How to create a rustic, East Coast kitchen in an English home

A mix of Shaker-style cabinetry and cherry red injects the kitchen of this London home with plenty of New England charm.

Katrin Cargill Interiors
(Image credit: Katrin Cargill Interiors)

Born in America and raised in Britain, interior designer Katrin Cargill fuses New England influences with bold colour and simple patterns. An example of her distinctive approach is the kitchen of her London home, which she doubled in size, creating a generous space filled with light from a roof lantern and two full-length French doors.

There are breaks in the run of wall-hung cabinetry to make the room feel less crowded. Designed by Ray Munn Kitchens with Neptune joinery, it is painted in Little Greene’s Gauze, a pale green-grey. The walls are in Dulux’s Jabot. ‘It’s a lovely, honest white – about the best you can get. It’s not pink, or blue or green.’ To reinforce the rustic, East Coast feel, Katrin covered the walls in 6mm vertical planks. ‘I didn’t want plaster, wallpaper or paint. These add a bit of texture and interest.’

‘It’s divine: the heat is much higher than from a conventional hearth.’

Taking a cue from a similar design she had seen in a Belgian house, Katrin had the fireplace built from scratch, raising the hearth to eye level with log storage underneath. ‘It’s divine: the heat is much higher than from a conventional hearth.’

The table is from Howe London and the chairs sourced through Tobias and the Angel. Seat covers are in simple sacking cloth, edged in green velvet; curtains by C&C Milano hang from steel poles by Jim Lawrence. The red is echoed on the wing-back chairs, covered in gingham cotton from Fabrics Galore.

Touches of warmth include wooden chopping boards and English spongeware plates found at markets in Derbyshire.

To find out more about Katrin Cargill Interiors, visit www.katrincargill.com


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Arabella Youens
Arabella began her career at Country Life on the website as an intern. She read Modern History at Edinburgh University and spent a year working (photocopying) for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Barcelona before moving to London where she still lives with her husband and two young daughters.