A South Devon Kitchen Remodel
A holiday conversation led Barbara and Trevor Paul to a bold decision that their listed, 16th Century cottage kitchen should be reduced to rubble; in its place they had a vision for a much larger kitchen space that could link to an existing barn on the property. Having discussed their ideas with both their architect and with the interior design team at Barnes of Ashburton, they decided to refurbish and re-use as much of the existing sink, brassware and cabinetry as possible to form the basis of the new kitchen.
The owners wanted to retain the existing sink – an elegant bow-fronted Waterside 600, which they had become very fond of over the years. Shaws sinks are handmade using heavy duty fireclay, and are incredibly durable. The Waterside 600 sink was refurbished to remove any patina earned by its many years of hard work.
A beautifully enduring Perrin & Rowe Minoan mixer tap was also restored to its original glory, and looks perfect sitting proudly in position with its gleaming white fireclay companion, surrounded by an island of elm. The Minoan tap is in a Pewter finish, a hard-wearing finish that can be easily cleaned and restored using a pewter pad available directly from Perrin & Rowe.
The interior designers were really enthusiastic about refurbishing the original cabinetry and their highly skilled craftsmen constructed additional cabinets to complement the existing ones.
All of the cabinets were then hand-painted using Farrow & Ball’s Joa’s White and London Stone. The handles by Crofts & Assinder finished in American Copper were added to embellish the doors. The run of cabinets that had resided on the end wall of the house were returned to the same position in the new kitchen space, alongside the original Giallo Veneziano granite work surface, but with the addition of a large black Aga range cooker.
The new space is light and airy with its beautifully exposed beams, vaulted ceiling and large open plan layout.
