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Kitchen Tour: Handmade Cabinetry Opens Up a Cottage Interior
Great design and some canny repurposing have created a practical kitchen and utility room that are full of character
This kitchen is part of an old, rural, red-brick country home in Norfolk. The owner enlisted the help of cabinet-maker Steve Price to make space as bright and practical as possible – without sacrificing its rustic charm.
Steve designed and built the sink unit based on a style the owner had seen. The unit is made of solid ash, cut up and reassembled from the owner’s old kitchen worktops. The sink unit is white quartz and is designed to look like a slab of marble – or a traditional cold shelf – from a distance.
“We didn’t want any of the plumbing to be visible under the sink, just a whitewashed wall,” Steve says. “The pipework is hidden behind the cupboard to the right, which I built shallow for the purpose.” The cupboard to the left houses the fridge, as the owner didn’t want any of the white goods on show.
Downlights were fitted throughout and have made an enormous difference to the light levels.
Unistone Bianco Assoluto quartz sink surround, Quince Stoneworks.
“We didn’t want any of the plumbing to be visible under the sink, just a whitewashed wall,” Steve says. “The pipework is hidden behind the cupboard to the right, which I built shallow for the purpose.” The cupboard to the left houses the fridge, as the owner didn’t want any of the white goods on show.
Downlights were fitted throughout and have made an enormous difference to the light levels.
Unistone Bianco Assoluto quartz sink surround, Quince Stoneworks.
The low ceiling precluded the use of wall cabinets, so Steve designed bracketed open shelving to run around the room above painted wall panelling. “The vertical tongue-and-groove helps to give the impression of height,” he says.
A glazed countertop unit with sliding doors and cup handles stores some of the glassware originally hidden away in the old pantry. “The glass is bevelled, which is a nice touch that helps to show off the glasses,” Steve says.
The worktop and upstand are oak in this little corner. “They’re treated with raw oil, which dries matt like untreated timber,” Steve explains. “I worked up a recipe of different oils, because I wanted a dry feel that didn’t look syrupy or honeyed in the way that some oiled worktops can.”
The owner bought the old tin advertising signs for Nectar Tea and Cadbury’s (see first image) in Westbourne Grove, London in 1971.
Glazed cupboard and wall panelling painted in Old White, Farrow & Ball.
A glazed countertop unit with sliding doors and cup handles stores some of the glassware originally hidden away in the old pantry. “The glass is bevelled, which is a nice touch that helps to show off the glasses,” Steve says.
The worktop and upstand are oak in this little corner. “They’re treated with raw oil, which dries matt like untreated timber,” Steve explains. “I worked up a recipe of different oils, because I wanted a dry feel that didn’t look syrupy or honeyed in the way that some oiled worktops can.”
The owner bought the old tin advertising signs for Nectar Tea and Cadbury’s (see first image) in Westbourne Grove, London in 1971.
Glazed cupboard and wall panelling painted in Old White, Farrow & Ball.
The kitchen flooring has the beautiful, timeworn feel of the pamment tiles that are so typical of period Norfolk houses. In reality, the owner bought them 30 years ago in Spain.
“When we took away the old pantry, it left a patch of concrete floor at one end of the kitchen,” Steve says, “so we removed the tiles that were going to be hidden under the new cupboards and re-laid them where the pantry had been. It was a neat solution.”
Similar flooring, Norfolk Reclaim.
“When we took away the old pantry, it left a patch of concrete floor at one end of the kitchen,” Steve says, “so we removed the tiles that were going to be hidden under the new cupboards and re-laid them where the pantry had been. It was a neat solution.”
Similar flooring, Norfolk Reclaim.
The new pantry cupboard is built in oak, with open drawer trays on heavy-duty Austrian drawer runners. They pull out completely, so everything is easily accessible.
The smaller, slimline cupboard on the top right also pulls out and houses bottles and oil, while the one below stores a recycling bin. A deep pan drawer occupies the lower space.
