The Daws Heath Kitchen

Total Cupboard Costs: £32,530

Inland from Southend-on-Sea in Essex lies the village of Daws Heath, a pretty little place surrounded by woodland and only a few miles from the Thames estuary and the ocean beyond.

To call this space a kitchen is slightly underselling it! It was a very large room (that incidentally used to be a swimming pool!) incorporating so many little areas, each one with its own personality and function, and so immaculately styled and considered. There was a wonderfully eclectic collection of vintage furniture, unusual objects and treasured finds that gave this home such a unique and welcoming feel. Looking through the glazed partitioned walls, you felt a little bit awestruck at the view. A sense of excitement awaited as we began to explore every carefully designed and considered area in front of us.

Sometimes a room this big can be tricky; it can be hard to make defined areas and give it a feeling of cohesion and warmth, but here at Daws Heath, the whole place felt comfortable, functional and incredibly inviting. Some people know how to make a home feel so cosseting you just want to sit down, relax and never leave.

The colours had a lot to do with the atmosphere here, warm, rich and dark. There was really good texture from the ceilings and floors and the crisp, clean lines of the Shaker cupboards. You can spot a rather impressive selection of deVOL accessories, doing what they do best, blending seamlessly into the finished room as if they had always been there. A gaselier over the island, brass hanging rails, pot fillers, plumber's stools and a cleverly positioned Haberdasher's Oak hanging rail, which works well with the mid-century accents around the room.

There really is too much to talk about in this space; we think it’s best just to enjoy the little vignettes and imagine spending a day that would inevitably drift into a night in this wonderful place.

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