This lofty old schoolhouse in the centre of busy, bustling Brixton is anything but hectic, it is calm in both colour palette and feel. White painted brick walls, the industrial height windows and the original school floorboards fill this room with simple, original historic beauty.

One simple run of Shaker cupboards, incorporating a dishwasher, an impressive fridge freezer and double pantry, form the basis of this contemporary but very pretty high-rise kitchen. An existing Bulthaup island was kept in place and gave the space a slightly edgy industrial look, which was so perfect for this space, which was once the schoolgirls’ dining hall. The stainless steel run with sink and hob worked with the fridge, knobs, handles and sockets, making it feel far from part of a past kitchen.

We love this layout so much too, facing into the vast schoolroom from this vantage point feels very sociable and like being in an open restaurant kitchen or bar. Perching up at the bar is surely one of the best places to find yourself on an evening.

We also love the pared-back use of cupboards and desire to keep the kitchen within a small section of the whole room but making the very most of the unusually high ceilings. Essentially this room is a completely open plan living space that also extends into the high walls of a private city garden.

Cool, contemporary, sympathetically designed to make the very most of this important building, this Shaker kitchen is a little different and shows the flexibility of our Shaker cupboards and how they fit so easily into any space they are put in. Who would have imagined that our Mushroom cupboards would be used in place of a Victorian schoolhouse kitchen and look so at home, softening the potentially austere room.