Leicht Contino Pinta Lava handless island and Amica Laminate Gloss Mohair tall units, English White Quartz with a Sandstone Corian breakfast bar.
The curve of the island and the Corian curved overhanging breakfast bar are shaped to reflect the curve of the traditional stone
bay windows. This kitchen also houses the newest form of extraction technology in the form of a Bora hob, where all
the steam and cooking fumes are rapidly sucked down into the centre
of the hob before they are allowed to escape.
Location: Marlow, Buckinghamshire
The curve of the island and the Corian curved overhanging breakfast bar are shaped to reflect the curve of the traditional stone
bay windows. This kitchen also houses the newest form of extraction technology in the form of a Bora hob, where all
the steam and cooking fumes are rapidly sucked down into the centre
of the hob before they are allowed to escape.
Location: Marlow, Buckinghamshire
This design perfectly sits in the space it has been designed for, the tall units blend seamlessly into the back wall so much so that they do not appear to be taking up any space at all yet offer ample storage alongside housing the appliances. The curve of the island subtly reflects the curve of the original limestone bay window, but in a shallower arc, and in doing so gives the user of the kitchen a feeling of being involved with the architecture of the old building. Mrs Brown came to Imbue looking for an outstanding design which would sit well within the space but still be a very minimal style kitchen as she was renovating the entire house in a modern minimal style before moving in to the property in the spring of this year. I feel that the mohair, lava and two worktop colours used alongside the light grey for the walls and light wood flooring all compliment each other brilliantly, they appear natural and earthy which is just as I planned, as I wanted to bring in some of the colours found in the amazing views out the window to help the kitchen blend in to the space and feel more grounded in its surroundings.
The functionality of the kitchen is a big point in its design also, with a large prep area on the island, with the inclusion of a pop-up socket for any handheld appliances that may be needed. I kept all of the cooking appliances at one end of the kitchen including a revolutionary piece of technology in the form of the Bora induction hob which incorporates a downdraft extractor in its centre so that no steam or smells are allowed to escape as they are rapidly sucked down at source and extracted outside – this is the most efficient form of extraction on the market, and greatly helped with the minimalism of the design by doing away with the need for a ceiling mounted extractor. Another feature of this kitchen is the tambour unit with a worktop placed between the fridge and freezer acting as a toast and tea/coffee making area, which is kept separate from the main island cooking space.
To compliment the island design I designed the ceiling lighting also, so that there are 4 spotlights which follow the curve of the island and are switched independently to the other ceiling spot lights, also there are large uplights mounted on top of the three tall units either side of the existing fire place to give a dramatic lighting effect when the spotlights are turned off.
Although the island looks rather minimal in the photos the planning and design of its shape were really rather technical, each of the angled blenders between the units had to be specified to a specific angle and in specific widths so that no angles needed to be cut on site. The same goes for the rear of the island underneath the breakfast bar, each angled blended was manufactured to exact dimensions so that the fitters simply fixed each blender and panel together creating equal shadow gaps between all of the panels. I believe all in all it took the fitters 3-4 days to put the entire kitchen together prior to worktop templating as minimal cutting was required on site.
The functionality of the kitchen is a big point in its design also, with a large prep area on the island, with the inclusion of a pop-up socket for any handheld appliances that may be needed. I kept all of the cooking appliances at one end of the kitchen including a revolutionary piece of technology in the form of the Bora induction hob which incorporates a downdraft extractor in its centre so that no steam or smells are allowed to escape as they are rapidly sucked down at source and extracted outside – this is the most efficient form of extraction on the market, and greatly helped with the minimalism of the design by doing away with the need for a ceiling mounted extractor. Another feature of this kitchen is the tambour unit with a worktop placed between the fridge and freezer acting as a toast and tea/coffee making area, which is kept separate from the main island cooking space.
To compliment the island design I designed the ceiling lighting also, so that there are 4 spotlights which follow the curve of the island and are switched independently to the other ceiling spot lights, also there are large uplights mounted on top of the three tall units either side of the existing fire place to give a dramatic lighting effect when the spotlights are turned off.
Although the island looks rather minimal in the photos the planning and design of its shape were really rather technical, each of the angled blenders between the units had to be specified to a specific angle and in specific widths so that no angles needed to be cut on site. The same goes for the rear of the island underneath the breakfast bar, each angled blended was manufactured to exact dimensions so that the fitters simply fixed each blender and panel together creating equal shadow gaps between all of the panels. I believe all in all it took the fitters 3-4 days to put the entire kitchen together prior to worktop templating as minimal cutting was required on site.