How Inglis Hall brought warmth and unity to a vaulted kitchen living space

Toby Hall, founder and director of bespoke furniture specialist Inglis Hall, reveals how he went about breathing life, texture and soul into an expansive space in an architect-designed new build.

Q: What type of property was it in and who was the project for?
A: The property was an architect-designed single-storey timber-clad barn on a site of a commercial poultry shed in rural Sussex. The project was for a couple who were Dentists and had recently sold their practice.

Q: What was the brief from the client for this project?
A: One half of the couple was from Otago, New Zealand and they wanted to bring some of the essence of the Farmhouse barn style that houses typically are like in this region. They also wanted a way to break up the vast open-plan kitchen and living space to include a large pantry, utility/boot room and conceal large appliances out of the way to create a sleek kitchen scheme.

Q: How did you go about meeting the brief?
A: We created a new architecture in the form of a wall on one side clad in blackened band sawn oak which concealed the walk-in pantry on one end, and a utility/boot room on the other using sliding pocket doors. Bulky appliances like a double fridge-freezer were also housed behind the clad wall. The centrepiece of the kitchen was a large kitchen island to ground and zone the kitchen space from the dining and living areas whilst keeping it open and social.

Q: What type of cabinetry did you choose and what made it the perfect choice?
A: Richlite cabinetry was chosen throughout for its durability, smooth finish and sustainable quality, which contrasted perfectly to the textured band-sawn oak. 

Creamy Topus concrete for the worktops and burnished brass hardware delivered a refined elegance to the scheme. Lastly, adding a huge piece of statement Cosmic Black Quartz to the kitchen island added just enough statement to complete this elegant scheme. 

Q: What materials did you use? Did you use anything different or unusual?
A: Inglis Hall bespoke joinery elements were also added to this design scheme to reclaim space under the stairs using elegant oak cabinetry providing storage in the living area and in the kitchen, a bespoke oak wall hung cabinet with fluted glass and a run of oak open shelving balanced the dark hues of the richlite cabinetry. 

The bespoke brass handle on the pocket door to the utility was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship by Ged Kennett.

Q: What were the particular challenges that you faced?
A: Overall, the space was vast and essentially a blank canvas. The challenge here was to bring much-needed warmth and soul through different materials and textures and effective zoning of the spaces to make it work as a multifunctional kitchen / dining / living space.

Q: Are there any design elements that you’re particularly proud of?
A: I think the blackened band-sawn oak clad wall is a great way to screen off or zone different elements without intruding into the space. The vast oak entrance doors also allowed the whole space to be closed or left open to the rest of the house.