Kitchen of the Week: A Fresh Take on Classic Shaker Style

Kitchen of the Week: A Fresh Take on Classic Shaker Style- Having extended and completely renovated their semidetached Victorian house in London, Johnny and Gillian Martin teamed up with Jamie Blake of Blakes London and set about designing their kitchen. The couple had two key considerations. One, they wanted a range cooker – a big, freestanding piece that would help them cater for sociable evenings with friends. The second driver was the sofa. The couple already owned – and loved – their handsome blue sofa. And it was big. Really big. ‘It dictated which way round we designed the kitchen,’ says Jamie. ‘Once we knew where the sofa would fit in, the rest followed!’

Johnny and Gillian were interested in Shaker style, but Jamie developed that classic look, steering it towards something more contemporary. ‘There is more detail in here than in a standard Shaker kitchen,’ says Jamie. ‘We have designed curved edges to the cabinets and added end panels that look similar to those you’d find on a door, rather than the typical tongue and groove.’ The quality craftsmanship is obvious, but in addition, Jamie has added clever touches and one-off designs, including the bespoke dining table, for a space that is warm, sociable and unique.

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here Johnny Martin, who runs a bespoke building business, and his wife, Gillian, a lawyer
Location Southwest London
Designer Jamie Blake of Blakes London

Blakes London

‘There are three zones in this space,’ says Jamie, ‘one for cooking, one for eating and an informal living space for watching TV.’ The latter features the large Long Island sofa from Sofa.com which, due to its size, partially dictated how the rest of this new extension would be configured.

‘The back wall was the natural home for the fridge,’ says Jamie. ‘Positioning it here means we could have the oven and a long run of units along the left-hand wall and extending right behind the sofa.’ There is a full larder built around the ActiveSmart fridge, which is from Fisher & Paykel.

Blakes London

Jamie built the table on site for Johnny and Gillian, who love to entertain. ‘It’s made from a piece of zinc-wrapped MDF,’ he explains. ‘The raw zinc ages nicely and it’s already full of stains and tiny dents.’ Jamie then bought four turned legs and built the stretchers on site, before putting the table together. The legs are painted in Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball, a colour that features throughout the house. The pendant lights are from Wayfair.

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Blakes London

Jamie designed the units and had them made in poplar. ‘If you want to see grain, oak and ash are good choices,’ Jamie says, ‘but we wanted a very flat finish, and poplar is ideal for this.’ The cabinets are all painted in Pavilion Gray by Farrow & Ball. Jamie has fitted mirrors at the back of the glass-fronted wall units, too. ‘It’s a little trick to create depth,’ he says. ‘It makes it look as though you have loads of glasses when you only have six!’

Blakes London

Over in the living space, Jamie created a bespoke unit along one wall containing log storage for the wood burner. ‘The oak has been finished with a dark stain,’ says Jamie. ‘It looks a bit like shoe polish! When you wipe it off, the stain remains in the grain and really picks it out.’ The cupboard is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue.

Blakes London

Door-like end panels, rather than the typical Shaker tongue and groove, help this kitchen feel unique. Jamie fitted a white quartz worktop called Cimstone. ‘It stains less than Corian and scratches less than marble,’ he says. ‘Pale worktops are very on trend and this is a reasonably cost effective way to install one.’

Blakes London

Quality materials have been used throughout this kitchen, even inside the cabinets. ‘We used walnut inside the cupboards,’ says Jamie. ‘A true Shaker kitchen might use oak, but we loved the dark, elegant look of walnut.’

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Blakes London

Large porcelain tiles are warmed by the underfloor heating that runs throughout the ground floor. ‘The tiles have a rustic, hewn finish, which adds detail at floor level,’ says Jamie. The all-important range is from Britannia, with an extractor above and microwave oven, both from Siemens.

Blakes London

Jamie designed coving by the window to conceal the curtain rail and now lush grey curtains hang here. ‘It means you can block out the sun if you want to watch TV,’ says Jamie, ‘but the curtains also add some softness to the space, which is mainly full of hard, practical surfaces.’

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