Northern Lights

30 Apr 18

Scotland’s East Coast offers glorious open countryside and some exceptionally fine buildings, including this early Victorian stone house on the Firth of Forth.

The only downside to such a northerly situation can be a lack of light, especially in winter. To counteract this, the owners of this house have opened it up at ground level to build a large kitchen extension, with tall windows, French doors, a high internal roofline and rooflights maximising every bit of daylight.  The result is a remarkable, airy, multi-purpose living space… with a handmade Martin Moore kitchen at its heart.  

The only downside to such a northerly situation can be a lack of light, especially in winter. To counteract this, the owners of this house have opened it up at ground level to build a large kitchen extension, with tall windows, French doors, a high internal roofline and rooflights maximising every bit of daylight. The architectural approach to managing a large open space is to create zones and this kitchen has several, running through from the large sitting room/home cinema into a semi-formal dining area.  This then gives onto the kitchen’s work zones, with informal dining, and then finally into the food storage and bar area - which ultimately links through to the original house. 

Wooden flooring throughout the sitting and dining zones gives way to limestone flagstones in the kitchen, creating yet another subtle marker.  Plans for the new extension were revised several times to ensure that each zone had enough circulating space - to keep it visually linked to, but spatially distinct from, neighbouring zones.   

Throughout the kitchen, the colours are organic, with a warm neutral base including the limestone floor and natural Bianco Eclipsia worktops.  Handpainted in bright blue, the island provides a dramatic pop of colour. 

This careful planning allowed Martin Moore’s William Rudgard to design a kitchen with excellent flow and furniture and appliances on a grand scale serving every kitchen function, from cooking to storage. The owners are busy professionals, but love entertaining friends and family at weekends, whether seated at the large dining table or perched around the island mixing it with the cook.  A traditional dresser holds china, glass and cutlery to serve both areas.

The Aga, with an integrated ceramic hob as backup, takes centre-stage in the cooking zone, housed in a grand chimneypiece which is part of the overall kitchen design.  Directly opposite, a Wolf oven is built into the island, which also has a prepping sink.

Facing it across the corridor, the tall cupboards conceal an enormous double larder for dry foods together with a tall fridge, a small freezer and yet more storage for less used china and glass.