COUNTRY KITCHEN FOCUS

Relocating the kitchen made it a more sociable space

While

work commitments frequently take interior designer Gilly Shephard to Newcastle, it was the promise of a more rural lifestyle that drew her and partner Andy to move closer to the countryside in 2016. ‘I love living here, it has all the benefits of the country but is still close enough to town to visit clients easily,’ she says. The Edwardian house had been extended to the rear and was big enough to accommodate their four grown-up children when they come to stay.

First on Gilly’s list was the kitchen, which was no small undertaking given that she wanted to relocate it and start again from scratch. ‘The original kitchen was in the rear extension, but I wanted to give it a more central position,’ says Gilly. To achieve this, the dining room and second sitting room were knocked together, and the old kitchen became a boot room and utility.

‘It became apparent early on that the size of the space we had created, along with the period style of the house, warranted a custom-made kitchen,’ says Gilly, who turned to one of her favourite bespoke companies, Mowlem & Co. Although the space was more than sufficient for the sociable kitchen Gilly had in mind, the room still had its layout challenges. ‘There are two sets of glazed doors and a fireplace at one end, and a huge bay window at the other,’ says kitchen designer Julia Brown. The solution was to put the chef at the centre of the action, literally, by locating the sitting area by the fire and dining table by the bay window, with the kitchen sat firmly in the middle.

Naturally Gilly had already put a lot of thought into the overall look of her new room before meeting with Mowlem & Co. ‘I had already purchased a four-oven Aga but wanted all the other appliances hidden away,’ she explains. ‘I also wanted the cabinetry to be elegant and look like furniture, not least because the kitchen has to function as a living and dining room.’

Now that everything is complete, Gilly is delighted with the results, revealing that there is nothing she would change in her new kitchen. ‘Our house is frequently filled with friends and family, and I love that there is plenty of room for people to mingle while I’m cooking,’ she says. ‘It is the perfect, social space.’

The layout

A 2.85m-long island forms a barrier for the cooking elevation, which is dominated by a four-oven Aga. Opposite, the tall glassware cabinet is flanked by a freezer on one side and a fridge on the other, both integrated.

The sink is on the island, so that Gilly can look out to the garden while she preps. The kitchen is connected to a boot room and utility – the latter has an extra sink, dishwasher, bins, wine cooler and laundry appliances.

‘I wanted the kitchen to be the central focus of our home and to be able to enjoy views of the surrounding garden’

Purchased before the kitchen was even commissioned, the Aga is the only appliance Gilly wanted to be visible in her kitchen.

A trio of perfectly centred glass globe lights draws the eye through this openplan space.

Gilly’s collection of glassware is stored in a pretty dresser-style glass cabinet, with a bronze antique glass panel providing an extra decorative touch.

CH&I LOVES Four-oven gas range cooker in Pewter, from £12,785, Aga.

The walnut herringbone flooring brings warmth and echoes the walnut interiors of the kitchen cabinets.

The hot water tap is the one thing in her kitchen that Gilly couldn’t live without.