Choosing A Quality Kitchen

The kitchen really is the heart of the home – it probably seems like a cliché as the expression is somewhat overused but nevertheless in most households, it’s true.

With this in mind it’s worth investing in a good quality kitchen that comes in at the top end of your budget. Not only is it the social hub for most families but it is also a key selling point when looking to move on.

Small but beautifully formed kitchen

Bespoke is best

Tim Moss is a sought after kitchen and furniture designer and he recommends choosing a bespoke kitchen when looking for real quality. ‘With total freedom from the restraints of mass production, the design is tailor made for the space and to exacting standards of craftsmanship,’ he says. ‘When buying a genuinely bespoke kitchen the overall quality of design and build should be of the highest standard. A badly designed kitchen will not look nice, feel nice or work well.’

Choose materials that last

Quartz is a popular material choice for Moss but when it comes to the carcasses he uses veneered blockboards as he says this is a far superior material to MDF or chipboard. For door frames and framing however he prefers to use solid wood (usually Liriodendron tulipifera) and says that if you use good quality wood you can expect the kitchen to last a lifetime.

The chimney breast works as the perfect housing for the cooker

Feel the quality

Most designers agree that you should not to be afraid to touch and feel the products that you are considering using. Interior designer Kia Sunda does this when choosing hardware. She says: ‘Firstly it is really important to make sure that draw box mechanisms work smoothly and consistently throughout the kitchen. My best way of checking this is to fiddle. I go through the showroom and open everything. I will close it roughly and pull it open quickly to find out if it still runs smoothly or if it slams.’ Moss agrees with the importance of touch and says: ‘There are nearly always cheap alternatives but when you hold the real thing and its cheap counterpart the choice becomes obvious.’

Light the space

Lighting should not be underestimated in the kitchen. ‘Lighting can make or break a design,’ says Moss, explaining that this is sometimes trickier in a kitchen where you need strong task lighting as well as softer ambient light. ‘It’s important to have directional lights in the ceiling and pendants above an island and dining table enhance the overall feel.’ 

There really is no substitute for quality and the only way to guarantee a well-crafted, long lasting and durable kitchen design is to invest wisely and choose the best components that your budget will allow.

Double larder cupboards are a great for storing dry foods, crockery, bottles etc

Feature in Art of Bespoke

When bespoke kitchen designer Tim Moss first discussed this kitchen project with his customer, he wasn’t convinced that he could make her dreams come true. But with some clever spatial evaluation and planning he was able to achieve the impossible.

This kitchen project in Holland Park was part of a much larger renovation project that encompassed the whole property. The brief was to create a unified space between the basement sitting area, the kitchen and the dining room, leading out to the garden.

‘The space was narrow and the client wished for an Island. I knew this would be difficult but after much consideration and experimenting I’m thrilled with the design I arrived at’ says Moss. Working from architect’s plans, he wrestled with various lay-outs, always conscious of the client’s requests.

Farrwow and Ball Downpipe and Strong White paint

A dark island combined with light wall cabinetry give drama and contrast

He had to work around the constraints of the certain structural elements that could not be removed, but eventually he came upon the idea of using all the available alcove and chimney breast depths to push the larger appliances far enough in to gain the extra space needed for the island. Moss adds: ‘The cupboards all vary in depth and width as they work their way around the supporting piers.’

The kitchen is located in the basement of the property which obviously throws up the additional challenge of creating a space that is sufficiently bright and airy. In order to ensure that this was the case, Moss carefully selected a colour scheme that would maximise all the available natural light.

The wall of cupboards was painted in Skimming Stone by Farrow and Ball which helped to keep the feeling of light, whilst the island was painted in Downpipe, also by Farrow and Ball, which created a feeling of solidity and added a bit of quiet drama. Moss also specified a paler fossilised limestone floor to add texture to the room and work surfaces in Caesarstone ‘Snow’ to lighten the whole area.

In-built wine cooler and elegant glazed display cupboard

When it came to choosing the appliances and kitchen brassware, Moss opted for brands that he knew well and had worked with before. ‘All appliances are Gaggenau, much loved by the client, both for style and quality. The tap is by Dornbracht, from its Elio range. Both are brands of such good quality and they are always a pleasure to fit,’ says Moss.

