Margaret Thatcher’s Dulwich house was fitted with a handmade Smallbone kitchen, which had won the Prime Minister’s heart at first sight and in 1985 was one of the most widely reported features about her home.

As a Smallbone Kitchen owner, she joined the ranks of celebrity fans of the company, which included Rowan Atkinson, Nigel Mansell and Dustin Hoffman. Today, the company is still known for its international star following.

As a direct result of this media coverage, Mrs. Thatcher’s Dulwich kitchen was carefully recreated at Pinewood Studios for the set of The Iron Lady film, now released.

When approached by the Production team to provide a kitchen for the film, Smallbone pulled out all the stops, dismantling a complete showroom display and rapidly re-built it at Pinewood to recreate the character of the Iron Lady’s traditional kitchen.

Pictured here is Smallbone’s Pilaster kitchen as depicted in The Iron Lady:

• Inspired by the grand architecture of the 18th century the design focus of this kitchen is the pilaster, a gently tapering half column, which is based on an original from 1743.

• Other details like the dentil cornice mouldings plus raised and fielded panels, also have their origins in the Georgian period.

• The Pilaster collection can either be made from oak, or can be hand painted in many different colours.

Smallbone’s Design Director, Steven de Munnich commented, “Smallbone is an iconic British brand and Margaret Thatcher’s kitchen is definitely in our Hall of Fame. We were so pleased to be asked to play a role in this film - and proud to be part of her story.”

For further information about the smart Smallbone Pilaster Kitchen, please visit the website.

Barnes of Ashburton are celebrated for their designs in hand-crafted bespoke kitchens, but in response to the increasing numbers of people choosing to work from home, they have entered the market for home offices.

If space is at a premium and converting a box room or garage isn’t an option, then a home office space can easily be created within your living room.

A cleverly planned bespoke workspace should cover essential storage whether fitted or freestanding and will include:

• Permanent or Hideaway Desk.

• Storage and Bespoke Cabinets.

• Book Shelves and Display Cabinets.

Featured is the Barnes of Ashburton home office painted in ‘All White’ from Farrow & Ball, with a 40mm solid oak block -top. The prices for a similar design start at £5K.

Barnes of Ashburton will design and install an office for you that precisely matches the style of your existing room and will make the most efficient use of the space available. That’s the beauty of bespoke!

Barnes of Ashburton was established by furniture designer Patrick Gunning over 35 years ago. Since that time the business has built an enviable reputation, for supplying the very finest bespoke kitchens and handmade freestanding furniture to clients across the UK.

To view further examples of bespoke home offices created by Barnes of Ashburton, please visit the website.

Here are some great tips on how to maximize the space in a small kitchen, courtesy of Debbie Bowden, designer Barnes of Ashburton.

Bespoke is best! The beauty of commissioning a bespoke kitchen is that the cabinetry is made with your kitchen size in mind.

• Every centimetre is resourcefully utilised to create efficient work-space and storage.

• Worktops can be reduced in depth, cabinets scaled down in size. Everything is possible, as every component is made to measure. However, bespoke needn’t mean expensive with prices starting from £15000.

• Pull out “Magic Corners” with a soft close mechanism provide an ideal corner storage system. These prevent food items, or hard to reach crockery languishing at the back of cupboards.

• Recycling is still important in a small space. Discrete, pull out bins with compartments for sorting compost, glass and plastics, can be integrated into a kitchen, however small.

• Choose appliances to make the most of the space available – a ¾ size dishwasher for example, or a multifunction oven.

• Create the illusion of space by not fitting wall cabinets.

• The owner of the kitchen featured, requested a traditional, hand-painted kitchen, with a relaxed feel. But for more of a contemporary, sleek look, consider handle-less kitchens.

• Create the illusion of space with light-reflective paint, or hi-gloss finishes.

• And if you can accommodate a central island, scale it down and create a sociable place for guests to perch.

For more information about the Barnes of Ashburton’s bespoke kitchen solutions, please visit the website.
Tel: (01364) 653613

Alternative Plans’ introduction of Strato’s new generation Strato 2011 Collection, expresses their supreme appreciation of the ‘one block’ kitchen design, flowing effortlessly between one material and another; combining Bolivar Wood with Strato-stone, steel and mirror glass:

• The working area is defined vertically by a glass wall and horizontally by a steel lighting raft illuminated with LEDs.

• The working island is balanced between sculpture and architecture, visualized as a monolith, utterly pure and sophisticated.

• Designed by Marco Gorini and built in his factory in the Lombardy region of Italy, only 300 Strato kitchens are produced each year. Each one is designed and built to order as a complete one off, combining advanced manufacturing techniques and long-established cabinet making skills, which are the Gorini family’s heritage.

Strato describe themselves as “for those who run away from the ordinary”.

For Alternative Plans - who have never been ordinary - it brings the prospect of offering haute-couture concept works, to clients seeking the ultimate kitchen.

About
Alternative Plans have pioneered the work of some of the world’s leading industrial designers for nearly 30 years and been in the front line of architectural design for kitchens and bathrooms.

You can see Strato kitchens in the UK, exclusively at Alternative Plans’ flagship showroom in Battersea.

Visit the website to view Alternative Plans’ contemporary collection of bespoke hand crafted kitchens.
Tel: (020) 72286460

The UK online furniture specialists, Sofa & Home is taking up the citrus interiors style, with an invigorating collection of vibrant and contemporary furniture designs, to convey the warmth of summer ambience in the home.

