Dream kitchen to reality…

Homeowner John Sinclair, the founder of productdesign studio Ustwo, on his recipe for success

What were you looking for in a kitchen? Alice and I wanted to be able to cook and socialise at the same time, so that informed the general layout of the space. I met [DGN co-founder] Daniel Goodacre when working on a project for my job; along with Geraldine Ng, they were highly recommended. They knew us and our taste.

Did you have any practical demands? I was keen to be able to see the concrete floor under the kitchen units, so we just have one large drawer and a lower slatted shelf for pots and pans. We had to find appliances that allowed us to keep that line of sight, so a dishwasher drawer and a wide Gaggenau oven were sourced.

How did you decide on the materials? Over the years, I’ve lived with many kitchen surfaces. I love the look of reclaimed hardwood, marble and concrete countertops but, practically speaking, none of them come close to stainless steel – it’s bulletproof and I’ve grown to love it because of its durability. We had the concrete floor and stainless-steel worktops so, with the other materials, we wanted to soften the feeling of the kitchen and ended up choosing a solid European ash treated with a slightly white Rubio oil. The L-shape extension that separates the main cooking space from the dining area was built using reclaimed bricks and finished with a Belgian mineral paint called Badgeon. We love how these materials work together.

What was the process of designing the kitchen like? We are both designers [John’s partner Alice is a rug designer] so we were very involved, but I never felt we or DGN were pushing ideas. It developed in a more agile and collaborative way. Aesthetically it’s better than we expected; it’s like being in a totally different house. The kitchen and extension are now the focal point of our home and where we spend all our time. It’s gone from a dark, pokey kitchen to this big, light and airy, fun space.