The Myers Touch Create a Pure and Modern Open-Plan Kitchen

A kitchen by ‘Kitchen Retailer of the Year’ 2021 KBB Awards winner The Myers Touch was designed within a period home in Southsea, Hampshire.

The client had previously lived in the US and loved Sub Zero & Wolf Appliances – she wanted to incorporate them into a pure and modern combined look kitchen with American-style bench seating.

Designer Keith Myers worked with the client to create a kitchen that would create the ‘wow factor’, so they could cook and entertain for their large extended family. Danetti bench seating was installed against the island unit.

SieMatic classic SC10 range cabinetry mixed with SieMatic S2 handleless kitchen range were included in the design, as well as Silestone and Dekton worktops and a Kohler Sink & Tap.

Photography credits: Phil Green

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In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winners of the KBB Design category, Extreme Design discuss the evolution of clients' wishes and what role kitchens play in homes today, as well as their approach to designing interiors that reflect the client's personal style.

How important is it to enter the SBID Awards & receive industry recognition for your work? What are the benefits?

The SBID awards create awareness for outstanding achievement and celebrates design creativity and excellence worldwide. It allows designers to push the boundaries of design and bring global recognition to those with good design practices within the industry. At Extreme, it is our vision to make an impact on design in this country, and the awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase our work.  An SBID award carries credibility and helps build our reputation amongst clientele hoping to engage with Extreme for their unique and special projects.

What do you think made this particular design an award winner?

At Extreme, we believe that every great design starts with an inspiration. This belief and design approach gave us the freedom to design every detail of the client's kitchen to suit their vision. The elegance, sophistication and character of Art Deco design had captured their imagination and would form the basis of the design narrative. Influenced by The Churchill Bar and Terrace at the Hyatt Regency in London, the scheme works as a functional family living space and exudes luxury and exhibits a firm nod towards the clients love of everything art deco. The design transcends material and function and creates a one-of-a-kind space where every detail reflects our client.

As experts within the kitchen design sector, what do you think has been the biggest evolution in the kitchen space over the last decade? What external factors do you think have played a role in this shift?

Over the last decade we have seen clients move away from interiors which follow a common style or trend and look for something more personal, something which is a direct reflection of them and their life story. Since the 90’s the kitchen has been the centre of every household, and our clients are spending more time than ever in these multipurpose rooms. The clients story dictates the design direction, and we are selecting materials and finishes based on emotional connection and not just look and feel. Once a utilitarian design decision, kitchens now truly reflect the homeowner’s life, style and taste.

How do you make sure a design reflects the clients’ individuality and personal stories? Do you have a specific approach and how do you balance this with your own design style?

The client's story is at the heart of every design, and it stems from our belief that a design reflects a life lived, not just a lifestyle. We approach each project with a fresh perspective, bringing new ideas founded from our wealth of experience. The details we gather go beyond just practical and functional requirements. We take time to listen, understand and connect with how our clients want to feel in their new environment. Part of what makes Extreme so different is the design freedom that we bring to every project. Each design is individual, so we don't limit ourselves or our clients to set styles or ranges. Each design begins as a blank canvas and evolves to reflect each client's personal design story.

Now that you’ve won an SBID Award, what are the next steps? Is there anything new you are excited to be working on?

The awards have given us the belief and drive to continue developing our design approach, knowing that we have a formula that realises some of the most individual and exciting projects in this country and worldwide.

We are constantly working on what's new and what's next! And we look forward to sharing this with you in the years to come.

What advice can you give to young designers starting out in the design industry?

Open your eyes to the world; you can find inspiration in everything. Listen to your clients, stay focussed and don't be afraid to push your client to the edge of their boundaries. Everyone is different, so listen to your client's story and use this to fuel your creativity and create a design that is truly special.

Questions answered by Jade Jones, Design Manager, Extreme Design.

This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a standout kitchen design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Roundhouse.

This standout kitchen offers a serious amount of space with doors to the back terrace and a woodburner for winter comfort. Complete with an island that features polished concrete worktops, an underside in patinated corrugated iron and splashback in Lilac Milas marble, the textures used are purposefully varied and wonderfully original. With reused and recycled elements from the original barn, this is a space designed to be seen and used for all occasions.

