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Making a Modern Classic - Beautiful kitchen project from Martin Moore

16 Mar 20

1930’s ‘modernist’ style, with its focus on the linear and the interplay of light, translates very readily into contemporary interiors.  For this young family, finding an unmodernised, detatched 30’s house in West London was like unearthing buried treasure.

Untouched for 50 years,  the house needed total refurbishment, which gave them the  opportuinity to create a large open plan kitchen with an adjoining utility room.  As the hub of family life, getting it right was crucial to their plans for their new home.

With a background in property development, the couple had already worked with Martin Moore on several projects, especially with designer William Rudgard, who was part of the refurbishment project right from the beginning.  This enabled him to suggest structural works to optimise the layout and flow of the kitchen, going hand in hand with the placement of the key zones for maximum efficiency.   

“A good kitchen is a big investment”, reflected the clients, so getting it right from the beginning is crucial. Every Martin Moore kitchen is entirely bespoke, with each piece of furniture designed and built in their Yorkshire workshops, with interiors too fitted out to order. William spent several hours with the clients, taking their brief, getting to know how they would like to live in the new space and designing it around them down to the very last detail;  from where the children would sit to do their homework (at the island) to where every piece of tableware, glass, cutlery and cookware would live.

Aesthetically, this kitchen blends the traditional craftmanship of hand-built furniture with a modern simplicity of line which suits the house perfectly. A solid oak floor sets a warm backdrop for a natural palette of handpainted grey/greens and the striking introduction of matt black elements in the range cooker, 30’s-style Crittall windows and doors, Nero Africa granite worktops and other smaller decorative elements.  In contrast to the run of matt black worktops, the island’s impressive slab of lively white Bianco Eclipsia quartzite picks up on the light flooding into the room -  not just from the feature wall overlooking the garden but also from cleverly placed lantern lights in the roof.

Everything about this kitchen has a pleasingly solid, classic feel -  from the cabinetry itself to the generous Butler’s sinks in the kitchen and utility room and the industrial-style brassware throughout.  The family intend to stay in this house for the long term,  so the investment that they have made in quality and durability will pay dividends for many years to come.

The ‘must have’ list included a purpose-designed utility room. This was every bit as carefully planned as the main kitchen area and the two are visually linked through a Crittall divider.  

The utility room has a distinct character of its own though, with cabinetry hand-painted a deep charcoal grey and an equally dramatic floor.  A counterpoint orange-pink colour is used in the window blinds and upholstered bench (with handy storage underneath), purpose-designed for the children to change their shoes before they come into the main kitchen.

Paint Colours: 
Cabinetry from Martin Moore’s Architectural Collection painted in Martin Moore’s Dove Grey, Slate (island) and Almost Black (utility)

Worktops: 
Cooker Run - Nero Africa Granite 
Island - Bianca Eclipsia Quartzite 
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