Bright & Light Crown Handleless Kitchen

Previously, Alison & John had extended out to the back and the old kitchen was part of an open plan layout. When they decided to add a 2-storey extension to the side, the garage was rebuilt in line with the front of the house and this laid the foundations for the large new kitchen renovation at the rear of the property.

It is an unusual layout but works beautifully with the open plan. You can tell from the way Alison and John talk about the design ideas and process that they couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

Need help with your layout? Book an Appointment here

The layout hugs the back of the house in a rectangle shape with the living extension to the side of it also at the rear. The kitchen shape is long but quite narrow and so from a design point of view, Alec the kitchen designer had to think outside the box. Alison and John were open minded with no clear vision as to what they wanted. To begin with they came to Gardiner Haskins after a friend recommendation, and they also approached another company at the same time.  Both companies came up with completely different ideas, but Alison and John warmed to Alec straight away. He thought about the practicalities and functions of how they were going to use the kitchen day to day rather than designing standard layouts without any thought to the whole process.

“Alec was inspirational in his design approach and it was clear in the way Alec communicated, his years of expertise came across”.

Entertaining and chatting whilst cooking was important to the couple. Alec could see straight away it would be pointless designing a kitchen with the hob & sink positioned against back wall away from family, guests, and the view of the garden. The magnificent kitchen island enables all of this to happen in a space that cleverly houses the Induction hob, sink, recycling, dishwasher & deep drawers for plenty of pan storage and also features a hidden plug socket popping up when required. In addition, the dining table is incorporated at the end of the kitchen island in front of the bifold doors & fits seamlessly into the design. The tabletop is made from the same material as the kitchen cabinet doors, so it ties in perfectly with the minimal palette. Plus, the table also features a hidden storage cupboard underneath, large enough for a decent amount of storage whilst still able to sit the family comfortably.

Alison says her favourite feature is the worktop surface. It’s a textured matt quartz. You can see why it’s so loved, the tactile surface is crying out to be touched! John loves the downlight feature highlighting the open shelves at the end of the kitchen which draw you in as soon as you walk into the kitchen. These are unusual as there are double downlights highlighting the beautiful open shelving. In the evenings when they are relaxing, the ambient lighting creates gorgeous pools of light without the need for the pendant lighting over the island. Alison mentions the detail that Alec went into when discussing the design, suggesting matt aluminium plinths underneath the cupboards to prevent the floor reflecting potential dust particles gathering.

Small appliances such as the kettle and toaster are tucked away in one of the many storage cupboards in the kitchen island when not in use giving an uncluttered finish to the kitchen and letting the worktops be seen. Even the sockets are cleverly tucked away and can be pulled up straight from the worktop in a concealed unit keeping the sleek, stylish feel and reducing the clutter further so it’s easy on the eye.

Paul the kitchen fitter also did a fantastic job and where there were a couple of minor snagging issues, these were easily rectified straight away.

Start your journey today by visiting our inspirational kitchen showrooms in Bristol today by calling 01179 292288.

Contact Us to Book an Appointment

Kitchen Details:

Designer: Alec Yull

Manufacturer: Crown Imperial Kitchens 

Kitchen Type: Modern

Cabinetry: Crown Handle-less Textura Driftwood with frameworks open shelving

Worktop: Unistone Bianco Extra Velluto

About Our Kitchen Designers: Each kitchen designer works on the kitchen projects from the start of planning and measuring, right through to the finished kitchen (and after sales too) so you as a customer can be confident in the knowledge you are dealing with one person on the project rather than several people in different departments. That’s the beauty of our personalised service.

Photography Credit: Carine Butcher