Ditch these things from your kitchen today.
The smaller, slimline cupboard on the top right also pulls out and houses bottles and oil, while the one below stores a recycling bin. A deep pan drawer occupies the lower space.
Ditch these things from your kitchen today.
A drawer unit, base cupboards and a white quartz worktop run from the pantry unit into the opposite corner. The carcasses throughout are birch ply; the fascias and doors are tulip wood. Steve spray-paints all his cabinetry for a soft, flat finish.
“All the cupboards are traditional in design,” he says. “Each leg had to be individually scribed to fit the higgledy-piggledy floor, and all the plinths are recessed, so your toes tuck underneath when you’re standing at a worktop.”
Range cooker, Everhot.
“All the cupboards are traditional in design,” he says. “Each leg had to be individually scribed to fit the higgledy-piggledy floor, and all the plinths are recessed, so your toes tuck underneath when you’re standing at a worktop.”
Range cooker, Everhot.
The utility room is situated opposite the kitchen via a hallway and is a later addition, featuring two beams and a sloping ceiling. The space was originally used as a home office, but the owner wanted the space converted for use as a practical utility room and laundry.
Steve designed and built a pair of tall units for coats, hats, boots and an airing cupboard. The ventilation holes are a traditional feature, but Steve gave them an up-to-date feel to mirror the design of the patterned floor tiles.
Cabinets painted in Vert de Terre; architrave in Railings, both Farrow & Ball.
Steve designed and built a pair of tall units for coats, hats, boots and an airing cupboard. The ventilation holes are a traditional feature, but Steve gave them an up-to-date feel to mirror the design of the patterned floor tiles.
Cabinets painted in Vert de Terre; architrave in Railings, both Farrow & Ball.
The base units hide a washing machine, tumble dryer and freezer, plus there’s one narrow corner cupboard for general storage.
Find cabinet-makers in your neighbourhood.
Find cabinet-makers in your neighbourhood.
Steve designed an in-cupboard peg rail for hanging coats and jackets, with boot storage below.
The interior of the cupboard has been painted in a darker shade for contrast. The colour ties in nicely with the practical vinyl flooring.
Spot vinyl floor tiles, Cath Kidston, available at Harvey Maria.
The interior of the cupboard has been painted in a darker shade for contrast. The colour ties in nicely with the practical vinyl flooring.
Spot vinyl floor tiles, Cath Kidston, available at Harvey Maria.
The tall, right-hand cupboard is fitted with a heater for airing laundry. Steve made the slatted shelves in cedar of Lebanon. “It’s naturally moth-repellant, ideal for an airing cupboard,” he says. “When the wood gets warm, it gives off an amazing scent that diffuses into your laundry.”
Cabinet backs painted in Railings, Farrow & Ball.
Cabinet backs painted in Railings, Farrow & Ball.
Steve chose limed raw oak for the utility room worktop. The bright pink doors – which bring an unexpected touch of fun to wash day – were the owner’s idea.
Tell us…
What do you think of this country kitchen and utility room? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Tell us…
What do you think of this country kitchen and utility room? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A retired woman
Location North Norfolk
Property An amalgamation of three former farm workers’ cottages
Room dimensions 3.7 x 4.6m (kitchen); 2.7 x 5m (utility)
Cabinet-maker Steve Price of Price Cabinet Makers
Photos by Chris Taylor Photos
An enormous breeze-block pantry dominated the look and feel of this low-ceilinged kitchen. The room featured simple open shelves and wood-fronted drawers, separated by brick partitions, and was very dark with poor lighting. Steve Price’s first decision was to demolish the old pantry.
“It took up about a fifth of the kitchen,” he says, “and not only blocked the light, but made a good freestanding layout impossible. So we agreed with the owner to do the drastic thing and got out the big hammers.”
The kitchen leads out, via a hallway, to an adjoining utility room, which Steve was also commissioned to redesign.
Cabinets painted in Down Pipe, Farrow & Ball.