An orangery by David Salisbury added to the rear of this elegant Berkshire house offered generous space for a kitchen-dining room and Martin Moore’s English collection creates a timeless feel.
'‘Each zone has a specific function and allows each piece of furniture to shine'
‘To make sense of a large room, we have to think of it in terms of distinct, but connected, areas,’ explains Richard Moore. ‘Each zone has a specific function and allows each piece of furniture to shine.’ To create a sense of cohesion, the same flooring – Lulworth sandstone from Artisans of Devizes – has been used throughout.
'The Aga is framed in a simple over-mantel, with an antiqued mirror splashback to reflect light and boost the sense of space'
A butler’s pantry next to the dining table is designed to store table linen and serving dishes. Around the corner, a walk-in larder is for dry goods and glazed wall cabinets show off glassware. The Aga is framed in a simple over-mantel, with an antiqued mirror splashback to reflect light and boost the sense of space and the freezer is built into the wall to minimise its bulk.
'‘The combination of soft colours in the room serves not only to create subtle distinction between zones, it also adds the warmth and interest.'
The island is designed for socialising, food preparation and storage and is the focal point of the room, painted in Fence Green by Marston & Langinger Paints www.mandlpaints.com). Three pendant lights from Pooky (www.pooky.com) accentuate the eye-catching effect.
‘The combination of soft colours in the room serves not only to create subtle distinction between zones, it also adds the warmth and interest that make this room as inviting as it is hard-working,’ says Richard.
Credit: Turner Pocock
From accountant's office to family kitchen: A social space with warmth and grandeur
Bunny Turner has transformed a former accountant’s office into a family kitchen by removing false ceilings, custom-ordering a table and
Credit: Jake Fitzjones
How to transform a dark Victorian kitchen into a charming social space with bespoke joinery
Charlotte Crosland redesign project turned into an entire refurbishment when it came to this Victorian house in London, including this
How to design a truly sociable kitchen: ‘It’s hard to believe that there was a time when a kitchen was simply a room for cooking and washing-up’
Kitchens have long been the hub of family life, but designs don’t always reflect that. Amelia Thorpe spoke to kitchen
3 pretty properties with Aga kitchens
Nothing beats a cosy country kitchen.
Credit: Melanie Johnson
Homemade ricotta, pea and smoked-salmon duck-egg ravioli
Our kitchen garden cook elevates the humble pea.
-
The hero who inspired this great monument? Country Life Quiz of the DayOur daily quiz tests your gut instinct, powers of deduction and downright luck. Unless you happen to know all the answers for sure.
-
Strutt & Parker: Property sales gather apaceThe year has started with a burst of positive energy in Strutt & Parker offices around the UK.
-
How to create a serene, yet hard-working kitchenPlain English worked with antique dealer Robert Young to make this traditional kitchen with an effortlessly relaxing colour scheme that marries perfectly with the views over beautiful gardens.
-
Why kitchens are going green — literallyGreen is the perfect colour for a kitchen, says Amelia Thorpe.
-
A modern kitchen perfectly framed by the exquisite ancient beamsArtichoke designed a discreet and timeless kitchen to complement a converted granary. Amelia Thorpe takes a look.
-
Yes, you can put a new kitchen in a Grade I-listed house — and this beautiful example shows howTraditional cabinetry was a key ingredient in the sympathetic restoration of a Grade I-listed Tudor house in Shropshire.
-
A London townhouse kitchen transformed to be sociable, practical and charmingThe new owners of this London townhouse have reconfigured it to create a sociable space for cooking and entertaining.
-
A beautiful new kitchen sympathetically created for a 16th century manor houseLimewash walls, a large island and plenty of open shelving combine to create a kitchen that’s sympathetic to this 16th-century manor house in Somerset.
-
10 things I wish I'd known about doing up old houses before I started, by Country Life's interiors guru Giles KimeCountry Life’s executive editor and resident interiors expert Giles Kime shares the lessons he’s learnt from the experience of dragging a succession of houses into the 21st-century.
-
Seven beautiful new looks in kitchens, from classic cabinetry to 80s revivalThe latest looks in the kitchen, selected by Amelia Thorpe.
