and extra workspace. Although Tam admits“ I chop on it very carefully …”
For the cupboards, Tam chose a Shaker style, with hand-painted surfaces using a pale teal colour palette. Usually, paint is applied with a spraying technique, which is popular to achieve a quick, even finish and contemporary look.
However, Sebastian recommends hand painting shaker kitchens for a traditional feel:“ It suits the style better. I treat it as part of the furniture of the house- in the same way as the doors and skirting boards are.. These are things you would paint and repaint, touch up if you get it damaged. You can’ t touch up spray finishes”.
Maximising Space
As maximising space was the reason for the kitchen extension, the layout design was a key consideration.
“ If I’ m whirling about cooking about 5 dishes at once— I want
enough room to move around without bumping into everyone” expressed Tam.
To accommodate Tam’ s workflow the duo decided to zone the kitchen.
“ You have the chef’ s zone at the end of the island, and beyond that is the dining area, where plates and tableware are kept. The right hand side is for guests to mill around, where we keep the glasses … and wine cooler, of course.”— Tam
Previously, Tam would miss out on the social action by being tied to the stove. Now with the new extension and zones, she can multitask. Already, Tam has managed to host 17 people for a wine tasting party. Quite the transformation from their previous 4-person capacity!
Special kitchen features for a cook and entertainer
As a passionate cook, Tam had always envisioned a lavish larder in her kitchen to home her bountiful spice collection(... which are contained in 10 years worth of Coleman’ s mustard jars!)
“ I couldn’ t have imagined a better larder. It’ s an oak-lined magnificent cupboard of beauty which inspires me every day.”— Tam
Collecting inspiration from Pinterest, Tam pulled together some ideas, and Sebastian handbuilt a bespoke larder, specifically to fit her spices. He added LED lights, turning on automatically as the doors are opened, with custom drawers for tins, dried goods and vegetables- and lined the cupboard with oak to keep a consistent design throughout the kitchen.
In Tam’ s words:“ I couldn’ t have imagined a better larder. It’ s an oak-lined magnificent cupboard of beauty which inspires me every day.”
Next to the larder, Sebastian installed a Space Tower, which Tam explains‘ is wonderful technologically- it slides all the
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