Kitchens can be rooms of great beauty but they, first and foremost, have to be practical. Whether you’re whipping up a feast for friends or grabbing a bite to eat after a long day at work, you want as little fuss as possible. To achieve this, Papilo bespoke kitchens design a layout that works perfectly for you with the best equipment in all the right places. From our base in Frome, near Bath, we’ve designed kitchens here in Somerset, in neighbouring Wiltshire, and indeed the whole country.
Layout is key in any room but nowhere more so than a kitchen. Little things, like having to stretch over someone to get a pan or season a pot can add that annoying niggle to your everyday life. The easy solution to those problems is a well-designed kitchen with gadgets that work for your lifestyle.
The work triangle is the basis of any kitchen. This is the distance between the oven, refrigerator and sink. The size of the triangle depends on the people who are going to be using the kitchen. Does one person normally cook at a time or do you work in tandem, chopping and changing?
The triangle holds true for whatever size of kitchen you have. This quirky Scandinavian-inspired kitchen, Papilo bespoke kitchens designed has the sink and hob at the centre, making it easy to leave your dishes to soak as you cook. In the Copper Kitchen, we hid the fridge close to the hob and ovens but behind walnut doors.
Cabinets aren’t just there to look pretty, make sure they are designed with the kind of storage you need in mind. When you’re looking at handles, think about how often you will be using them, trends are shifting away from impractical knobs to larger handles that are also easier to use when you’re rushing to grab a bowl for your porridge in the morning.
Consider where you’re serving the food up, especially if you have a kitchen island with stools. In the modern Rectory Kitchen we designed you can fry up some eggs and bacon, then just turn around and plate them in front of the waiting hungry mouths sitting at the island. For the Chef Kitchen we had a similar concept in mind, but with more ostentatious finish ready for our client to serve up some perfect plates of tagliolini with taleggio for their dinner party guests.
Appliances are also very important to the running of your kitchen, whether it’s a fridge or something more special. We offer sleek Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, with fridge/freezers that can stand independently from cabinets or be incorporated seamlessly behind their doors. Certain models also ice dispensers for easy cocktail making. For wine aficionados, Sub-Zero also offer a variety of wine storage solutions, including this one we used in this Cotswolds Manor House kitchen. The little details are as important, consider beautiful copper rails to hang your everyday pans and sieves within easy reach. Hot water taps are also great if you find yourself impatiently waiting for a kettle to boil.
A good bespoke kitchen designer will talk you through how you use your kitchen every day and incorporate elements to make sure your kitchen stands the test of time. A basic example, but an important one, is splashback tiles, which prevent water, steam and stock from ruining the lovely kitchen paint you’ve chosen. Make sure that the tiles extend far enough behind and above the hob and sink, especially if you have children or are a bit clumsy. We’re especially proud of the beautiful marble tile splashback we used in this Victorian Town House kitchen.
Good kitchen design is essential to the smooth running of your day to day life, getting ready for the school run or winding down with a glass of wine and some boeuf bourguignon. Papilo bespoke kitchens are experienced in designing kitchens, for all kinds of spaces, that work for your lifestyle.