The Myers Touch designed a new-build family home based in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire for owners that wanted a sociable, connected, family kitchen space with neutral tones that they could entertain and cook in.

Designer, Keith Myers worked with the client and builder to propose a solution to the kitchen living space that involved knocking down a wall, redesigning a larger kitchen space and relocating the utility room to another area of the house.

Siematic S2 handleless furniture was chosen for the cabinetry with 12mm Silestone Niebla and Dekton Fossil worktops.

Three unique zones – cooking area, prep area and storage that connected the kitchen within the dining space.

Photography credits: Phil Green

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This London pied-à-terre is a masterclass in open-plan living. Despite its relatively compact proportions (5m x 7m), the homeowners wanted to slot in a well-equipped kitchen, dining and living areas. Charlie Smallbone of Ledbury Studio was tasked with designing a kitchen that would both furnish the space and enhance its overall look.

To ensure the kitchen is a seamless extension of the living area, Charlie opted not to install wall cupboards above the base cabinets. This created space for floating glass shelves, allowing the homeowners to weave in a touch of character with plants and decorative objects. A hanging rail was also added, retaining the much-coveted open feel whilst keeping kitchen paraphernalia close to hand.

Charlie’s greatest challenge was to fit all the functional aspects of a kitchen into the single wall of furniture. “It was tricky but I am happy with the final arrangement, which incorporates a lot of storage as well as all the essentials,” he explains. “It features a stone sink and Miele induction hob sandwiched between a tall, integrated fridge-freezer and larder cupboard at one end, and a dropped-down worktop with storage above it at the other.”

The cupboards themselves feature pewter fronts, which speak to the homeowners’ eclectic style. Made from sheet metal that is hand textured with hammers and heat, and given an aged patina using acid, the surface is then sealed with lacquer so that it stands the test of time. The cupboards are finished with concave stainless-steel handles that have been blasted to dull the shine and darken their appearance.

Bianco Macaubas Quartzite was specified for the worktop; a hardwearing but stunning natural stone with rich marble-esque veining. Charlie paired this with a Verre Eglomise splashback, whereby pure gold leaf was applied to the reverse of toughened glass and antiqued. Not only does it look stunning, but its reflective properties help to bounce light around the room and increase the feeling of space.

Ledbury Studio kitchens start from £50,000.

Designed for multifunctional living, whether cooking for the family, entertaining friends or simply catching up over coffee, this kitchen from My Fathers Heart features stunning Dekton® by Cosentino worksurfaces on both the central island and the surrounding cabinetry within this large, open-plan space.

Created by Sheffield-based kitchen designers My Fathers Heart, the room combines stunning SieMatic S2 handleless cabinets in the Umbra velvet-matt finish with Dekton® in Kira, an earthy toned ultra-compact surface that has the look and feel of natural brownstones. Highly resistant to UV rays, scratches, stains and thermal shock, Dekton® is the ideal choice for homeowners looking for a durable, hardwearing worksurface solution and it can also be used for flooring and wall cladding both indoors and out. What's more, carbon neutrality has been achieved for the entire life cycle of Dekton, so homeowners can rest assured that their surface of choice is sustainable and helps build a better future.

Within the central island, Dekton® blends effortlessly with rich walnut, which creates visual contrast and provides a warm tone for the breakfast bar area with its high stools for snacks and coffee. The BORA Professional extractor hob in an all-black steel finish sits neatly within the surface while antique brass pendant lights from Italy drop stylishly from above. The slim profile of the worksurface beautifully enhances the elegance of the appliances and kitchen furniture, while the colour palette is warm and inviting, creating a relaxed, contemporary look.

Chrissi Batey, Senior Kitchen Designer for My Fathers Heart, explains the process behind the design, “We spent a long time with the customer and their interior designer choosing a door finish from the SieMatic palette that would perfectly balance the wider scheme of the room and settled on Umbra. Dekton was the natural choice for worktops due its superior hardwearing qualities and Kira, with its warm earthy tones and elegant fine veining, was chosen to seamlessly complement the doors whilst adding subtle drama to this impressive open plan space.”

Added features such as the black Quooker tap, which provides boiling, sparkling and chilled water on demand, an antique mirrored splashback and bespoke metal framed shelving provide the perfect balance between practicality and beautiful aesthetic.

