How Higham Furniture brought bespoke elegance to a modern kitchen extension

From the slim Shaker cabinetry and polished marble surfaces, to the Lacanche range cooker and DeVol handles, it's the attention to detail and high-quality craftsmanship that sets this project by Higham Furniture apart. 

Having had a stunning light-filled extension added to the rear of their 6-bedroom detached Victorian house in Barnes, South-West London, the homeowners commissioned Higham Furniture to design, make and install their new bespoke kitchen within the 60m² space, which also comprises the open-plan dining area.

While this design has many contemporary features, including a waterfall island and an on-trend neutral colour palette, it also includes references to kitchens typically found in French period properties. The elegant thin Shaker cabinetry with 45mm rails and stiles includes stylish cornices and a chateau-style canopy, which is installed above the clients’ choice of a French range cooker by Lacanche.

Consisting of a single run of tall and base cabinetry that incorporates the 100cm Lacanche Classic Macon range cooker, the focus of the kitchen is the island with its dramatic 20mm-thick Calacatta Apuano polished Marble waterfall surface with curved bullnose edges that soften the linear look.

To the left of the wall run is a tall double-door larder with oak internals and an elegant cornice at the top, which is mirrored on the tall cabinetry to the right. Directly behind the island are symmetrical cutlery, utensil and pan drawers on either side of the range cooker. Behind it is a splashback in the same green-grey-veined marble surface as the worktops and a 40mm thick floating shelf – a signature style for Higham, with a double bullnose edge. Without any overhead cabinetry in this kitchen, the shelf provides an element of personalisation to the space.

All cabinetry was made at the Higham Furniture workshop in Denmead, Hampshire and consists of lacquered oak veneered ply carcases with tulipwood frames and maple doors. The wall-run cabinetry is painted in Mushroom 142 and walls in Lick White 06, by Little Greene. Above the floating marble shelf is a chateau-style canopy featuring a concealed Novy Essence canopy extractor discreetly installed within it.

To the right of the cooking area is a further run of tall bespoke cabinetry designed exactly according to the clients’ requirements, a professional couple who regularly entertain. This includes an integrated French-door 1Q700 fridge freezer by Siemens adjacent to a glass-fronted cabinet for housing the client’s collection of wine glasses, champagne flutes and tumblers, with oak internal shelving. Directly next to it, and as all part of the same tall cabinet, is the Siemens iQ700 integrated Wine Cooler with glass door. Above are three shallow depth pull-to-open top boxes for storing less-used items.  

The 3.1 x 1.2 metre waterfall island features cabinetry painted in Nether Red 315, by Little Greene. The facing side has a recessed area for 2 counter stools by Scandinavian company, Hay, next to 2 full-depth drawers and a double door cabinet, all used to store items for dining and entertaining as this faces the dining area.

The task side of the island features storage for pull-out bins, together with a 60cm integrated dishwasher by Miele plus a central double-door cabinet for storing cleaning items and the PRO3VAQ for the Quooker tap on the worktop. Centrally placed to be symmetrical with the midway point of the range cooker is a ceramic undermount sink by Abode with a Quooker Fusion round 3-in-1 boiling water tap in gold. This complements the trim on the Lacanche, together with the aged brass pull handles and knobs used throughout the project, all by DeVol.