An old mill house, the dream!
The old mill house. A character 200 year old period property set in the rolling countryside of Oxfordshire.
This was a fantastic commission to pick up and was a great privilege to be able to work with a wonderful family towards creating their dream living space. We was able to offer our ‘total building services’ along with a turn key operation by adding a handmade shaker style kitchen.
The project was in a 200 year old period mill house in Thame, Oxfordshire near the villages of Watlington, Princes Risborough and Chinnor, entry being gained via a beautiful walled courtyard garden.
The first photos show that there was originally three rooms and a corridor with a retro 70’s theme that needed to be replaced to open up the staircase and create an enlarged open plan living space for the family hub single room.
As you can see from the ‘before’ photos, there was extensive building work to be carried out long before we could start to even think about the kitchen.
Rewiring, plumbing refurbished, plastering using lime plaster, extensive bricklaying and carpentry along with re paining and decorating.
The complete refurbishment including all works and the designer kitchen took just a little over 10 weeks to complete, on time and to budget I hasten to add!
The first design consideration was the split level over the large kitchen, dining and lounge areas, as the clients had always wanted a large island now the space allowed, the only problem being it sat across the step in the middle of the room, we got around this by stepping the island on two planes which became an enhanced feature with seating at one end and double undercounted sinks and set of bridge mixer taps from Czech & Speake at the other.
The lady of the house had set her heart on a cranberry coloured Rangemaster cooker which we loved as it created an eye catching centre of focus that became the heart of the kitchen giving the whole room a certain warm ambience.
Next, we collaborated with the family on the colours to arrive at a very complimentary choice of Farrow and Ball Elephant’s breath 229.
We then matched this with a glorious handmade set of pewter shaker style vintage ironmongery, these being ‘D’ pull handles and stepped knobs, all beautifully “Made in England”.
Part of the brief was quite specific about there being some freestanding furniture with open shelving instead of bespoke kitchen wall cabinets. This created an airy ‘unfitted’ feel which suited the country cottage feel required to compliment the period of the property.
The freestanding larder piece we suggested was warmly received, with it’s copper mesh panels, scallop bracketed shelving, large draws and simple cornice became an instant favourite with all that came into contact with this.
Next was a utility area, this was created using a baby belfast sink to fit within the restricted space and cabinets accommodating the Miele laundry appliances of washing machine and tumble dryer either side and a tall airing cabinet with a wicker laundry basket, all in all, a very practical, but also a very pretty addition to the room.
The final piece of the jigsaw was the worktops, all agreed it was to be wood for the cabinet runs and Caesarstone quartz 3100 Jet Black for the island, the choices being full stave oak with an oiled finish and Caesarstone quartz 3100 Jet Black.
Oh, and I just remembered, all this needed to completed for Christmas day as dinner was set for 22 family members, this we achieved and everyone could not have been more complimentary about the finished building services bespoke handmade kitchen (and the dinner served).
If you are considering an exciting new refurbishment project, why not give us a ring, the turnkey operation we offer to is very appealing as the discounts we are able to offer when combining the building construction work along with the handmade bespoke kitchens can make you, the client, substantial savings that can then allow you to add that bit extra to the finished refurbishment without breaking your budget.
Although this wonderful project was in Oxfordshire, there is no where we won’t go to help a client, we have successfully completed projects all over England and Europe, go ahead, give us a mission, see how we respond!
Project code – DUGOX1
Area – Oxfordshire
Kitchen
Joinery/Cabinetry – Handmade in frame bespoke kitchen
Style – Kingham custom made kitchen
Doors – Shaker style
Draws – Solid oak dove tailed
Cornice and mouldings – Victorian period property
Finish – Hand painted in Farrow and Ball
Colours
Base cabinets doors – Farrow and Ball Elephant’s breath 229
Wall cabinets doors – Farrow and Ball Elephant’s breath 229
Island – Farrow and Ball Ammonite 274
Walls – Farrow and Ball Strong white 2001
Appliances
Range cooker – Rangemaster classic 110 dual fuel in cranberry
Extractor – Rangemaster 110 Chimney Hood Cranberry
Fridge Freezer – KFN 37232 iD Built-in fridge-freezer combination
Wine Cooler – Caple Wi6232 Undercounter dual zone wine cabinet
Dishwasher – G 4263 SCVi Active Fully integrated dishwashers
Worktops
Worktops – Caesarstone quartz 3100 Jet Black
Island – Full stave solid oak
Ironmongery hardware
Hinges – Shaker pewter finish
Handles – Shaker pewter finish
Sinks and taps
Sink – Franke
Taps – Czech & Speake
Floor
Tumbled limestone
Stools
Clients Own
Mostly, our ‘Local’ is Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, West Sussex and London. We cover work in the town of Guildford and the surrounding villages of Shalford, Bramley, East and West Horsley, Wonersh, Albury, Ripley, Peaslake, Normandy, Gomshall, East and West Clandon and many more.
Heading further out, we also cover Godalming, Weybridge, Oxshott, Cobham, Kingston upon Thames, Chiddingfold, Farnham, Farnborough, Petersfield, Woking, Haslemere, Horsham, Petworth, Hindhead, Reigate, Leatherhead, Epsom, Esher and so much more beyond.
The world really is our oyster!
Our ‘Total Service’ Mission statement – Kingham Construction Company endeavours to be the strongest proponent in providing value-added and market competitive refurbishment, building and construction services along with technical and management services to all of our clients by creating a successful long term collaboration with them throughout the entire process of their commissioned project.
Our goal is to establish lasting relationships with our customers by exceeding their expectations and gaining their trust through maintaining and implementing the highest levels of professionalism, integrity, honesty and fairness in our relationships with exceptional performance by every member of our motivated, flexible, and focused team, suppliers, subcontractors and professional associates.
We will strive to ensure the longevity of our company through repeat and referral business achieved by exceptional customer service and satisfaction in all areas including timeliness, cleanliness, attention to detail and service-minded attitudes.
By listening and understanding, we aim to add value for clients through dependability, reliability, innovation, foresight and an impressive driven performance with exceptionally crafted workmanship based on safety, quality, timely service and an anticipation of their needs.
