Station Road: The Dowsing & Reynolds interview
Earlier this year, we took some time to speak with Dowsing & Reynolds about our Station Road kitchen. Dowsing & Reynolds make beautiful products for homes which we love to use in our projects, so we were really happy to get the chance to talk with them in detail about our design process, and geek out about our material choices and accessories! You can read the full interview below, and see their original post here.
Station Road - see more from the project
Can you tell us more about the overall look/theme behind the Station Road kitchen project?
The overall look of the Station Road kitchen is really defined by the materials we chose to use and how they contrast with one another. With this in mind we could keep the design of the cabinetry and doors really simple, making the real feature the materials themselves.
An important detail in this project was the choice to set-back the doors on some of the cabinets so that the plywood edge becomes visible and effectively creates a frame around each door. Doing this actually dramatically changes how we construct the kitchen - it becomes much more of a making challenge! I think it’s interesting to know that, even though the outward appearance feels very straightforward, it’s true that sometimes the simplest things can be the hardest to make.
Which materials did you choose for the kitchen and why?
Our clients were really keen on using sustainable and innovative materials. We chose Valchromat (made from wood fibres and coloured with organic dyes) for its subtle texture and rich yellow colour. Garnica maple faced plywood (an alternative to Russian birch plywood) for both its strength in the construction of the cabinets and its attractiveness as door fronts.
Finally, perhaps the most interesting material, is the Polygood 100% recycled plastic worktop. This particular product is made from recycled fridges and single use cutlery - giving it its amazing colourful flecks! We love both its stunning appearance and its unusual history.
The Polygood worktop, with Valchromat drawer dividers
How did you land on the colour palette for the project - it feels slightly 70s inspired?
It evolved very naturally in collaboration with our client. They came into the process with a really open mind but also a really clear sense of what they did and didn’t like. An important part of their initial brief was that they wanted the kitchen to feature a mixture of interesting wood veneer and blocks of solid colour.
They settled on the turmeric yellow Valchromat early on as they loved the colour so much. We picked the maple faced Garnica plywood as it has a lovely subtle pink hue that worked really nicely together with the yellow.
The client sourced the green tiles, which we think are the perfect addition to complete the colour scheme; bold and yet still with a familiar homely warmth.
What made brass accessories the right choice to complement the design?
There’s currently a trend for handleless kitchens in this modern in-frame style. We all really love those kitchens, but we wanted to do something a little different to set this kitchen apart. Handles offer a great opportunity to introduce another material to the design palette, and can really lift everything that’s already been set out. This was absolutely the case with this project - as soon as we introduced brushed brass to the palette with the handles, everything seemed to come alive. This choice then informed the sink and the beautiful Dowsing & Reynolds reeded tap was the perfect finishing touch to complete the kitchen.
The Gold reeded kitchen tap from Dowsing & Reynolds
How did you create that balance between designing a functional space that also looks great?
Most importantly, everything has to serve a purpose in our kitchen design. In this space we were able to stick to the age-old kitchen triangle principle - cooking area, fridge and sink should all be close (but not too close!) and allow for simplicity in use. The central peninsula allows whoever is cooking to enjoy the view from the back of the house whilst socialising with family and friends.
In terms of looking good, we generally try to keep the kitchen cabinetry low and in this room we were able to provide plenty of storage without the clutter of lots of wall-hung cabinets. Light touch floating shelves and the single feature wall cabinet maintain the openness of the space, whilst the unused chimney breast allowed us to fit a large feature pantry without encroaching too much into the floor plan.
Could you also give us a bit of an overview of Wunsch - any info on the background, the team and your specialist areas would be amazing!
Wunsch are a small, closely-knit team based in Sussex. We each have complementary and overlapping skills meaning that we all contribute ideas to the design of a project, help in the running of the business and get on the tools in the workshop! Being flexible in how we work is really useful - we all understand each individual’s role in the team and are able to respond to the ebbs and flows in this kind of work.
We have been in business for about 8 years here in our Lewes workshop making entirely bespoke, one-off kitchens and furniture. Each project is unique and provides a new challenge to overcome which definitely keeps it exciting for us!It’s a joy to be able to work in such close collaboration with our clients to make something that’s designed to fit perfectly with their lifestyle, knowing that it will last a lifetime.