Georgian Kitchens: Get The Look: Materials

Welcome back to the new series on Georgian Kitchens: Get The Look. We're diving right into the four key themes of Georgian Style kitchens: 

simplicity, 

proportion, 

symmetry 

and materials. 

{So far, we've taken an in-depth look at simplicity and proportion.
..you can catch up here and here}



Today, we're focusing on materials. Georgian kitchens have a very distinctive look. Woodwork is almost always painted with walls and cabinets in a similar or toning finish, possibly with one or two stand out statement pieces.



Georgian colours that typify this look happily tally perfectly with Modern Country Style: muted greens and soft sea-blues, dirty earthy tones and gentle neutrals reign victorious.



Now, for picking the perfect worktop, I have my soapbox ready. Purrrrlease don't choose laminates. They will never, ever, ever look the part. They will stand out like a sore thumb...



Instead, choose natural worktop materials such as wood, granite or marble. Modern imported slates are, in almost all circumstances, too soft. My all-time favourite finish is honed granite...but more on that later!!



Georgian Style kitchens need all extras to whisper quality and timelessness without in any way screaming lavish sumptuousness. Think carefully about your handles, taps, knobs and door styles} This is understated quality all the way.



Again, please, step away from any plastic finishes, and quickly walk, with a sense of smug reassurance that your kitchen will still look AWESOME in twenty years, towards the over-sized wooden knobs, nickel cup handles, small antique brass hinges, dulled matt black forged iron small handles. Not all at once obviously....!



When all these tie together, not only will you have a kitchen that will make you grin like a Cheshire cat today but one that will last and lat and last, bringing years of pleasure.

Take Care Until Next Time,
Sarahxx

Images via country homes and interiors, mileu mag, elona home, unknown, deVol, my design chic, Neptune

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Get The Look: Proportion In Georgian Style Kitchens

Welcome back to the new series on Georgian Kitchens: Get The Look. We're going deeper into four key themes of Georgian-Style kitchens: simplicity, proportion, symmetry and materials.

{Last time, we took an in-depth look at simplicity...you can catch up here}

Let's focus today on the way Georgian Kitchens have the most beautiful, classic and elegant proportions. Georgians were the absolute masters of graceful golden proportions in their kitchens. 

Take a look at some of the kitchens featured today and you'll see that, whether big or small, grand or cosy-country, each one is extraordinarily visually pleasing. 

Placing an oversized over-mantel above a range cooker is a fantastic way of bringing in both the height and formality that so typifies Georgian kitchens. You'll always need some kind of structure to hide your extractor fan above the cooker so it makes sense to turn functionality into opportunity and include a statement piece here; overmantels create a natural focal point around the heart of the kitchen: the range. 

Another way to bring a good sense of proportion is to NOT go down the route of having the bog-standard array of base and wall units that are in 99% of kitchens. Think outside the box and ENJOY doing so. Why not choose some full-height units to create a larder feel or, if possible, bring in a freestanding housekeepers cupboard?

Georgian kitchens are characterised by non-standard cupboards in a variety of shapes and sizes; nothing like our built-for-function units was available then.

This may be a case of trial and error in smaller kitchens where space is at a premium because the first priority absolutely must be usability (though it pains me to say it!!) but, where possible, make your kitchen unique, as every Georgian kitchen was without a doubt.

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarahx

Images via Plain English, DeVol, unknown, The Kitchen Think, Artichoke, unknown, Humphrey Munson

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Get The Look: Simplicity In Georgian Kitchens

Welcome back to this mini-series, where we are learning how to get the feel of a Georgian kitchen in our own homes. We'll be taking a closer look at four key elements in gorgeous Georgian kitchens: simplicity, proportion, symmetry and materials.

Now, when it comes to Georgian-style kitchens, perhaps the word simplicity is misleading, because I don't mean to imply any lack of quality. Indeed, the reason why the Georgians have left us such a rich heritage is exactly because of their fantastic building standards.

By simplicity, here, I mean a disdain of overly fussy, showy frippery and, instead, a careful eye for precisely chosen details: look for high quality hinges, dovetail joints and in-frame doors.

So, for example, take a look at any of these kitchen cupboards. There is no sign of ostentation, no flashy swirls or curlicues but yet the quality shines out, doesn't it? That's the feel you should be looking for if you want a Georgian-style kitchen.

And the same is true for any accessories in you kitchen. Don't be tempted to compromise on quality or clutter. Remember this: buy once and buy well.

Happily, this needn't mean spending vast amounts of money on each piece. Some carefully chosen vintage pots, a station clock and as little as possible on your work surfaces will carry a Georgian kitchen a long way.

This is a classic case of less is more; choose your 'less' with thought and you'll be well on your way to your own Georgian kitchen!

Take Care Until Next Time,

Sarah x

Images via Elle Decoration, Charlie Kingham, Etons of Bath, unknown, Ribble Reclamation, Artichoke

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AMAZING Georgian House Tour

This home that I'm sharing today is a completely amazing example of what we were talking about last time. I first saved this beautiful Georgian home maybe seven years ago and I've just stumbled across it again today.

It still looks every bit as gorgeous as when I first excitedly discovered it all those years ago.

And that's a sign worth listening to.

With so many passing fads in an increasingly fast-changing world, how can you know which are the looks that will endure? 

Again, my answer is this: by looking back through your archive of hastily torn out pictures from magazines from years back, or your older Pinterest favourites, or wherever it is that you store away precious inspiration images, you'll find your sense of timeless style coming to the fore.

You'll find that some aspect won't excite you any more (there have been some pretty crazy crazes!) but there will be plenty that will. And it's exactly those elements that you should always try to incorporate into any new project because its those same elements that will continue to excite you in ten, twenty years to come.

