The old vicarage

Typically in early-victorian or late-georgian houses, these rooms will be large and square with high ceilings, centralised lighting and, sometimes, floor-length windows. ‘Today’s country-house kitchens have to multitask as a space for cooking, entertaining, watching TV and all but the most formal of family dining,’ says Richard Moss of Devizes-based Mark Wilkinson Furniture. ‘As a result, it often helps to start to think in zones for storage, preparation, sink, cooking, eating, entertainment and even an office, which you can then plot separately. It’s perfectly okay to let them bump into each other and join up or have them broken up with antiques.’

Windows that are too low to have cabinets running under them make for perfect window seats; high ceilings can be lowered or a lighting and extraction ‘cloud’ can be installed to bring the ceiling down. Range cookers dominate in these kitchens and the king of them remains the very British Aga, says Richard. ‘The Aga has had its competitors in recent years and the one shown here is a Lacanche, from France, which is great for serious cooks, but you can’t warm up a spring lamb in front of one.’➢

Try Although underfloor heating predominates in new country-house kitchens, a traditional cast-iron radiator here and there adds a decorative detail. Bisque classic radiator in bare metal from £334 (excluding VAT) (020–7328 2225; www.bisque.co.uk)

This kitchen mixes both the Cook’s Kitchen (the island) and the New England style from Mark Wilkinson (for the cooker and storage wall), demonstrating that the room doesn’t need to be homogenous in its design. Handmade kitchens start from £40,000...