Contrasting Caesarstone surface designs were chosen for a recently completed project by Shere Kitchens for a couple restoring and refurbishing a previously divided home in Surrey.
Formerly the home of the Art Master at the famous Charterhouse School, the property enjoys incredible views across the historic market town of Godalming and the heavily wooded valley. The couple had each bought one half of the divided property and wanted to return it to a single family home.
As part of the overall renovation, the new homeowners enlisted bespoke kitchen company Shere Kitchens to design their new kitchen, with a brief to incorporate traditional cabinetry and come up with a scheme that would be sympathetic to the period property.
“The brief was clear,” explained Ella Driscoll, director at Shere Kitchens, “classic, timeless and elegant, to suit the room perfectly and built to last.”
Storage was crucial and the Shere team designed a drawer run around the impressive Aga to give the couple plenty of room for pots, pans and large Aga baking trays. The wall cabinetry stores the oils and herbs, while the countertop cabinetry creates plenty of space for appliances, crockery and glassware, all neatly tucked away leaving the work surfaces clear.
Additional storage included a freestanding larder cupboard, which featured more detailed mouldings to suit the period and match the original skirting in the room, and a bespoke bookcase.
For Ella, the colour combination is crucial in any project, and certainly with this space where there was the desire for timelessness. Shere Kitchens finished the cabinetry with two colours selected from Farrow and Ball. “We chose Ammonite, a soft understated grey for a calming neutral feeling, and Worsted, a richer grey, that makes a 'perfect background' colour to make the make clean accent colours pop”.
Both tones combine beautifully with the new Caesarstone’s 4011 Cloudburst Concrete worktops, from the brand’s Metropolitan Collection. Cloudburst Concrete is a minimalist white-on-white quartz surface with a rough concrete finish and a subtle billowing textural movement. The greys of the cabinetry and the neutral tones of Cloudburst Concrete add contrast to the rich, Pewter Aga.
“Our clients chose Caesarstone as they liked the range of colours and because it’s made from natural materials. They had previously had granite and they wanted a calmer ‘less busy’ look for their new kitchen. Cloudburst Concrete was picked to pair with the soft grey painted cabinetry, in a matt rather than polished finish to reduce reflection in their south facing space.”
Part of the brief was a requirement for a new bespoke table and seating area that would work around the existing period architectural features, including the original panelling, stable door and sliding sash window, as well as the layout of the new kitchen.
Shere Kitchens designed and handcrafted a unique table and bench combination. The table was fabricated to fit the space perfectly, whilst the legs, formed of stunning oak, are all individual, using the three way half lap joint to tie the piece together.
The tabletop uses Caesarstone’s polished 6338 Woodlands design, a rich dark brown quartz surface that combines elegantly with the surrounding woodgrain of the new benches, and contrasts with the white-grey tones of the kitchen for a warmer feeling in this special ‘nook’ of a relaxed space for family and friends. The lighter vein features of Woodlands that play across the dark base adds to the organic appeal of the space.
The end result is a kitchen, born from a cohesive design that is sympathetic to the character of the restored property, full of traditional features, period details and timeless colour combinations, that has the feeling of having always been there, perfect for the revitalised home.
