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Subtle details and thoughtful design haveresulted in a kitchen that is sophisticated andstylish – without having to shout about itPICTURES DARREN CHUNG I WORDS HARRIET PAIGE

DESIGN ETHICThe slimline wall cupboard and

chunky, off-set wall shelf are a veryimportant part of the design. They

help to give the kitchen the unfittedlook Arabella was after. Echoing therectangular shapes of the roof lightsand the long piece of Portland stone

beneath the television, they alsogive the room a sense of harmony

IN PERFECTharmony

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t’s never easy to finally settle on a kitchen company.For Arabella Tullo it came down to the details. ‘WhenI went into the Roundhouse showroom there were acouple of little things that really impressed me about theirdisplays,’ she remembers. ‘I loved what they call the sharkedge on their units and worktop, and they had a slimline wallcupboard that fitted in with the aesthetic I had in my mind.’

Arabella describes this aesthetic as ‘deconstructed’, a look that veerswell away from the typical fitted kitchen with heavy wall cabinets.‘We were creating a large, open-plan living area from what had beena number of separate rooms. I didn’t want the kitchen to dominatethe space, but rather to be in harmony with its surroundings.’

With this in mind, kitchen designer Oli Moss made sure that everyaspect of the kitchen displays a lightness of touch – from the elegantdetails Arabella had first admired, through to the virtually invisibleinduction hob and integrated extractor. Arabella herself paid greatattention to the practicalities of the kitchen, researching each elementso she could make informed decisions. ‘You need to listen to yourdesigner but also think carefully yourself about how you are goingto use the kitchen and what you’re trying to achieve. I think you needa large sink, rather than the small ones you often see. And I wanteda separate but undermounted drainer, rather than having groovesin the worktop. I also love my pop-up power points on the island,which mean there’s no need for unsightly sockets on the side panel.And I couldn’t live without the boiling water tap – it’s brilliant!’

Lighting was also very important to Arabella. Both the natural light– ‘maximising light was the core part of my brief to the architect’ –and artificial. ‘I used a lighting designer for our house in Spain andnow I wouldn’t do a building project without one. Architects are goodat spaces but a lighting designer concentrates on designing with light,which is so important in an open-plan space that needs to fulfil somany functions. We have a Lutron system which allows us to switchbetween moods, whether we’re entertaining, relaxing or cooking.’

Arabella admits that open-plan living can be high maintenance.‘As a cook you have to be very tidy – I tend to do a lot of pre-cookingin the afternoon if I’m entertaining.’ But she loves the way it expandsher interior horizons. ‘I love preparing food on the island, lookingout over the rest of the room and onto the garden.’ eKBB

ISLAND CENTRALThe island is large in order to be in

proportion with the room and to giveArabella a luxurious amount of food

preparation space. However, the colourpalette, elegant detailing and unobtrusive

appliances help to give it a feeling oflightness so it doesn’t dominate the

space. With a hob and prep sink, Arabellafinds she does the majority of her cookinghere. Plenty of seating ensures it’s also agreat place to grab an informal bite to eat

I

STOOLSThe Magris Lyra barstools from Nest sit

perfectly with the neatarchitectural style of the

new kitchen scheme

FLOORINGThe engineered oak

flooring from TheWooden Floor

Specialists has a whitehard wax oil finish

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EXTRA SPACESliding doors at the backof the island give accessto reduced depthcupboards which caneasily be reachedwithout getting in theway of the bar stools.Oli added a walnut trimto introduce warmth andto tie in with the diningtable in the same wood

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‘Arabella describes this aesthetic as‘deconstructed’ – a look that veerswell away from the typical fittedkitchen with heavy wall cabinets’

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Qa&OLI MOSSDESIGNER,ROUNDHOUSE

You came to the projectbefore the space wastransformed. How did youvisualise how the kitchenwould work in the newspace? The original space wasdivided into three pokey littlerooms with yellow walls andbrown carpet. When it comesto designing a kitchen I find itbest to forget all that andwork just from the plans andmeasurements, which makesit much easier to visualise.Upon seeing the plans I wasamazed by how much space Ihad – it’s incredible what knockinga few walls down can do.

How did you settle on thecolour palette? We wantedsomething that was freshand contemporary but nottoo clinical. The white of thecabinets has a soft sheenrather than high gloss andwe’ve warmed it by using awalnut trim around the slidingdoor cabinets at the back of theisland. The timber floor, whichwas specified by Arabella, alsohelps to add warmth. We choseKensho composite stone in asoft grey with a very subtletexture, again to prevent thelook from being too flat andclinical. The worktop has a shark

edge detail which givesit a light, floaty feeling.

