Mersea | A timeless open plan kitchen design
After living in their Grade II listed Tudor house in a beautiful secluded rural location on the Suffolk/Essex border for the best part of 6 years, Mr and Mrs Jones fell in love with the idea of designing and building a new property which they could make their forever home. Set in 1.3 acres, surrounded by uninterrupted views of the Suffolk countryside, their existing property provided the perfect plot.
The unique single-storey new build was designed with a strong contemporary feel, incorporating an abundance of floor to ceiling windows and roof lanterns. With 180-degree views of the everchanging natural scenery, the spacious L-shaped room was perfect for an open plan kitchen that combines cooking, dining, and entertaining.
The Jones’ wanted their new kitchen to fit perfectly with the proportions of the building and to reflect the same high-quality finish as the rest of the interior in their new home. After visiting the Davonport showroom in Colchester they were impressed by the quality of the furniture and inspired by the clean lines of the shaker ‘Mersea’ cabinetry with its simple timeless style.
On the couples’ new kitchen wish list were an Everhot range oven and a walk-in pantry, and they also wanted as much storage as possible, to allow them to keep their work surfaces clear and clutter free. Davonport set to work on a bespoke design which incorporated the key elements of a traditional style kitchen with an overall contemporary feel.
When planning the design, the L-shaped layout created an obvious position for the kitchen, allowing the dining and living area to flow seamlessly together in the rest of the generous space. The finished kitchen hand painted in greys (Farrow & Ball Manor House Gray and Little Greene’s Dark Lead) and topped with a white granite worktop; exudes a contemporary feel, incorporating traditional elements with modern-day functionality.
A traditional style canopy which frames the new Evershot range oven provides the focal point for the room, and at the heart of the space, a multifunctional island with breakfast bar seating for two and a butcher’s style chopping block creates a practical prep table which is in arm’s-reach from all areas.
The surrounding Davonport Mersea cabinetry includes an integrated dishwasher, fridge freezer and wine cooler, as well as ample storage for glassware and crockery. In addition to this, as part of the brief to keep the work surfaces clear, a breakfast cupboard to house a coffee machine and toaster is positioned near to the island seating.
Mrs Jones enjoys cooking and wanted accessible storage for her large selection of equipment and dried food ingredients. She had always dreamed of having a walk-in pantry and designing a new kitchen from scratch finally gave her the opportunity to create one. The finished Davonport design includes generous floor to ceiling shelving, additional worktop space with electrical sockets for smaller appliances and integrated wicker basket drawer storage for bread and other fresh produce.
Delighted with their new Davonport kitchen, Mr Jones said: “The end result is exactly what we wanted and more.”
