Ever practiced yoga in your kitchen?

Tucked away next to a golf course in the heart of Poole there is a hidden lake. Overlooking the lake is an extraordinary new home featuring crisp, contemporary architecture designed to make the most of the open space and the calm serenity of the still water.

The homeowners appointed Sarah Woadden at WN Interiors to help them tame the sharp lines of this David James Architects designed new build into something softer and more organic. She in turn came to us to collaborate on the design of the kitchen and utility. We have worked with WN on a number of projects in the past so Sarah had the confidence to come to us at the very start of the project, knowing that we would inherently understand the brief and contribute something exquisite.

Sarah’s preliminary consultations with the clients meant that she had already developed a deep understanding of their tastes and what they wanted to achieve with this large, light and airy space. This room was to be a kitchen, dining room and living area but because of the enormous sliding glass wall and with the indoor and outdoor spaces both having the same large format porcelain floor tiles there is a true sense that this is a single large living space which flows seamlessly through the open doors and onto the patio.

For Simon, this kitchen posed an number of exciting design challenges. The most striking of these is the sheer size of the room, not just in terms of floor area but also in height; the ceilings were 2.85m high. The clients had decided that they really wanted floor to ceiling cabinetry, which represents quite a challenge, not just to manufacture but also to ensure that the overall effect does not become overbearing or forbidding.

The cabinetry design concept included an exposed framework creating a grid pattern effectively breaking up the vertical and horizontal planes but requiring some clever technical and aesthetic designs to ensure that they maintained the sense of scale and proportion without making the overall effect too fussy or checkerboard-like; all whilst ensuring that the details on the front of the cabinets did not interfere with the function of what lies behind.  As is often the case making something look effortless and simple is anything but!

Another design challenge was to make the most of the various openings in the walls. In order to ensure that plenty of light was brought right into this very large space, the architect had designed a long low window down one side. The property is constructed on a sloping site so that while the kitchen is on the ground floor allowing for that unimpeded access to the patio, there is in fact another floor below housing the pool and sauna. The stairs down are accessed from the kitchen and add to this doors into the utility, the snug and the main house hallway, there was a danger that the kitchen cabinets could become disjointed and the space broken up. The solution was to cleverly manipulate the cabinetry to give a sense of a cohesive, functional space whilst still allowing unimpeded access to these other spaces through hidden doorways.

The resulting design is of two uninterrupted runs of floor to ceiling cabinets; one in natural light oak and surrounding the letterbox window, the other in complementary dark, rough-sawn oak; the two separated by the door into the utility where there are more natural oak cabinets. The island cleverly ties the kitchen together with the main structure being in the same dark, rough-cut oak with the natural light oak being used for the cantilevered low breakfast bar. The waterfall worktop on the island is a stunning Verde Lara Granite expertly mitred by our friends at Eaton Stonemasons. The same honed granite is used for the sink surround and this along with the overhead cupboards painted with a muted sage green Nordfag 117 spray lacquer helps to create that calm sense of cohesion across all of the elements of the kitchen.

The long low window is incorporated into the sink run, effectively becoming a splash back. The wall mounted cupboards above provide plenty of storage but also cunningly conceal an electronically operated blind which can be lowered to cover the window and which runs in grooves inset into the cabinets on either side to prevent the twisting that so often ruins the effect of long, shallow blinds. Lighting set into the cabinets provides evening illumination for when the sun goes down and the blinds are closed.

Underneath the sink are the tanks for the Quooker tap providing boiling, hot, cold, chilled and sparkling water. The other under-counter units house the dishwasher and bins with plenty of storage space too. The full height cabinets to the left of the sink contain a drinks cabinet with pocket doors that allow the bar to be kept open without the doors causing any obstructions. This cupboard is mirrored on the right hand side by a breakfast dresser, also with pocket doors. Both are lit with door sensor LED lighting and while drinks cabinet contains a Husky drinks fridge, the breakfast dresser houses a Ninja air fryer. Each also feature granite work tops and vertically lain tiles in irregular shades of soft green in the back.