What was your startingpoint for the design? Whatstruck me about the architect’splans were the strong, longrectangular shapes of thewindows in the roof and sideelevation so I used these asa starting point, echoing theshapes in the long wall cabinetand shelf above the sink.Arabella was very keen notto have something too fittedand this arrangement helpedto give the kitchen the morefree flowing feel she was after.

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APPLIANCE BANKArabella chose a bank of fourovens by Siemens, whichincludes two single ovens, asteam oven and a microwave.‘Oli persuaded me to try asteam oven. It’s taken mea while to get used to it butnow I use it a lot to steamvegetables. It helps me tocook with less oil and eatmore healthily,’ says Arabella

WORKTOPSThe shark nose detail on the

worktop is a signature ofRoundhouse kitchens. The

sharply bevelled edgemakes the worktop appear

as if it is floating, anextremely elegant effect

MATERIAL MIXBrushed stainless steel,

frosted glass and theKensho composite worktop

create a misty softness.This works well with the

colour palette and is verygentle on the eye

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KEEPING IT COOLArabella has an American-style fridge-freezer in herhouse in Spain and waskeen not to get one hereas she doesn’t like the waythey dominate the room.However, her grown upsons, Myles, 24, and Jamie,21, were wedded to theice maker. After a lot ofresearch Arabella found anintegrated fridge with icemaker by Liebherr which,along with an integratedfreezer, sits on the left-handside of the ovens. To thefar right there’s a Tambourdoor which neatly concealsthe toaster and otherkitchen appliances

Kitchen prof ileA number of small rooms were opened up to create alarge open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting room, designedto let in as much light as possible from the south-facinggarden overlooking Dulwich Park. With soft, white handlelesscabinets made to match the colour of the walls, elegant‘floating’ worktops, unobtrusive appliances and slimline wallcupboards, the kitchen is designed to be in harmony with itssurroundings rather than dominate the space.

ROUNDHOUSE11 Wigmore Street, London, W11 1PE.Tel 020 7297 6220. roundhousedesign.comKitchens priced from £30,000.

All the drawersare crafted in solid

walnut and thecabinets all have

solid walnut edging

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OPEN ASPECTThe south-facing garden

overlooking Dulwich parklets an abundance of light

into the room. This hasbeen maximised by the

architect’s striking use ofglass, particularly in the

roof and side elevations.The property has been

extended outwards andalso to the side, leaving a

small passage on theright-hand side so as not toblock the neighbours’ light.

Arabella has a small herbgarden here, overlooked by

a slim vertical window atthe end of the dining table

‘You need to listen to your designerbut also think carefully yourself abouthow you are going to use the kitchen’

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StockistsAPPLIANCESEH879SC11 induction hob, £1,185; HB75AB550Boven, £958; HB34D552B steam and hot aircombination oven, £1,241; Microwave, £785;SN66T094GB dishwasher, 1,048, all Siemens.IKB 3660 fridge, £1,642; IGM 2566 freezer,£1,757, both Liebherr. PRO 3 VAC 3DCHRboiling water tap, £870, Quooker.

FIXTURES AND FURNISHINGSS008 and KBX110/45 sinks and KBX104/45drainer unit, all Franke. 910149 tap, £543,and 13193149 tap, £324, both Gessi. Konshocomposite stone worktops, £5,268,Roundhouse Design. Surf dining tablein walnut, around £3,000, Tablemakers.Wilton dining chairs, £139 for two, Made.com.Magis Lyra bar stools, £284 each, Nest.Pirce suspension ceiling lamp, £646,AmbienteDirect.com. Engineered oakflooring, with a white hard wax oil finish,£92.40m2, The Wooden Floor Specialists.

ARCHITECT Richard DudzickiAssociates 020 8299 2222 rdauk.comLIGHTING DESIGNLight IQ 020 8749 1900 lightiq.com

FOR STOCKISTS, SEE PAGE 182

BRINGING THEOUTDOORS INThe open-plan living arealeads directly out onto thepatio and, when the slidingdoors are open, there isbarely a partition betweenthe two, enabling a naturalflow between inside and out

VISUAL SOLUTIONThe window overlookingthe worktop faces out ontoa brick wall so Arabelladecided to use frosted glass

‘I used a lighting designer for our house in Spain.Now I wouldn’t do a building project without one’

ON TAP‘Oli persuaded me togo for a boiling watertap,’ says Arabella.‘I wasn’t sure at firstas it seemed anextravagance butI’m so glad I did, Iwouldn’t want tobe without it now.’