The clients wanted a modern and sophisticated new kitchen for their Victorian terraced house in the Stoke Newington area of London. They had a fairly modest budget but wanted natural materials in dark hues as well as modern appliances.

I was able to fulfill the brief by commissioning my carpenter to make the carcasses for the units from MDF and using wood veneer instead of solid wood on the doors. I chose a black American walnut veneer and sourced a honed black granite for the worktops to achieve the dark, moody look the clients liked. However, by painting the walls yellow, I was able to inject some sunshine into the space - without some bright colour I felt the room could have ended up having a rather funereal air.

The kitchen is designed very much with ergonomics in mind as the clients love to cook and so spend a lot of time using it. They needed plenty of space for food preparation and lots of storage for their china and glassware, as well as for foods.