STONE SYMPHONY
Gracious living in the 21st century
When a mother needed an elegant kitchen for this London penthouse apartment she was doing up for her daughter, a chance visit to the Sola Kitchens showroom led to a meeting of designer minds.
The Brief
As the main living space in the apartment, it was essential that Sola Kitchens' designer work hand in hand with the owners to create a space where living, cooking, and dining would knit together seamlessly. The owners were keen to make the most of the period details - the arched window, for instance, lent itself perfectly to being a window seat-dining area - and they wanted the room overall to look soft, pretty, light, and elegant. Both mother and daughter had fallen in love with Sola Kitchens' Fjord kitchen style, and with the room's colour palette of dusky pinks, chalky whites, and pale sage greens already set, they asked that the kitchen cabinetry be pale wood with the soft, creamy tones of Taj Mahal quartzite for the island.
The designer's solution considered the dimensions of the walls and the position of the doorway into the room, therefore dictated the position of the kitchen and the axis for the island. The details that make the Fjord range so distinctive - the horizontal solid wood handle profiles and slim vertical panels between each cabinet – make it the perfect choice to complement the room's wall mouldings, and the lovely combination of bespoke, pale ash-style veneers and café-creme stone adds definition to the space without overpowering it.
To give the island the appearance of a sculpted block of stone when viewed from the front and sides, the Taj Mahal quartzite slabs were mitred, creating seamless edges. On the hidden, working side, Fjord cabinetry discreetly conceals an oven, bins, and additional storage.
To keep the worktop surface clean and reduce disruption from plumbing, the designer suggested placing the Bora downdraft hob on the island, while positioning the sink directly opposite along the wall run. This not only preserved the island's sculptural integrity but also allowed the brass detailing to be echoed across the space — with antiqued brass finishes used for the Quooker tap, the splashback power socket, and the cabinet handles flanking the fridge-freezer and breakfast pantry.
Special Features
Non-identical pairs: by making the tall cabinets on either side of the sink on the back wall different heights, the scheme looks less like a kitchen and more like a living space elegantly furnished with carefully curated freestanding pieces.
Mirror image: not only were colours and materials for the entire room, including the kitchen, carefully co-ordinated with the flooring, wall paint and soft furnishings, the position of each piece of kitchen cabinetry was mapped out on the full room plan so the proportions and arrangement were coherent and pleasing from every angle - including the floor-to-ceiling mirror.
Materials & Finishes
1.
2.- Taj Mahal Quartzite
- Special Oak Veneer
The process
