This young and vibrant family wanted an open plan space where they could cook, see their children play and interact whilst they were in the kitchen, a social space to cook for friends / family and be part of the conversation at the same time. We designed the perfect over sized banquette seating to maximise the number of guests in addition to conventional dining chairs, the perfect balance in every way. Adding mirrors helped soften the open plan feel allowing softness and movement throughout the day and evening.

We love this kitchen! Our wonderful clients had already transformed much of their home with incredible style and care. But when it came to the kitchen, they hit a wall. Exhausted and unsure how to approach such an important space, they didn’t want to risk mistakes - especially with their creative energy running low. They reached out to us for help with what was, frankly, a rather sorry space: a dated, poorly laid-out kitchen and a dark extension that left the cook cut off from the rest of the family. It lacked flow, function, and joy. Together, we transformed it into a bright, colourful, and uplifting room — a kitchen that finally works beautifully. There’s now space for everything, cosy seating for the family to gather, and an easy sense of fun and delight. The brief was simple but meaningful: to create a warm, welcoming heart of the home - a place for living, cooking, and connecting. With their love of colour and confident sense of style, our clients were ready to embrace a bold, joyful design. We also connected the kitchen to the family room, bringing in the yellow from the kitchen to unify the spaces. This allowed us to add much-needed family storage - one side serving as a pantry. We also created a built-in banquette with storage and a coffee station, so these coffee lovers now have a dedicated space with all their coffee accoutrements to hand. The finished kitchen strikes a perfect balance: the gorgeous yolky yellow cabinetry (Little Greene Yellow-Pink) glows against soft, stony white walls (Little Greene Portland Stone Pale), bringing energy without overwhelm. Clean-lined bespoke cabinetry, graphic tiles, and a lightly marbled worktop keep the space feeling fresh and modern, while playful lighting details add the perfect finishing touch.

We were commissioned to design and make a bespoke kitchen and a separate dining space with banquette seating for our clients, who were in the process of having a new private home built on the outskirts of Winchester. Following these initial projects, we were then briefed to design and create all the fitted furniture for the pantry, laundry room, boot room, banquette seating for the bedroom, a walk-in wardrobe and a bathroom vanity. We worked closely with our clients who had a distinct vision of the aesthetic they were seeking, so our role was to interpret their requirements to create a beautiful kitchen and dining area, designed with perfect flow and functionality, and perfectly in-keeping with the rest of the space. The entire ground floor is neutrally decorated in Stone 1 by Paint & Paper Library on the walls and ceiling. It has large black steel Crittall windows throughout, with full-height Crittall doors leading to the garden. Matching internal glazed panel doors lead to a separate drawing room, while the rest of the ground floor is dedicated to the open plan kitchen and entertaining area. The hand-laid patterned Ash flooring was chosen during the design process so the dark stain of the vertical grain Oak veneered fronts, and plinth on the island was chosen to complement it. All Antique Brass knobs and handles are by Armac Martin and all Antique Brass wall brackets are by Corston Architectural. These complement the pendant and wall lights by Apparatus Studio and wall lights above the sink run by Blue Print Lighting NYC. There are two main runs of cabinetry which are made using dark stained oak carcases and solid oak shelves. The 22mm thick door and drawer fronts feature 18mm broken ogee bead mouldings and all are handpainted in Stone 2 by Paint & Paper Library. The tall run behind the island runs floor-to-ceiling with a moulded cornice at the top matching the cornicing in the rest of the room. Five storage top boxes run along the length of the cabinetry and are situated above (from left) a tall integrated cabinet for glasses, next to an integrated tall freezer by Gaggenau. At the centre is housing for a bank of Gaggenau Vario 400 cooking appliances consisting of a single oven with a combination microwave above and a 29cm culinary drawer beneath. A reduced height top box and a shallow drawer for racks and trays are above and below. To the right is a tall integrated fridge next to an integrated three-zone wine conditioning cabinet, all by Gaggenau. On the task side, directly in front of the bank of ovens, is a personalised Gaggenau cook centre mounted within the 3.6m x 1.3m island’s 30mm thick Bianco Superiore Honed Quartzite worktop. This comprises a domino gas hob, domino induction hob and domino teppan yaki, separated by two downdraft extractors in-between and all feature rotary controls integrated within cabinetry beneath. The entire hob set is rebated into the worktop providing a completely flush finish. Also on the task side are handleless deep drawers for pots and pans beneath handleless shallow drawers for cutlery and utensils. At one end of the island is a square ceramic undermount sink by Shaws and Quooker Fusion Pro3 Boiling Water Tap with a special finish, which is used for food preparation. The facing side of the island features further handleless cabinets, all with pull-out shelves on soft close runners, together with further shallow storage drawers above them. The long sink run extends beneath a large Crittall window. Undercounter from left is an integrated pull-out fridge by Liebherr next to two pull-out storage drawers and a cabinet for pull-out bins. At the centre is a Shaws Entwistle single bowl sink with an aged brass Perrin & Rowe Ionian Tap. Beneath the farmhouse style sink is a 30mm quartzite sill to accommodate for spils and splashes protecting the painted woodwork of the sink cabinet, a signature addition by Searle & Taylor. To the right of the sink is a 60cm integrated dishwasher by Miele adjacent to further deep and shallow storage drawers. At the end of the run is a specially designed cabinet for two dark oak pull-out trays and two solid dark oak pull-out chopping boards, another signature design by Searle & Taylor. Matching the quartzite worktop is a 30mm splashback and upstand in the same material. In addition, there are four 30mm thick quartzite shelves with with ogee edged moulding, that sit upon the Corston Architectural brackets. To the right of the kitchen area is the dining area within a triple window recess. Built within the bay is a large bespoke banquette seating area made by Searle & Taylor, with piano-hinged lids to provide hidden cushion storage behind the seats. LED lighting runs at the base of the cabinetry to make a feature of the seating at night. On either side of the banquette are alcove cabinets in the same dark oak stained veneer as the kitchen island and kitchen accents. An oval dark oak Miniforms Monoplauto dining table from Go Modern sits at the centre with two further Fritz Harken Series 7 dining chairs from The Conran Shop.

Spacieuse salle à manger avec une grande table en bois et des chaises scandinaves modernes. Moulures sur les portes blanches et au niveau des fenêtres. Beau parquet au sol.

A relaxed family room has been created in what was originally the rear servants wing, complete with maids stair up to the first floor bedrooms. Interior design, including the under stair joinery, are by Studio Gorman. Photograph by Prue Ruscoe

Chris Snook

Damian James Bramley DJB Photography