with the kitchen palette, the reeded glass and the brassware which echo the art deco bones of the house but with a contemporary twist.”
“From the get-go we knew we wanted the Quooker tap for the boiling water – but the minute Luke showed us the fizzy water option we were sold. It’s such a brilliant thing to have, and has certainly reduced our plastic consumption as I’m a bit addicted to sparkling water. Best thing ever.
The Bora hob has also been an absolute game-changer, meaning we could move the hob to the island with no need for venting, as we have quite low ceilings. We opted in to having two ovens which again have come into their own as my husband is pescatarian, and now instead of having to keep things warm whilst juggling different temperatures, Sunday dinners for example, are now super-easy.”
“I think Luke deserves a special mention for his deep patience with me over the colour. He listened deeply, and we ended up with the perfect green and one of my absolute favourite details, the playful pop of house pink inside the cupboards.”
Making Your Dream Kitchen In The Workshop
One of the most exciting parts of being completely bespoke, is that we are able to create wonderful pieces tailor made to each client and their spaces.
We make all our kitchens, utilities, wardrobes and more in our very own workshop in Canterbury and make sure every unit is crafted with care and precision.
On Using Herringbone
“We first met Luke moments before the UK locked down, so very quickly everything changed. Luke kept in touch, and we swapped notes over email and zoom calls. Luke really understood what we were looking for really quickly and it then just iterated over time in terms of design, and he was especially patient with me over colour palette!
Herringbone were really flexible around the constraints of the pandemic and the team couldn’t have been more accommodating in finding different space in their very packed schedule.”
-Mick & Helen, Tankerton
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