Both the client and Moss were extremely happy with the final result, but it did take some time to get there. ‘The schedule was quite long as the entire property was to be refurbished,’ explains Moss. ‘Once the design was finished and the drawings all ready for the builder, we had a wait of some five to six months.’ This, according to Moss, was down to the fact that the kitchen, as in any build, should go in as late as practically possible to avoid the chances of damage.

Elegant and highly functional bank of wall cupboards

However, despite this wait to get started there were no major hold-ups along the way. Moss says: ‘Having the builder on site everyday meant a tightly run job throughout, with the whole project being finished on time.’

The client was extremely happy with her new kitchen and Moss says that she has even shown some of his prospective clients around with much pleasure and very good results. Moss too was very satisfied with the way the project turned out. He says: ‘I am really pleased with the overall lay-out. Seeing the client’s face, her disbelief and joy, when I revealed we had met all her wishes was my personal highlight.’

Ham and High Feature

Tim was recently contacted by the Ham and High for a feature on top tips when designing a kitchen. We thought you might like to see what he said.

"Kitchen designer Tim Moss creates bespoke ‘workshops’ for his clients from his Muswell Hill studio, as well as custom made pieces of kitchen furniture.

His understated designs, whether contemporary or more traditional in style, are reminiscent of the Georgian townhouse – versatile and utilitarian but also aesthetically pleasing.

Using natural, quality materials such as oak, beech, maple, tulipwood and stone, and a subtle grey and earth-toned palette, his kitchens are designed to be used. They are popular with clients in North London and he has worked on several kitchen extensions and refits in Hampstead, Highgate and surrounding areas.

And he has finally put his ideas into practice in his own Bounds Green home, which he shares with his wife and two sons. “We have one of my kitchens, at last. We wanted one for a while but it’s kind of the case of the cobbler’s children.”

Swiss Cottage kitchen with panel doors set in a beaded frame, finished in Farrow & Ball 'Skimming Stone' Estate Eggshell, Lincoln Pull handles in patine, Caesarstone 'Ginger' worktop, Lacanche Range cooker

So, what are Moss’s top considerations when designing a new kitchen?

Get your lighting right

I always do a suggested lighting plan. My tips for lighting are to spread it out, and use targeted task lighting. You can kill a kitchen with bad lighting. You can kill anything with bad lighting.

Modern touches can bring traditional bang up to date

My signature look is pared down and traditional looking, but with the odd contemporary feature. Just adding a few small touches can make a kitchen look very modern. The main things I use to give things an updated look are modern handles and appliances.

Porcelain worktops are coming on the market now and are set to replace quartz composite as the material of choice. They are very hard and durable and come in a huge range of colours.

Cabbage motif cupboard in Tim Moss' kitchen

Keep things flexible

There’s a trend for a looser type of kitchen in the air at the moment. People are getting away from the ultra-fitted look and going for a more broken up space, which gives you much more flexibility. You can change the furniture around and you’re not stuck with units that all have to be exactly the same height.

You’re creating a workshop, so make sure it’ll stand up to use

I always say to people “this is a workshop, it’s got to be designed and made for that purpose and it has to be durable.” I don’t like the idea of them not being used.

I did have one client who I went to see five years after we built her kitchen. She was saying that her oven didn’t work and they’d stopped making the model. It turned out it was the first time she’d tried to switch it on since it had been fitted!

A large, shallow cupboard will change your life

What we really wanted in our own kitchen was a good ergonomic space as we had quite a tight spot to fit it in and we’ve got a dining area in there too.

The one thing we’ve got in our kitchen that almost everyone who sees it loves is a huge, tall, shallow cupboard. The fact that it’s shallow means that it’s really easy to access everything but it’s still big enough to fit everything in.

Introducing our 5 Oven Aga Total Control

We are currently designing our new display kitchen for our showroom and will be incorporating the beautiful 5 Oven Aga Total Control.