The door at the left end of this run looks like another storage unit but in fact leads to the stairs to the basement pool and sauna, and also hides some of the essential plant equipment and a utility cupboard. The cupboards along this run are of varying depths partly according to the function of each element but the positioning of these has been carefully thought through so as to create visual interest and perfect sense for when the kitchen is in use.

To the right of the door into the utility room, the black, back wall contains a combi-steam oven, main oven and combi-microwave oven with general storage above and below and integrated fridge to the left and freezer to the right. The steam and microwave also have warming drawers below. All the appliances are vented through grilles in the kick boards and the top units provide the electrical plant and further storage. Another cunningly disguised door leads through to the snug this time folding back against the side of the cabinetry, all but disappearing for those times when the family wants to leave the door closed. Finally, a large pantry complete with shelves, drawers, door-mounted racks and granite worktop finishes the run.

Throughout the cabinetry, the lines are uninterrupted by handles. Instead these are designed into the grid framework making the doors easy to open without prejudicing the minimalism and clean lines that define the whole project. This handle detail runs at the same height across all the cabinetry and the island – a technically challenging feature to design and yet so important to the overall visual impact.

The central island is home to the induction hob and downdraft extractor. This side of the island appears to contain three banks of two drawers, but these have been designed to maintain the scale of the overall design of the kitchen and in fact each bank has three: each top drawer opening to reveal a further push-to-open cutlery drawer inside. Opposite the sink run is an extra bin cabinet allowing ease of sorting recycling from general waste. Wrapped around the honed granite waterfall worktop the low-level oak breakfast bar is complemented with the clients’ own benches and stools.

The mixture of natural materials carefully chosen by the design team and the clients has elevated this functional space into a thing of exquisite beauty. By picking up on the green tones of the natural oak, paired with the rough texture of the Verde Lara granite, and incorporating further soft greens in the over head cupboards and the tiled back of the drinks cabinet and breakfast dresser, the team have expertly fulfilled the brief of introducing tranquility and nature into this crisp and modern space. The sliding glass wall introducing dappled light and reflection from the water and breathes freshness into the whole scheme.

No surprise then that the owners often close all the doors, open the windows and practice yoga on the patio and, if the weather’s not great, in the kitchen itself.

“It is one of the most beautiful kitchens we have ever designed and made, and one of the most visually cohesive. That’s partly down to the amount of space we had to play with but also down to a very focused design team working in tandem with visionary clients. The result really speaks for itself…”

Simon Pirie

As well as being very design aware the homeowners also have an entrepreneurial streak! The kitchen living space is often used for informal wellbeing retreats and product photoshoots or you can rent the whole property for a short stay. To find out more see: www.hiddenlakedorset.co.uk

(HIDDEN LAKE  YOGA IMAGES HERE.)

Appliances:
Integrated Fridge: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
Integrated Freezer: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
Main Oven: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
Combi Microwave Oven: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
Combi Steam Oven: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
2x Warming Drawers: Gaggenau 400 series, 60cm
Induction Hob: Gaggenau 400 series, 90cm
Downdraft Extraction: Gaggenau 400 series, 90cm
Tap: Quooker Flex, finish ‘Stainless Steel’
Kitchen Sinks: Blanco Subline 480/320U in Soft White Silgranit
Integrated Dishwasher: Miele G7460 SCVi
Drinks Fridge: Husky C2H 865

Cabinetry Finishes:
Natural Oak finished with Rubio 2C Oil (Natural)
Rough Cut Oak finished with Rubio 2C Oil (Black)
Wall-mounted Cabinets finished with Nordfarg 117 spray lacquer

Worksurfaces:
Kitchen & Utility: Verde Lara honed granite, supplied by Eaton Stonemasons

Cost (inc VAT):
Kitchen cabinetry in natural and textured black oak & light green lacquer: £99,500
Utility and dogroom cabinetry in Natural Rubio Oak: £16,500
Appliances, sinks and Taps: £48,500
Worksurfaces and splash backs (both rooms): Honed 30mm Verde Lara granite: £9,750

Photography:
Double Exposure Photographic

Written by Bridget Pirie