The Berkhamsted Kitchen, Utility & Bar Project

The Design

The family had bought their home almost five years ago, in 2020, and although it was very liveable, they always intended to renovate the space. They wanted to make the space more their own and allow for a better social space. The family love to entertain, they are often hosting their big families and having friends come and stay and needed a design that can hold a lot of people. They wanted to have everyone hang out in the kitchen, and for it to feel like the heartbeat of the home.  Rob helped them in designing a space that could both be used for entertaining and for normal family day-to-day life.

“Rob was excellent to work with and got us so excited about what we could achieve, from our very first chat. The experience we had working with Rob, doing majority of meetings virtually, was brilliant. We are thrilled with the final product; the craftsmanship of the kitchen is second to none.”

We worked together with the clients architects Emma from Bespoke Berkhamsted and contractors Swat Design Build. The bespoke cabinetry was designed in our Westminster style cabinetry, which works beautifully in this modern open family kitchen. In terms of the design, it all fell into place rather easily except for the bar area, which required a bit more thought to make sure it fits well into the space. Using the same colour on the bar and island helps bring the whole room together.

“We absolutely adore our new kitchen space, it is everything we had hoped it would be. It works brilliantly on a day to day, with everything in the perfect space and position. The height of the space draws you through, almost from the front door, and glimpses of the kitchen, as soon as you enter the house, still make us smile.”

“The larder is my personal favourite part, with everything tidied away until I need it. I love the double doors, that open to reveal the spice racks - the attention to detail is beautiful. Rupert’s favourite part is the bar area; which was the trickiest thing to get to work. The addition of the antique mirrored glass gives it a ‘wow’ factor with the concertina doors, and I don’t necessarily think people would know that two freezers sit at the bottom”

The Details: Colours, Handles & Bespoke Details

The cabinetry on the wall run is a bespoke colour made for our clients, which goes perfectly with the island and bar which are painted in Herringbone Paints Container Green. The large doors allow for natural light to come through and the colour changes with the light throughout the day. The handles are Armac Martin Cotswold Knobs and Cups, which look great together.

“One of the trickiest parts for us, with the kitchen, was to finally pick a colour. But we’re delighted with the effect of the two colours on our cabinetry, when paired with the wooden flooring and the interesting quartz work top.”

Family Life

How a space functions in the normal everyday world is so important to us, we are very happy to hear that it works perfectly for their young family. Imagining how the space will change your family life is very difficult in the middle of the process.

“As a result of living in the house for three and a half years before renovating, one of the hardest things was to knock down walls, and ultimately destroy the home we had come to love; where we had raised our young children. The emotion was short-lived thankfully, because as the walls went back up and the reality of the home we were building came into view, it was all worth it.”

The whole project has turned out so beautifully, and learning that it works well for both hosting and daily life makes us all very proud and happy to have had the opportunity to work on this project. We wish the family a lifetime of happiness in their new beautiful home.