Please credit:
Higham Furniture | Photographer: Paul Craig

Kitchens by Higham Furniture start from £35,000.
www.higham.co.uk

For specific caption information or expert comment, please contact: Tara Silvester at Left Right & Centre PR. tara@leftrightandcentre.com

About this kitchen:
As part of a whole home refurbishment of an Edwardian house in Queens Park, North-West London, Higham Furniture was commissioned to design, make and install a modern painted open plan Shaker kitchen in an extended part of the home, which leads to a dining area facing out the garden.

When choosing the colour palette for kitchen and dining area, the clients wanted pale muted tones that would harmonise with the garden, which is visible through floor-to-ceiling Crittall-style doors along the ground-floor rear elevation. This delivers lots of natural light into the overall space, while the addition of a long glass ceiling lantern directs daylight into the kitchen from above.

Working with Higham Furniture, to select paint colours and textures for the kitchen, the clients chose Pompeian Ash 293 by the Little Greene Paint Company for the cabinetry, together with fluted glass inserts in overhead cabinets to reflect the light. To complement the materials used for the extension, the kitchen walls are covered in micro-concrete, which is also specified as a 30mm worktop that has been added to a ply surface. This is also used for the waterfall edges on the kitchen island to create an industrial aesthetic that provides a contemporary contrast to the Shaker furniture.

There are three runs of thin Shaker detailed cabinetry in the kitchen space, along with the island. As you walk into the kitchen from the entrance hall, the two left-hand runs are in an L-shape with undercounter cabinets mounted on a 70mm inset plinth with outer legs. The carcases are all Walnut veneered ply, with frames in Tulipwood and Maple doors with ply panels.

The shorter run is the wet area with undercounter cabinetry beneath the worktop that includes pull-out bins and an integrated 60cm dishwasher, by Neff. The worktop incorporates a deep stainless steel undermount sink by 1810 Company, with a matching Quooker Flex PRO3 3-in-1 Boiling Water Tap that provides hot, cold and 100°C Boiling water. Above this run is a long handpainted open shelf for the clients’ decorative pieces.

The longer cooking run includes undercounter storage cupboards adjacent to deep pan drawers with dovetailed drawer boxes, all on soft-close runners. These are symmetrically designed on either side of a Bertazzoni Range Cooker in stainless steel with an induction cooktop. Above the cooker is a matching range hood, also in stainless steel. On each side of the hood are overhead cabinets that include double door versions with fluted glass inserts that accommodate glasses and crockery, alongside single cupboards with painted door fronts for plate storage. In the corner area are open shelves to house the clients’ cookery book collection, breakfast bowls and coloured wine glasses.
The minimalist waterfall island is designed to be both attractive and functional, with lots of storage. The facing side includes a slim Wine Cave by mQuvee next to more open shelving for decorative items. The rest of this side is recessed to accommodate three counter stools to provide an informal seating area.

The task side of the island includes three sets of three symmetrical storage drawers, each at different heights.

To the right of the entrance to the kitchen is a further run of floor-to-ceiling tall cabinetry. This is the element that cleverly links the kitchen space with the dining area, with exposed open corner shelving next to a floor-mounted panelled mirror that accents the Crittall-style doors (client’s own).

There are two sets of double door cabinets designed symmetrically on either side of a French-door fridge freezer by Fisher & Paykel, with an open top box above it. Each cabinet features walnut veneered ply internals with rack shelving in the doors, open shelving, bottle shelving and deep drawers beneath the concrete worktops. One larder is dedicated to dry food and spice storage, while the other is a concealed cocktail bar cabinet, for when the clients entertain guests.

About Higham Furniture
Since 2004, Higham Furniture has been designing, making and installing premium contemporary bespoke Shaker kitchens for clients in London and the South-East. Run by partners, Tim Higham and Siobhan McCollum, with a team of highly-trained designers, the company has a design studio in Fulham, London, and a wholly-owned workshop in Denmead, Hampshire, where every kitchen is custom-made, hand painted and hand-finished by skilled craftspeople.

In addition to classic and modern Shaker styles, Higham Furniture also specialises in handleless Shaker kitchens. It has also developed its exclusive Higham Inset Handle Kitchen that bridges the gap between a handleless and handled kitchen. These clean and understated inset handles are designed by Tim Higham and are exclusively made by Armac Martin. The business also partners with the Little Greene Paint Company, which also makes its own exclusive range of paints for Higham Furniture.