Dekton® by Cosentino is available in a range of designs, from industrial inspired to marble look.

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Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio, and his team faced a significant design challenge in this latest project. The existing kitchen of a 1920s house in North London was long and narrow with very little natural light. Located to the rear of the house and accessed via an adjoining dining room off the entrance hall, the advantageous lofty proportions of the space were unfortunately complicated by three different ceiling heights (the consequence of crude building works some 30 years ago). At the back of the kitchen was a door leading to a former cold store that had been converted into a cramped utility room. Here, Charlie reveals how they created the stunning new space.

Materials

We chose fluted glass for cabinet fronts to keep the design light and airy, but without having the contents on display as you would with open shelves. The worktops are hard-wearing Classico Marble Arabesque quartz coupled with Verre Eglomise splashbacks, whereby pure gold leaf was applied to the reverse of toughened glass and antiqued. Demonstrating an eye for detail, the client requested a floral design be gilded onto the Verre Eglomise surface behind the hob, transforming it into a standout feature.

The kitchen is mainly taken from our Ledbury Shaker collection, but the client was also keen to introduce our signature use of metals. We added aged brass to the edge of the cooker hood and also used it for the plate rack’s supporting brackets, the hanging rails mounted on the splashbacks and the cupboard handles.

Storage solutions

The client is a prolific cook with a library of recipe books now housed in a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf within easy reach of the prep space. There is a generous breakfast cupboard too, combining a wealth of storage with dedicated space for microwave and coffee machine. Space to store wine was another priority, so we integrated a wine storage appliance into the design, in addition to the open wine storage in the mint-coloured cupboard. To the right of this is a walk-in cupboard for the boiler, and a slot for the washing machine and tumble dryer, stacked one on top of the other to maximise space.

Finally, the units either side of the range cooker constitute one of the most important parts of the design for me. What looks like multiple wall and base cupboards are actually two complete pieces of furniture.

Ledbury Studio kitchens start from £50,000.

The revolutionary ultra-compact surface, Dekton® by Cosentino has been specified at the trendy Kol restaurant in Marylebone, London. Opened in October 2020 by former Noma Mexico chef Santiago Lastra, his debut restaurant Kol brings together Mexican cuisine with local British produce, including shellfish from Scotland's shoreline and foraged ingredients from Kent's woodlands. Kol offers a set menu of unique, thoughtfully curated dishes with plenty of flavour, such as short rib with quince mole, and squash sorbet with rattlesnake chilli.

Designed by A-nrd Studio, Kol's distinctive open plan layout with its kitchen as the central focus pays homage to Mexico with its warming, vibrant colour palette, while also incorporating a sense of pared back, minimalist Scandinavian design with plenty of wooden elements, straight lines and foliage. Spanning across two levels and five hundred square meters, the restaurant also boasts a mezcal bar on the ground floor, for serving up Mexican cocktails and spirits to guests.

Fabricated by LBS Enterprises Ltd, bestselling Dekton® Trilium, made from up to 80% of recycled materials, was the surface of choice throughout the restaurant's kitchen and serving areas. Showcasing a mixture of colours inspired by volcanic rock, Dekton® Trilium's intense and irregular accents of black and grey and its matte finish result in a rich and varied surface design, with an appearance that alters depending on the angle of the light on the surface.

"Dekton was always the surface of choice for my new Kol restaurant in Marylebone, London," says Santiago. "Its technical properties exceed the other options available and there is so much choice when it comes to the look and feel of the surface; it was difficult to choose a colour! We decided that Dekton Trilium was perfect for helping to convey the relaxed yet fun feel that we wanted in the restaurant - plus, we loved the fact that Dekton Trilium is made from 80% recycled materials. I am so pleased with how Trilium has brought the open-plan restaurant kitchen design to life, and its durability is second to none."

As with all Dekton® designs, Dekton® Trilium boasts superior technical properties, such as high resistance to UV rays, scratches, stains and thermal shock, and very low water absorption. Made from a sophisticated mixture of the raw materials used to make glass, next-generation porcelain surfaces and quartz surfaces, Dekton® is suitable for a variety of different projects, including worktops, flooring and wall cladding, both inside and outside. Dekton® Trilium is also available in Dekton® 4mm Slim, which combines the technical and mechanical features that Dekton® is known for with a much thinner (4mm), lighter (10 kg/m2), and manageable format for installation - ideal for wall, door and furniture cladding.

