IH.565
From London to Brighton
A familiar drift. People coming down for air. Slower mornings. Bigger skies. Still within reach of the city. Tahira and Donald made that move with their two children, into an extended Victorian red brick terrace in Brighton. They brought with them a clear brief and a love of mid-century design.
CRAFT. TEXTURE. MATERIALS THAT TELL THE TRUTH. A KITCHEN TO MATCH THAT VISION. CLEAN LINES. CONSIDERED FUNCTION. A QUIET EVOLUTION OF IDEAS THAT WORK.
We began at the table. Or rather, around six Giancarlo Piretti chairs. Cognac leather with a soft hand. Chrome frames with precise geometry. Calm authority without shouting. These were not props. They were the anchor. Everything else had to earn its place.
Mid-century is not a mood board. It is a language. Ladderax taught us about modular logic and vertical rhythm. Light frames that carry real weight. Ercol showed the grace of steam-bent curves and the comfort of touch points. G-Plan set a standard for proportion and honest construction. Piretti refined the conversation with tension between curve and line. We translated these lessons into the plan.
BLOCKS FIRST. CLEAR ZONES FOR COOK, CLEAN, PREP. THE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS SATISFIED SO THE DETAILS COULD SING.
Rich stained oak established the base note. Deep, steady, and warm. Grain running in sequence to keep the eye traveling. We selected veneer for character, not chaos. Then Bianco Male Fenix for the counterpoint. A matte, light-absorbing surface with a silky touch and a durable core. It resists fingerprints. It forgives the day-to-day. It brings light into the room without shine.
Joinery matters. Consistent 2 millimetre gap language so the whole reads as one composition. Flat-panel fronts for restraint. Solid island frame where structure needs to be felt. Handles placed by measurement and by hand, not by guess. Where the hand meets a corner, a softened arris. You feel the difference before you see it.
Light does the rest. A skylight drops a sheet of daylight across the run. Morning cuts along the grain. Evening sits on the Fenix like chalk. The room changes without losing its balance. The Piretti chairs catch the glow on the leather. The chrome draws a line through it. Nothing fights. Everything contributes.
WE ARE KNOWN FOR OUR BAND-SAWN OAK. WE LOVE ITS TACTILITY AND HOW IT BRINGS ARCHITECTURE TO LIFE. HERE, WE HELD IT BACK.
Texture is powerful when it is placed with intent. The oak veneer carries depth. The Fenix keeps the space calm. Together they make a room that feels both familiar and new. Tradition in the bones. Contemporary in the surface and the flow.
THIS IS NOT A STAGE SET. IT IS A KITCHEN FOR LIVING.
Quiet breakfasts in the fall of soft light. Homework spread across the island while something simmers. Friends gathered with a bottle open and those chairs pulled close. The design gets out of the way so the day can get on.
There is no typical client. No typical kitchen. The work begins with a conversation and a brief. It continues with material and proportion. It ends when the room belongs to you.
Tahira and Donald brought a clear vision and pieces with a past. We listened. We measured. We made.
From London to Brighton. From idea to object. A kitchen that wears mid-century with ease. Oak with depth. Fenix with calm. Craft in the joints. Intelligence in the plan. A space that will soften and improve with use. As it should.