5 Oven Aga Total Control

Perfect for passionate cooks, large families or those with bigger kitchens, the brand-new 5-oven AGA Total Control series cookers feature roasting, baking, simmering, slow cooking and warming ovens.

Available as a standard Total Control model or with iTotal Control technology, the 5-oven AGA cooker occupies the same footprint as the 4-oven AGA and offers the same peerless cooking performance you would expect from AGA. The new slow cooking oven is perfect for dishes such as shoulder or leg of lamb, steamed puddings, casseroles and stocks.

At the heart of the electric AGA Total Control cooker is a touch-screen control panel which puts you in charge of how and when the cooker is used.

Discreetly housed behind the door, the nerve centre of the AGA Total Control cooker can be accessed directly or programmed via a remote control handset. Using the control panel, the hotplates and ovens can be turned on manually when needed. It's so flexible – you can heat only one hotplate or both. You can opt to heat only the roasting oven, the baking oven or the simmering oven – or all three. The Warming Oven, Slow Cooking Oven and Warming Plate are operated via the button on the front of the top plate.

Alternatively using the remote control handset, you can even programme the cast-iron ovens to come on automatically for one or two cooking cycles per day, seven days a week. You can set the AGA Total Control cooker to provide the constant ambient warmth to the kitchen for which the AGA cooker is renowned.

AUTOMATICALLY READY

 
Manual (you choose)

Each zone (an oven or a hotplate) can be operated individually in manual mode. Any zone selected will remain on until switched off.

TCA Touch Screen Control Panel Slumber (ovens only)
In this mode all three ovens are active, pre-set at a simmering heat. Slumber setting is ideal for slow cooking and giving a gentle heat into the kitchen, creating that unmistakable ambient AGA warmth. When the ovens are in slumber mode, they take less time to reach full heat.

Auto (ovens only)
Selecting the auto function brings selected ovens up to full heat from off automatically when a programme is set. The ovens can be selected to operate once or twice each day, with the start and finish time of the 'cooking cycles' set by the user.

Auto slumber (ovens only)
Choosing this setting automatically brings the ovens up to full heat from slumber mode.

 5-oven AGA Total Control
 

W- Warming plate
B - Boiling plate
S - Simmering plate
C - Control panel
1 - Roasting oven
2 - Simmering oven
3 - Baking oven
4 - Warming oven
5 - Slow cooking oven.

Warming plate - Rest plates and food on the warming plate to keep at a warm temperature, for a limited period of time.

Boiling plate - The boiling plate is the hotter of the two hotplates. From cold, the boiling plate takes approximately 11 minutes to reach its operating temperature.

Simmering plate - The simmering plate is on the right-hand side. It is the cooler of the two hotplates. From a cold start, the simmering plate will achieve its operating temperature in about 8 minutes.

Roasting oven - roasts and grills beautifully and is big enough to fit a 13kg (28lbs) turkey. Radiant heat means food keeps its natural succulence and flavour.

Baking oven - heated to an ideal moderate baking temperature - ideal for cakes, biscuits and bread.

Simmering oven - Simmers perfectly by constantly maintaining the oven at just the right temperature for long, slow cooking. This develops flavours and will make even the toughest cut of meat melt-in-the-mouth tender.

Warming oven - designed to warm plates and serving dishes, to rest meat before carving and to keep food warm, prior to serving, for a limited period of time. Food should not be left in there indefinitely and certainly not for any longer than two hours.

Slow cooking oven - the exciting addition of a slow cooking oven makes this new model perfect for those with a large family or anyone who simply loves to cook. The slow cooking oven is ideal for dishes such as shoulder or leg of lamb, steamed puddings, casseroles and stocks. The slow cooking oven and the warming oven operate together via a switch on the cooker. And as well as the two hotplates, there is a useful warming plate.

Please visit our showroom to find out more or place an order.

The Wonderful Language of Carpentry

The craft of working with wood is one of the main catalysts for human civilization. There's no escaping the magnitude of how important wood has been to our world.

The Neanderthals started producing practical wood objects over 100,000 years ago. Egyptians not only made their own tools but also constructed chairs, tables, and chests. Many of these furniture items are still preserved in tombs today.

