White Heat

Splashing out on their eldest daughter’s wedding might have put the Price’s ideas of renovating their new home on hold, but they more than made up for it a couple of years later when 2009 finally saw them able to bring their scheme to fruition.
Built in 1900, their Cheshire home had huge potential with the opportunity to extend across the back of the three-bedroom property. Yet with all their plans to create a hall­way, utility room, another bedroom with en suite and a big reception room, there was one obvious area that wasn’t a priority... a new kitchen.
As part of the building work, the kitchen was to take up residence in the new extension but, even then, it didn’t register on the couple’s scale of importance. It was only as the project gradually progressed that it dawned on Linda that the kitchen was taking on more prominence, and that it wasn’t just a practical kitchen she wanted to create but a whole atmosphere.
“I was initially going to get an ‘off the peg’ number but once everything was in place structurally, I realised that, actually, the kitchen was a very important place,” she recalls. “I also realised that it wasn’t something I would be able to do on my own, nor was it something I would be able to convey to the builders and get it right.”
Fortunately Linda wasn’t in a quandary for long as a chance meeting with a friend led her in the direction of designer Darren Pincus. “My friend’s kitchen was fantastic and it just made me appreciate how experienced he must be to have created this wonderful kitchen,” she remembers. Knowing what she wanted, Linda turned to Darren to put it all together and create the atmosphere she craved.
“Linda and Barry had their own thoughts but they were also open to new ideas and trusted me in how the design would take shape,” explains Darren.
 “That trust comes from me listening to them and getting their brief right but also making the functionality work within that brief. Getting the layout spot on from the start was key.”
With the house lacking any original period features, the couple knew that
a sleek modern kitchen wouldn’t look out of place. However, the minimal lay­out belies Darren’s challenge of fitting two kitchens into the space of one. For while kosher requirements dictated two sinks, two ovens, two dishwashers and separate preparation areas – one for meat and one for dairy – Darren managed to fit it all in seamlessly.
While the array of drawers and cupboards offers an enviable amount of storage, the understated flat-fronted cabinetry allows the kitchen to retain an effortlessly streamlined look, although that was also down to some careful decision-making by Linda. “I had thought of having some glass front cupboards too until Darren pointed out how tidy we would have to keep the insides,” she laughs. “I’m not the tidiest of people so that put me off straight away!”
When it came to colour, husband Barry had ideas of dramatic black and red cabinetry, while Linda was more cautious, envisaging instead a space that when not in use, would blend discreetly into the background.
However, it was her recent reading material which swayed the final choice. 
 “I’d been reading about white rooms and how different shades of white can function together,” she says. “This room is so light and bright that I knew white would work well, although we were careful to choose off white so it would be less stark.”
Even white needs to be co-ordinated, as Darren explains: “It’s a very simple but effective idea to use one colour, bringing in different textures and shades to create interest but it’s also important to ensure that none of the materials compete with each other.”
For a couple who had barely considered the intricacies of a new kitchen a year ago, this stunningly sleek design is still perhaps something of a surprise. “It was worth working with Darren rather than struggling on my own, and it would never have turned out like this!” says Linda. “Just little touches like the handles and the chunky worktops are things I would never have thought of... it’s just like something in a magazine!”