The Camberwell Kitchen

The Backstory

We recently completed this showstopper of a kitchen for a lovely couple in Camberwell, London. Emma and Alex travelled down to see us in Canterbury in search of creating a social hub of a kitchen in which to host their flamboyant themed cocktail parties, with a dramatic flare and bursting with personality.

They moved into their flat three and a half years ago; a unique listed property within a former Victorian stables. They lived in the flat while renovating it and chose to do things slowly so that they could afford to do things in a way that does justice to the space. The building, converted into flats in the ‘90’s hadn’t been touched since, so when they moved in, a lot of the fixtures were falling apart, including most of the kitchen.

“Everything looked tired and lacked originality: the cupboards were awkward, hard to reach into the back of, and had loads of wasted space. It also just felt gross. Lots of the kitchen was really hard to clean, with nooks and crannies full of dirt and old food from the previous owner, and stains everywhere. There was also a glass barrier in front of the window.

The space between this was a war zone of clutter and dust. We knew it needed a complete overhaul. More than anything, we love cooking and entertaining, and wanted a kitchen that supported rather than hindered that.”

“We noticed that whenever we hosted, people always gravitated into the kitchen, especially if we were cooking, so wanted to make the space as welcoming as possible, with seating at a breakfast bar. We also wanted more organised, optimised cabinetry, and a lot more counter space. We love our dark, moody living room and also wanted the kitchen to match this aesthetic! It's maybe a bit different from the norm, but we love colour and drama, rather than the more bright, minimalistic look.”

“We wanted a bespoke kitchen because we live in a period property that, like many places in London, has quite oddly shaped rooms! Our kitchen, as well as being a bit off-kilter, is pretty small, so wanted to make sure there were no odd gaps anywhere and every inch of space was utilised. We'd had the pre-made, basic kitchen the property came with for two years, and it turned into a nightmare, with doors falling off, and absolutely loads of wasted space. All our storage was bursting at the seams, and our countertops were so cluttered.”

The Design

The layout of the kitchen includes a lovely L shaped run of cabinetry with two glass fronted wall units and a peninsula creating a slight separation in rooms without closing off the entire kitchen. Across from the main run, sits a series of tall units as well as the kitchen sink next to the large windows looking onto the historical brick outside. This makes for a cosy, cocoon of a space but also allowing the buzz of the party to flow in and out with ease.

The couple chose our Rye range for their bespoke cabinetry, a simple Shaker style with a decorative cockbead around the frame.

We asked Emma and Alex what they learnt through their renovation journey and they said:

“Do it once and do it right. It's worth stretching to the things you want as a good kitchen should last you a really long time. Our bathrooms were done quite shoddily and left unfinished, and we've never been totally happy with them – that hasn't been the case with Herringbone as everything was finished beautifully. When it was done, it was a real wow moment, and looked exactly how we imagined it. I think it's worth making sure you're doing things right so you don't end up regretting things later (or having to spend more money redoing).

“I also can't stress enough how much less worry and heartache it is going with a company who know what they're doing and are reliable. We previously worked with an independent builder to create bespoke bathrooms as we were concerned a company wouldn't be able to deliver the unique design we wanted. Herringbone was absolutely the best of both, as we got the reliability of a reputable company, without compromising on the vision we had for the space.”

The Details: Colours, Hardware, Worktops Etc

For their bespoke cabinetry, the couple chose a stunning, deep green. They also extended the same colour not only on the surrounding walls but the ceiling too, creating a very modern and bold look. The satin brass hardware, matching the stunning black & brass Lacanche, really stand beautifully against the dark green and add that wee touch of old glamour.

“We have a deep green velvet sofa in the open plan living room the kitchen looks onto, and we started from there – we wanted a very exact shade of jewel-toned green that was a cross between teal and emerald to match this, and Herringbone were great at sourcing the exact colour we wanted. We also had a lot of blue-toned black (Farrow and Ball Railings) in the living room, and we wanted the kitchen to provide a pop of colour to offset this.”

Truly the pièce de résistance are the granite kitchen counters and splashback! This mouth-watering granite in the colour ‘Orinoco’ adds depth and texture with its black and gold colouring as well as its striking veins. A very classy addition are the matching granite shelves over the peninsula; perfect for display cook books and the couples famous cocktail paraphernalia.

“The countertop we chose was an unusual black and gold granite that we saw in the showroom and just immediately fell in love with. We started with what gave us the most joy (the cabinetry colour and the counters) and then tried to just make everything else work around that.”

Making Your Dream Kitchen In Our Workshop

The Herringbone Workshop

On Using Herringbone

“We found Herringbone after visiting a lot of kitchen showrooms in London and being shocked at the quality vs price offering – after seeing a glowing review of Herringbone on YouTube, we thought it was worth making the visit to Canterbury and are so glad we did. From the minute we walked in, the service was so warm and friendly. The team were able to make everything we wanted happen, within the budget we had, and we were really impressed by the quality of the kitchens and that everything was truly bespoke (many premium kitchen companies in London charge bespoke prices for standardised products).

Despite the onset of Covid, our kitchen was still delivered in great time, and communication was excellent, even though it was from a distance! Their team was super efficient and worked seamlessly with our builders, and were generally a pleasure to have on site while working – we lived in the building while work was being done so the minimal disruption and prompt delivery meant a lot to us.

It's now been a year since we've had the kitchen and it still looks brand new and is one of our favourite things in the house. We've loved entertaining there when restrictions allow, and it's become an absolute hub.”

-Emma & Alex, Camberwell

We absolutely loved working on this beautiful bespoke project. We wish Emma & Alex many happy years in their new kitchen and a congratulations from all of us at Herringbone on their recent engagement!