With Belle being a designer and interior stylist at Arran & Hadley Interiors, her expert eye was invaluable when they decided to completely remodel the downstairs space of their Surrey home. As a mother creating new family roots, Belle wanted to create a home that was an organised haven amidst the chaos of family life. Drawing inspiration from her South African, Californian and British background, she wanted to create this very special living space - beautiful to look at - while providing a space for everything.
Region | UK and Ireland
The Arundel Kitchen
LocationSurrey, UKDesignArran & Hadley Interiors, Shere Kitchens
When interior stylist and designer, Belle, and her family decided to settle in the ancient town of East Horsley (featured in the Doomsday Book from 1066), they wanted their home to reflect its rich heritage while providing a practical, beautiful living space that could fulfil all the various aspects of their busy family life.
Belle collaborated with Shere Kitchens to help deliver her vision for the kitchen and utility room redesign. The brief was to combine the warmth and homeliness of a traditional English kitchen with the breezy freedom of a Californian coastal retreat, bringing natural beauty into focus with handmade oak cabinetry.
The final moodboards Belle created were inspired by the natural world, which made the space feel cool, calm, light and airy. As a team, they decided to make natural oak the centrepiece of the whole project because it fits the story of the collaboration between homeowner and cabinet maker, reflecting the family’s heritage and also the extensive ancient woodlands in the surrounding area. They decided on simple light oak-panelled cabinetry that, once finished with Osmo wood oil, celebrates the organic character of the wood in all its natural beauty. The oak units are combined with cabinetry hand-painted in Shaded White by Farrow & Ball, to create a calming tranquillity that wouldn’t look out of place on the west coast of America.
On the central island is a Shaws Inset 800 sink with a satin brass Ionian bridge mixer and rinse from Perrin & Rowe.
Belle refers to it as a ‘sociable sink’ – allowing you to chat with people at the breakfast bar or in the window seat while you’re rinsing vegetables or filling the kettle. The sink is also situated just across from the range cooker making it easy to fill and empty pots and pans. The owners wanted a natural fireclay sink because it suited the traditional English handcrafted cabinetry, it was extremely high quality and ultimately, a ‘design classic’.
The sink in the utility room, a Shaws apron-fronted Butler sink, is positioned beneath the window to make the most of the natural light. To keep the main kitchen free of clutter, the family often uses this sink for washing up big items like roasting trays, and it’s the perfect spot for stacking dirty plates out of sight when entertaining. The utility space has a beautiful herringbone patterned terracotta brick floor that has a texture and warmth; adding real character to the room.
The work surfaces are pale grey quartz that pair perfectly with the light wood and honey accents in the handcrafted Perrin & Rowe polished brass kitchen tap and cabinet handles.
Both function and form were a priority for this kitchen.
