Call and response

Designed by James Alexander Kalozois, Poggenpohl Hampstead

From the kitchen designer:

Project brief

The brief was to create a luxurious kitchen space that showcases Gaggenau appliances, features a soft, elegant colour scheme, and incorporates high-quality, durable countertops. 

The kitchen needed provide a seamless blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal, creating a comfortable and visually pleasing environment for cooking, entertaining, and daily activities.

Meeting the brief

Having met with the owners in our design studio, we began with a discussion relating to which features worked in their current kitchen and would be favourable to retain. 

It was clear that the new space should incorporate Gaggenau appliances to facilitate a seamless transition as they were familiar with the functions, having a full suite in their current home. 

The owners requested more refrigeration than they had currently, but understood the finite amount of tall cabinetry space. 

This was overcome via using a combination of tall, built-in appliances, as well as additional under-counter refrigeration. 

The wine cooling and freezer appliances were located in matching cabinetry just outside the main kitchen space, maintaining an easy travel distance, but freeing up the use of other tall storage areas in the main kitchen. 

The furniture and countertop colours were selected using a combination of display kitchens and samples from the designated inspiration and material discovery areas. 

The owners expressed a requirement for bold countertops, and initially requested a natural marble.

However, given the properties of the natural stone for use in a heavily used kitchen space, the final selection moved toward the use of porcelain for its durability. 

This also facilitated the use of printed book-matched slabs, achieving a pleasant vein matching opportunity on tops longer than the maximum slab lengths available. 

The homeowners asked for a separate area which could house small appliances such as blender, toaster etc – in order to keep the countertops as clear as possible.

So the +Stage pocket door system was demonstrated and incorporated. 

The exterior wall of the space had a set of very large arched windows, which the design team felt could be complemented by a countertop bridge incorporating the sink – this is viewed directly upon entry into the room and soon became a focal design feature. 

While the owners have a separate large dining space, they requested that a table with sufficient seating be included, as well a smaller more intimate banquette breakfast area, making use of a niche area adjacent to the room. 

Finally, discussion relating to the hobs and extraction led to use of the BORA professional range of cooktops, this was important given that the high ceiling height would negate the use of

ceiling level extraction. 

The owners loved the theatre of downdraft technology, and even more so given the performance of the BORA appliances during a live demonstration within our studio.

Additional considerations 

The property is a listed building, so close liaison with the build team was required in order to successfully strengthen the walls to incorporate the hanging storage solutions as well as countertop clad shelving above the hob area.

Story by: Trendsideas