The Family: Margaret & Gerry Gallagher & their two children Design by: Anne Ellard
When I first met the Gallaghers I knew they were looking for more than just a kitchen….they wanted somewhere that would also act as a socializing area with lots of practical storage & somewhere that the children could do their homework under Margaret’s watchful eye! Practicality was the key! I worked very closely with Margaret & Gerry to give them a design that would work for the whole family.
Two support columns had to be placed during construction in the area where the kitchen would be situated. We set about making these columns into a “feature” instead of an “inconvenience”. The location of these columns allowed us to use them as a starting point for the island. Margaret and Gerry wanted a power supply in the island. We thought to have a “wall” between the columns higher than the worktop level so that sockets could be fitted there. This worked out perfectly as it creates a lovely finish to the island, keeps the sockets away from the wet areas and gives Margaret the fully functioning practical island she was after.
Storage for everyday items such as the childrens schoolbags was also needed in the kitchen. We designed an arrangement of drawers to go at the front of the island. There are four deep drawers….one for each member of the family. This is where Margaret will find her hat and gloves, where Jerry will find his briefcase and where the children will find their school bags as they run through the kitchen on their way out the door in the morning.
Maragret also wanted somewhere in the kitchen where the children could do their homework & she could sit to have a cup of coffee. We extended the granite on the island out to the side to create a breakfast bar area with smooth rounded edges. This was the perfect location for such a seating area as it did not interfere with or take away from the look of the rest of the kitchen and it also faced the window and new patio doors that open out onto the back garden.
The clients are both tall and complained of being uncomfortable while standing at their current kitchen worktop while preparing food. With this in mind I designed an island with an increased height using bespoke height drawer units and cupboards to raise the worktop level so that they would not have to bend over when working at the island. As the island was the place that Margaret felt they would use the most this is where we incorporated two combinations of pull out bin systems in the cupboards at the back of the island.
Working closely with Margaret I helped her to plan where everything in the kitchen would go‌from cutlery to mixing bowls. The tall counter unit at the end of the kitchen was shelved inside to store the bowls and cups and the drawers underneath were designed to house the plates. This placement ensured that nobody would have to pass through the “cookingâ€? area while emptying the dishwasher or setting the table. We re redesigned the location of the units until we arrived at a plan that worked perfectly.
Margaret & Gerry had recently invested in new appliances for their kitchen and did not need to change them so we designed the kitchen to incorporate their existing fridge, freezer, double oven and microwave.
The “alcove� space to the side of the kitchen that had been unintentionally created during the building process suddenly became the perfect place for a wall of storage. Again I worked closely with Margaret to design something for this space and in the end we both agreed that simple was best. The wall was filled with a tall broom cupboard, a tall freezer and two tall shelved larders. The larders were shelved out to house the dry food & bulky items, all positioned so that Margaret could easily see and access them. The units were designed with the same height doors on each to give the area a neat and uniformed look.
With all the practicalities out of the way the next step was to ensure the kitchens design was visually pleasing. I added a glass corned press beside the window which would be lit inside and would house Margarets collection of crystal. The Gallaghers also wanted storage for wine bottles so a wine rack was added beside the glass press. The cooking area was designed with symmetry and practicality in mind. The hob sits on a set of drawers which has been stepped out by 100mm with contemporary styled pilasters on either side. This adds to the worktop space around the hob and also visually adds another dimension to the kitchen. Another set of drawers were placed on either side of the hob ensuring that all cutlery, cooking utensils, pots and pans were within easy reach of the chef! A single press was placed on either side of the extractor to store items such as oils, spices etc.
From the start both Margaret & Gerry knew they wanted mixture of dark and light finishes in the kitchen. With their budget of under â‚Ź20,000 in mind I guided them through the various options available. The Gallaghers wanted a timeless yet stylish look for this kitchen and I think this was really achieved with the use of shaker style doors in a mixture of High gloss cream and rich solid American walnut. The Gallaghers wanted a hard wearing stone worktop so we decided upon black granite for the island and cream quartz for the main kitchen area. To finish off the kitchen a sleek and simple stainless steel handle was selected. The mixture of light and dark, matt and high gloss blends beautifully and exudes an air of contemporary sophistication.
Anne Ellard Art & Design www.anneellardart.blogspot.com