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TURNING DREAMS INTO REALITYThis is the story of just one of the bespoke kitchens we have made for clients around the world (Sophia whose story follows, is from the USA)
SOPHIA'S DREAM KITCHEN
Sophia wrote to ELF requesting help with her kitchen. She sent the sketch shown below (to which I have added subsequent notes) and a photo of the relevant room in the house, which was still under construction (the kitchen was to be the corner room on the ground floor).
Sophia had also commissioned a cook’s station from Jason Getzen that she wanted to include, and her original idea was to place it in the corner to the right of the big window with the sink and dishwasher along the same wall. However, I felt that Jason’s wonderful island would be overshadowed by a bank of units, and that it merited greater focus, so I suggested bringing it forward, and placing along that wall the cooking area so that the pans would be nearby, thus making more rational use of the space.
While Sophia wanted a contemporary kitchen, she also wanted it to have a country house feel, and she liked the warm tones of American cherry. I drew up some initial plans to which Sophia wanted to make some small alterations, adding a built-in microwave and a second wine rack and following a handful of emails between us the final plan emerged as shown below.
 The limited area either side of the large window didn't allow for the creation of corner units, and the sill was too low even for reduced-height units, so I suggested a window seat in the same cherry as the units in order to link the two areas of the kitchen and create greater cohesion, and I thought Sophia could add cushions to match the decor.
The island would provide a large worktop – and space to display miniature accessories. Sophia was happy with the plans, and she gave the go-ahead for me to build the kitchen, which I then photographed for my records.
I sent Sophia the photos and she wrote back:
“I love, love, love the kitchen!!! It is absolutely beautiful! I can’t wait to see it in real life. And to show all my friends who are going to be insanely jealous. It really turned out even better than I was able to envisage, although you really seemed to be able to translate my ideas into reality without much difficulty. I guess that’s what makes you good at what you do. I agree the island with the wine rack looks very, very nice. And I love all the little minis you added to do the photo—they make everything look so real.
Again, many, many thanks. The kitchen is splendid and I am so happy that we were able to work together so well from such a distance. Thanks so much again and I will be in touch very soon".
However, while I had built the kitchen that Sophia wanted, and she was evidently very happy with the results, I knew that it would really only come to life once she had created the room that would house it, and added the accessories that would personalise it. And now, eighteen months on, she has completed the kitchen and the results are, I think you’ll agree...truly fabulous!
CONGRATULATIONS SOPHIA!
If you would like us to design YOUR dream kitchen, you can send us an email using the contact link on the website. Note that you can see larger versions of these photos by following the link under the slideshow on the Kitchen page.
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