So, let's take this beautiful Georgian home as our example. What is it that still sings out to me today? I love the colour scheme. 

Muted naturals have always, always, ALWAYS made me heart stop in its tracks. I can first remember noticing a muted natural in our family tablecloth when I was a very, very little girl. And it's those same colours that I reach for now because I know that, for me, they stand the test of time.

And please do note that  essential "for me" in itallics in the previous paragraph. Taste, lasting taste, is as deeply personal as current fads are ephemeral. You're looking for the loves of your life, not a dull one-night-stand. We want true and lasting romance, don't we!?

And, it'll come as no surprise when I say that I completely adore the carefully curated mix here of Modern and Country styles. 

For me, I'll never tire of Modern Country Style because the Modern aspect keeps shifting as time passes, and the Country aspect just pleases me through and through!

Yes. Modern Country Style runs deeply in my veins!

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarahx

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Get The Look: Gorgeous Georgian Kitchen!

Wasn't that GORGEOUS Georgian Kitchen utterly scrumptious? Now it's time to weave that Modern Country magic I promised you...let's break the interior right down, so that you can see how easy it is to Get GORGEOUS Georgian Kitchen Look in any house.

Here's a reminder of just how heavenly it is...

Feast your eyes on an example of a similar kitchen but this time in a new-build. See how the flagstones are there, the wooden beam has been given a place above the AGA and the units on the right of the image have been given the look of a dresser?

BUT it's all been taken down a notch. The flagstones are smoother, lighter, softer. The paint choices are subtler, more muted (try Farrow and Ball Hardwick White and Dulux Dusted Moss for the island).There's no pretense here of trying to BE Georgian. Instead, there are careful nods to this look throughout: bringing character wherever possible.

So enough unpicking, on with the specifics!!!....

Clockwise from top: The GORGEOUS Georgian Kitchen look suits newer Modern Country Style properties too. Paint a dresser in toning paint to that of your kitchen cabinets for a timeless, free-standing kitchen feel; try Farrow and Ball Railings, Farrow and French Gray, Zoffany Architect's White and Benjamin Moore Pewter for a contemporary take on these paint colours to enhance the Modern Country glow; simple rustic touches make all the difference here....the right flooring, carefully chosen simplicity, all add up to create a beautiful whole.

And another shot of this newer kitchen. I love how they've included lots f rustic materials: glass, metal, wood, stone. How can these gorgeous flagstones, laid in softly random rows, fail to add character to any property?

Now, here's a good rule of thumb. The newer your home is, the more restful and calm it needs to be in order to pull off this look. Of course, there are exceptions and, if you want a riot of colour then please riot away...

Clockwise from top: Even if you own a new-build, white walls and French grey cabinets is a scheme that suits any period of house...perfectly Modern Country; if you live in a more contemporary home, stick to simple, clean lines in your kitchenware; I love this palette of Little Greene Shirting, Benjamin Moore Doily, Little Greene French Grey, Earthborn Gregory's Den; Classic Country pieces in an unfussy, modern white bring this scheme to life.

You see? *sigh of relief* The GORGEOUS Georgian Kitchen look can be yours whether you have a derelict barn on waiting in the wings to be decorated or in the tiniest of cottages, or the grandest of modern homes.

Take Care Till Next Time,

Sarahx

Images via: Daily Mail, Fine and Country, Modern Country Style moodboard 1 (Border Oak, Pinterest, Garden Trading), Fine and Country, Modern Country Moodboads 2 (Sims Hilditch, The New General Store, Le Creuset)

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Georgian Modern Country Kitchen In Farrow And Ball Hardwick White and Down Pipe

This kitchen perfectly demonstrates how Georgian houses PERFECTLY suit Modern Country kitchens. When we first spotted our Georgian home, I was concerned that the period features would over ride my Modern Country preferences but I could not have been more wrong.

Here Farrow and Ball Hardwick White has been used on the kitchen units, Farrow and Ball Shaded White on the walls, Down Pipe on the island and Slipper Satin on the woodwork.

Modern Country Style both lifts and enhances period houses, as well as warming up coolly contemporary homes.

You really can't go wrong with a Modern Country kitchen!

Images via Linzi3

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Are Period Homes Better?

If I had a penny for every time I've heard someone wishing for a period house, I'd be a gazillionaire. But let me tell you a story to comfort those of you yearning for older properties...

Just before we moved here, a good friend of mine also moved house nearby. While we moved to a Georgian property, she moved to a new build. 

We visited her six weeks after she moved in and, while our house was still in complete chaos from having to sort out years of other people's diy mistakes, hers was a picture of serenity. 

 

Not only that but this new house, because it had very little character of its own at first, almost instantly had the same feel as her old home, only this time it was more spacious!

Yes, it is always period properties have my heart but, let me tell you, they are by no means the easy option. The very same character that tweaks your heart strings, can also be trickier to work around initially.

It takes much longer to get to know an older house, with all its quirks and special ways. Why is there a blocked up window here? Why does that water pipe stop short there? And how am I meant to peel of ten layers of paint to get back to those original features!

I've often found, when I've worked on designing clients'  homes, that new builds are so much easier to stamp your own character onto because you don't have to fight so hard against the existing character of a house, making it bend to your will.

Yet this post isn't meant to sound like a big ol' grumble! Rather I just wanted to put it out there that it's uber-easy to imagine the grass is not only greener but longer, lusher and more perfect in every way, whereas, in actual fact, it just needs watering wherever you are, wherever you live.

This house is a fantastic example of a big space, full of its own character that has been beautifully moulded to make it the kind of home that its owners want it to be.

 

Please be inspired to enjoy putting your own stamp on your own house, whether it's brand spanking new or as old as time itself.

Now, back to stripping ten layers of paint...!!

Images via unknown

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