KITCHEN PROJECT
A LOVE OF BLUE AND AN APPETITE FOR COOKING INSPIRED THE DESIGN OF THIS CHARACTERFUL KITCHEN IN A CONVERTED COACH HOUSE
A bespoke design in the owner’s favourite shade of blue is the perfect fit for this converted coach house >
Even as a child, Guy Barker had admired the coach house attached to his parents’ home. At that stage, the building was filled with logs and lawnmowers, with an upstairs room used by his sister for making ceramics. ‘It was cold and leaky, but with a sense of history that I liked,’ says Guy. So when he was looking for his own place, Guy saw the potential in converting the coach house.
As the building is listed, he worked carefully to restore its original features, including the timber beams, at the same time as adding a new roof, insulation, an underfloor heating system and modern plumbing and electrics. His key challenge was to get more natural light to flow through the house, something he achieved by adding bifold doors across the rear, designed to suit the working history of the building, and by creating an open-plan design for the entire ground floor. ‘Now there is a great feeling of light and space,’ he says.
Following up recommendations from friends, Guy chose The Main Company to design and supply the
kitchen. ‘I wanted something unfussy with clean lines, that was designed to suit the scale of the room and age of the house. I felt the best way to achieve this was to have something made to order,’ he says. Guy had the cabinets painted in his favourite shade of blue. ‘My girlfriend calls it “Guy Blue”, because it’s the colour
I pick for everything, including my clothes,’ he says.
To aid his passions for cooking and entertaining,
Guy chose to have an Everhot cooker fitted, as it’s recognised for its moist and flavoursome cooking results, gentle background warmth and eco-efficiency. ‘It also has an induction top, which is an extra feature that I find very useful, especially when I want to make something to eat in a hurry,’ he says.
The project took about a year to complete, but
Guy says it was worth the effort and the wait, something that is appreciated not just by Guy and his girlfriend, but also by friends who come from London to enjoy a country weekend. ‘It feels homely with a relaxed vibe and has a great sense of character,’ he says.
❝ I PAINTED THE CABINETS IN WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND CALLS ‘GUY BLUE’ – IT’S MY FAVOURITE SHADE FOR EVERYTHING! ❞