We had very strong ideas about what we wanted,’ explains Nick Oliver of his utilitarian kitchen in East Sussex. ‘It was very much about designing the space around the way we want to live.’ Shared with their eleven-year-old daughter and two kittens, this is the fourth property that Nick, an architect, and his wife Victoria, director of a design agency, have developed together. The kitchen was created by extending their house, which was originally two 18th-century farm cottages.
They enlisted the help of John Davies at Martin Moore to design a streamlined space with a large multi-purpose island. The result is a carefully considered layout which offers an efficient and functional flow, whilst the pared-back simplicity of the minimalist aesthetic creates a calm impression. ‘We have very hectic lives and needed to have a place of peace – a serene approach,’ says Nick. Milky cream walls, pale grey cabinetry and a white granite worktop on the island create a sense of freshness in the room. The island, painted in Martin Moore’s ‘Prussian Blue’, picks out the inky hues of a painting perched on a shelf above the cooking area. A black enameled Aga is framed by black granite and mirrors a wall of Crittall windows opposite, which open onto a 2.5-acre garden.
Storage is another main attraction of the scheme. A fitted pantry is cleverly concealed in the middle section of a cupboard. Glassware and cookery books line wooden shelves, whilst a lower-level marble ledge offers a cool surface. Flanked in neighbouring cupboards are a fridge and freezer. Meanwhile, pots, pans and other paraphernalia have been carefully stored inside dedicated drawers in the cooking zone. The island’s spacious drawers offer more storage, whilst four bar stools from Cox & Cox re-purpose it as a seating area. Martin Moore pieces were blended into the ‘big, serene space without anything feeling jammed together, cluttered or forced’, in turn creating a simple and soothing setting for the whole family to enjoy.
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