Kitchen, Shaker, Tulipwood, Birch, Dovetailed, Storage
Tailored Kitchen
This fully bespoke kitchen was designed, made and installed for a home in Lewes, East Sussex.
Rather than working around standard kitchen unit sizes, every cabinet, drawer and storage area was designed specifically for the room. Birch plywood cabinetry, solid tulipwood Shaker fronts and handmade dovetailed drawers bring traditional cabinetmaking into a practical everyday kitchen, while the existing solid ash worktop was altered and refinished to become part of the new design.
BRIEF.
The client wanted a handmade kitchen that made better use of the available space while remaining practical and easy to live with every day.
Storage was a major part of the brief. Large drawers were preferred over deep cupboards, making cookware and everyday items easier to see and reach.
The area beneath the sink also needed a more considered solution. Existing plumbing occupied much of the cabinet, so the challenge was to create useful storage around it while keeping the pipework accessible.
The overall kitchen needed to feel appropriate to the house, with simple Shaker detailing and the character of traditionally made furniture rather than standard fitted units.
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS.
Making the most of the available storage was one of the main challenges, particularly beneath the sink where conventional cabinetry would have left much of the space difficult to use.
Instead of accepting this as a cupboard with limited access, bespoke drawer boxes were designed around the existing pipework. Their shape allows the plumbing to remain accessible while turning much more of the space immediately beneath the sink into useful storage.
The larger drawers elsewhere in the kitchen presented a different consideration. Once filled with cookware, they can carry considerable weight, so both the construction and hardware needed to accommodate that load. Solid dovetailed drawer boxes were paired with heavy-duty soft-close runners to provide strength and smooth operation.
By designing each cabinet individually, the storage could be developed around its actual purpose rather than trying to make standard cabinet dimensions fit the room.
THE MAKING PROCESS.
The project began with detailed measurements of the kitchen and conversations about how the client wanted to use the space. From there, the cabinet sizes, drawer arrangements and internal storage were developed specifically around the room.
Back in the workshop, the birch plywood carcasses were constructed first, creating a strong and stable foundation for the kitchen. The Shaker doors and drawer fronts were then made individually from solid tulipwood, along with the handmade drawer boxes.
Each drawer box was traditionally dovetailed, providing a strong mechanical joint as well as a visible piece of craftsmanship every time a drawer is opened. The large storage cabinet was arranged with five drawers, combining shallower everyday storage above with deeper drawers below for larger items.
The sink drawers were made specifically around the existing plumbing rather than treating the pipework as unusable space. Their shape, runners and clearances were all developed and tested in the workshop before installation.
The cabinets were assembled and set up before leaving the workshop so drawer movement, door gaps, hardware and alignment could all be checked in advance.
Once on site, the cabinetry was positioned, individually fitted and scribed to the existing room. The original solid ash worktop was altered and refinished to work with the new layout before the final doors, drawers and hardware were adjusted to complete the installation.
“Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship, we're extremely happy with the care and attention throughout the project. Thanks so much!”
- Anthony Stindum, Lewes