The Egyptians invented veneering and varnishing and the early Chinese invented the plane and chalk line.

Carvers and carpenters created wonders that still astound us today, from the magnificent roof of Westminster Hall to the Coronation Chair, last used by Elizabeth II, but created 700 years ago.

To this day, you can find societies using the same tools and techniques to build homes and feed their families.

Many wonderful words and terms are used in wood working, below is a short glossary of some of my favourites.

Anthropometry - The comparative study of the dimensions of the human body

Arris - The sharp edge where two surfaces meet at an angle

Bosting in - Carving roughly to shape

Burl - A warty growth of the trunk of a tree. When sliced it produces speckled burr veneer.

          or

         An extremely thin strip of metal left along the cutting edged ofa blade after honing or grinding

Cauls - sheets of wood or metal used to press veneer onto groundwork

Chatoyance - the effect seen in dramatic wood grain direction changes as seen in flame figured maple.

Chattering - The noise caused by a workpiece vibrating

Collet - A tapered sleeve made in two or more segments that grips the shaft of a cutter

Crown of thorns - a system of self-supporting and interlocking pieces

Cruck - a pair of crooked, structural timbers in a timber frame building

Curly figure - The grain pattern on wood that has been part of a tree where a branch joind the main stem or trunk

Ferrule- A metal collar that reinforces the weood where the tang of a chisel or other handtool enters teh handle

Flitches - Pieces of wood sawn from a log for slicing into veneers

               or

               The bundle of sliced veneers

Fox wedging - A jointing procedure where wooded wedges are used to spread a tenon in a stopped mortise

Foxing - a yellow-brown discoloration of wood due to fungal infection.

French cleat - a molding used to hang cabinets

Gullet - The space between saw teeth

Heartwood - The mature wood that forms the spine of a tree

Hollow Ground - A term used to describe circular-saw blades that are reduced in thickness towards their centres

Kerf - The slot cut by a saw

Kicker - A strip of wood fixed above a drawer's side to prevent it topping upwards as the drawer is withdrawn

Lopers - Rails that are pulled from a cabinet in order to support a fall flap

Muntin - The central vertical member of a frame-and-panel door

               or

             A grooved strip of wood that divides and supports the two sections of a wide drawer bottom

Patina - The colour and texture that a material such as wood or metal acquires as a result of a natural aging process

Pawls - Pivoted pointed leavers designed to grip a workpiece as soon as it is thrown back by a moving blade or cutter

Riffler - a paddle-shaped rasp.

Ripsawing - Cutting parallel to the grain

Rottenstobe - An abrasive powder similar to pumice but ground even finer

Scorp - a drawknife with a curved, sometimes completely circular blade, often used for hollowing out objects such as bowls.

Shellac - A secretion of teh lac insect used to manufacture French polish

Sherardized - Coated with zinc

Skiver - Thin leather prepared for gluing to a desk or table top

Snib - a wooden toggle used to hold the work on a table.

Strop - To produce a razor sharp cutting egde by rubbing it on a strip of leather

Tang - The pointed end of a chisel or file that is driven into the handle

Veiner - a small deep gouge.

25 Beautiful Homes

We were delighted when one of our kitchens was featured in the January 2014 issue of 25 Beautiful Homes.

(c) 25 Beautiful Homes magazine, as featured in January 2014

www.housetohome.co.uk/25beautifulhomes

http://www.housetohome.co.uk/25beautifulhomes

The client had just bought a beautiful Georgian end of terrace house in North London with high ceilings, beautiful plasterwork and elegant windows which allowed light to flood in. However he inherited some less pleasing traits of a two hundred year old house. On the day of completion he discovered standing water was behind the walls in the basement where the electrics were.

We had to remove and reinstate the kitchen furniture and took the opportunity to tweak the design a little to suit the new owner and add under floor heating under a textured limestone floor. The kitchen was painted in three different shades of soft white to keep it light and airy.

It's great to be able to transform an existing kitchen for a new client. A lick of paint and it looks like a brand new kitchen.