In addition, carbon neutrality has been achieved for the entire life cycle of Dekton® (from cradle to grave), covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3, from the extraction of the raw material, to the use of the product and the end of its life. This recognition, obtained through emission reduction and compensation projects certified by the United Nations, confirms the good practices of Cosentino Group in terms of sustainability and environmental management.

Image credits: Bircan Tulga, Black Edge Productions.

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Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio, has garnered a reputation for collaborating with talented artisans. His latest project in Wimbledon is no exception. It features stunning stained-glass windows by celebrated artist Brian Clarke that strike a colourful contrast to Charlie’s cool, industrial-inspired design.

Two sets of natural oak drawers with exposed dovetail joints inject a craft-inspired vibe into the pared-back design. Airy Concrete Caesarstone was then chosen for the worktops; a perfect complement to the concrete flooring. The finishing flourish is Crittall patio doors that open into the garden – an essential element of any industrial-inspired kitchen.

“This is a kitchen that works on so many levels,” concludes Charlie. “It’s a highly functional family kitchen, a great open-plan entertaining space – that links so well with the garden – and the backdrop for some truly stunning pieces of art. I couldn’t be more delighted with the finished effect.”

Ledbury Studio kitchens start from £50,000.

With a wealth of experience in the bespoke kitchen, interiors and property market, Alex Crabtree specialises in providing PR services to the interior design industry. Alexandra shares her journey in marketing, interior styling and public relations, and how this lead her to establish her career as a PR consultant for interior designers. She provides her professional insight; from the influence of Instagram for sourcing and inspiration, to her key tips for improving PR strategies in the interior sector. 

Tell us about how you started as an interiors stylist and why you came to specialise in PR for the interior design industry? Have you always been interested in this field? 

Back in the day my brother and father had a bespoke kitchen company – Crabtree Kitchens.  I was working for Pete Townshend of the Who, running his recording studio and I wanted a new challenge and thought that I could help them with getting the brand out there and become more known with interior designers and clients alike. So, I joined their company and immediately employed an interior photographer to start shooting their fabulous kitchens. I had not taken on any styling professionally before but I always styled my home constantly (long before Instagram). Once I had decent images of the kitchens I started pitching them out to magazines and soon discovered that I achieved quite a lot of features and Crabtree Kitchens became very well known even though we were a relatively small brand.  At one stage about 60% of our work was from interior designers.

You’ve worked in the kitchen, interiors and property market for many years. What’s been the most memorable highlight or achievement of your career so far?

I think that when I was PR and marketing Director at Crabtree Kitchens I just loved it when clients came in and said they had seen the company everywhere. But generally when I achieve a feature in a magazine for a client I still get such a massive buzz and specially if I have also styled the shots too.  The excitement of achieving a feature for a client has not diminished at all over the years at all.

Do you have a signature style when it comes to interior styling? How has the Instagram era affected this and the way you find inspiration?

It’s such an interesting question as in my own home I definitely style in a very maximalist eclectic style but most kitchen clients don’t want that look so if you look at my website you will see the kitchens on there that I have styled and it’s in a much more minimalist way – so I can style in whichever way is required.

Instagram has certainly been so amazing in so many ways for me.  Both in terms of my styling and PR and also having met some wonderful people who are also passionate about interior design.  It’s also a fabulous source of small interiors businesses to feed my passion and so many different styles in which to create my maximalist dark eclectic home.  I also buy pieces from Instagram sources for my client shoots too.

How do you help interior designers in gaining essential coverage for their projects and providing valuable exposure for their work?

I help my clients gain essential coverage by getting under the skin of the company so to speak and understand what their company is all about and then making sure that they have the best professionally shot photography.  Then of course  keeping in constant contact with the relevant editors and freelancers and updating them on the clients most recent projects etc.

If you had to give one top tip for interior designers looking to improve their PR strategy to grow their business, what would it be?

Really take THE best photography and employ THE best PR and keep in contact with the editors. I know that's three! But they all go hand in hand!

Cover image credits: Brayer Design. Photos by Nick Smith Photography ©