Creating a kitchen with the 'Wow' factor

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Carefully selected features have been integrated into Sue and Andrew Gee’s extended kitchen to complement their family’s lifestyle, producing a generous and flexible room.

When Sue and Andrew Gee moved into their Georgian vicarage in Newton St Cyres, Devon, there was not even enough space in the kitchen to eat meals with their two teenage daughters. That was something the Gees were keen to change.

Choosing their local kitchen specialist, Barnes of Ashburton, was an easy decision. The Gees were impressed by the quality of the work on display in the Devon showroom and the personal warmth and professional expertise of Patrick Gunning, who founded the company and was their project designer.

The original kitchen was dark, sweltering in the summer and far too small. In the five years since they moved in, the Gees have embraced the property’s period features, opening up old fireplaces, reinstating picture rails and restoring the windows. Redesigning the kitchen was a large project that involved having to knock two rooms into one and using the entire back of the house. Sensibly, Sue and Andrew decided that they would wait until the other work had been completed before taking this project on.

Patrick recalls his initial meeting with Andrew and Sue: ‘They had clear ideas from the start and saw the kitchen as central to their home and lifestyle. They wanted space, light and an island big enough to work at and sit around at the same time; an area where the whole family could come together, that was warm and welcoming in the winter, and cool and inviting in the summer.’

Sue also wanted to install a plate rack, a cupboard with glazed doors – using the same glass as found in the rest of the house – and to fit the butler’s sink they had owned for years and always aimed to use. Patrick and his team took all of these requirements on board, and Sue describes the initial plans as being more than satisfactory, creating a whole new feel for the room – and exactly as she wanted. Other key additions to the kitchen were the window seat made from an old doorway, a mantelpiece above a fireplace that Sue and Andrew had reopened, and new French doors leading out to the garden.

‘At every stage, we felt able to ask questions and to sound out new ideas,’ says Sue. ‘If we were stuck over a decision, Patrick was intuitive enough to suggest that a visit would clarify our options.’

The Gees selected a ‘Classic’ frame-built kitchen, that was crafted at the Barnes workshop and painted on site in Old White by Farrow & Ball. This contrasts with the hard-wearing ‘Black Zimbabwe’ granite work surfaces (supplied by Steve Bristow Stone Masonry) and the ash top of the central island and plate rack. The effect fulfils their design objective: ‘a healthy combination of pragmatism and aesthetics’. The new kitchen is in constant use, for cooking and family meals, coffee breaks, studying or simply relaxing, and Sue says it has transformed the way they feel about their home.

Barnes of Ashburton kitchens cost from £20,000. Call 01364 653613 or visit barnesofashburton.com.

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FEATURE KATHARINE COX PHOTOGRAPHS KAREN MURRELL
Featured in the January 2012 issue of Period Living