Bright, lively colours are synonymous with summer. -  sunshine yellows, lime greens, and sharp oranges, never fail to stir up the feeling of summer in the home.
 
The gloriously bright and juicy colours of the Lavina Bar Stools in our picture and Lodovico Chairs, fill the kitchen with a summery atmosphere; and will guarantee a brighter outlook at breakfast and for the day ahead.
 
Julian Thompson, co-founder of Sofa & Home and a furniture designer for over 30 years says,
“Using citrus tones in the home provides the perception of space and a fresh, airy ambience.  Greens, yellows, oranges work exceptionally well in smaller spaces that don’t get a great deal of sunlight.  
Bright colours can also influence your mood and outlook; creating a sunnier disposition.”
 
Visit  the website for further information on the Sofa & Home citrus range of kitchen furniture. 

Stockist:   (01652) 650942

Kütchenhaus, the leading German kitchen makers have launched their first eco-wood kitchen collection named ‘Elegance’.

Available in a choice of Walnut or Oak, the Elegance collection is already a great success with customers, since it is made of 100% sustainable forestry.

Kütchenhaus, were the first kitchen company in the world to be accredited by the PEFC (Programmes for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification Schemes) several years ago.

The company’s entire range now conforms to PEFC, so they are confident to introduce the range, knowing that the oak used, only comes from PEFC approved sources.

Customers purchasing the Elegance kitchen for its eco- certificate, don’t have to compromise on style or price either, in-fact the new kitchen has already been accepted as a trendy choice and is very reasonably priced at £10,000.

Furthermore, as with all Kütchenhaus kitchens, the Elegance door fronts can be mixed and matched with any other style from the company’s range, to create something unique and fresh for every home.

Featured here is the new Elegance mixed with a bright white, high gloss door front, to produce a wood kitchen with a contemporary twist. The designers at Kütchenhaus are highly trained to offer lots of style combinations, ensuring every kitchen is exclusive to each customer and at no extra cost.

They can also offer other style options such as a choice of worktop heights plus combination slim-line tops and all come as standard design choices at no extra cost.

Norman Parker Kütchenhaus Managing Director said: “We stopped making timber doors six years ago, due to the uncertainty as to the integrity of the wood, particularly oak. Now after years of hard-work, we can confidentially sell kitchens made of wood to our customers, knowing that they are 100% accredited.”

The Elegance kitchen is available in all the Kütchenhaus stores located across the UK.

For further information about the new Kütchenhaus Elegance kitchen, please visit the website.

Tel: (0161) 749 4110.

The Kitchen Dresser Company is a family-run business, specialising in the design and construction of fine kitchen furniture using only the highest quality materials and traditional cabinet-making skills.

In the beginning the company set out to create the perfect dresser and since then the collections have developed to include a wide range of truly bespoke, made-to- measure pieces.

Every piece is unique, timeless, elegant and practical, made by hand in England within long-established Victorian workshops in the heart of the Staffordshire potteries.

To ensure this solid furniture is robust enough for regular daily use, a single craftsman works on each individual element, using dovetail and tenon joints.

The Kitchen Dresser Company’s range comprises:  Kitchen Dressers, Sideboards, Tables & Chairs, Worktops and The Morning Room, a collection of refined and understated furniture ideally suited for reception rooms.

Featured here is the Glass Cupboard from The Morning Room Collection – A fine looking cupboard with simple lines and strong proportions that provides for a huge amount of storage; just perfect for holding everything you might need for the dining table.
Priced from £2195 to £4090.

Pieces in the collections are available in a range of natural paint colours, from Old White and Butter through to Sage and Rosehip Red.

To view the complete collection of kitchen dressers and free standing kitchen furniture, please visit the website.

Now also available from Liberty in London.

Chalon Handmade Kitchens have announced that they have started to work with Norcool, the Norwegian appliance manufacturer.

As a result of this association a Norcool Pantry Unit has been installed in Chalon’s latest showroom in Knutsford, Cheshire.

As a ‘modern take on a traditional pantry,’ Chalon has integrated this appliance into their award-winning kitchen cabinetry.

The original pantry was the food storage solution of the pre-electric age. Dearly loved by both domestic goddesses and chefs, the Norcool pantry is the peak of modern cooling storage solutions:

• Available fully integrated – as shown in our picture – or as a stand alone unit, this Pantry fridge is extremely versatile and can be fitted anywhere, including into awkward corners.

• Shown here in one of Chalon’s most in-demand colours, Vintage Mortar Grey.

• With 1,220 litres of available space, whole crates of water or soft drinks can be stored, while lots of food can be prepared in advance, making it ideal for the regular entertainer.

A key feature of this innovative appliance is that it is modular and comes flat-packed; the hugely important benefit of this is it allows installation into areas with very tight access – think of a city flat or, in the case of Chalon’s Knutsford showroom, upstairs in a listed building with a very narrow staircase.

Stephen Carter, Chalon Managing Director commented “We have been looking for a high quality product that provides this functionality for some time and are delighted to be working with Norcool to meet this need.”

The modern take on a traditional pantry is now available for order from any of Chalon’s seven UK showrooms.

For further information on Chalon & Norcool’s Modern/Traditional Pantry, or find your nearest showroom, please visit the website.

The popularity of clean lines achieved with sleek wide white slab doors, as featured on Betta Living’s new Dallas range (shown here), is showing no sign of slowing, as this key kitchen trend finds new ways to stay ahead in the fashion stakes.

Simple yet striking styling touches and use of colour, can turn a plain white kitchen into a design statement and make it extremely en-vogue for 2011:

Wide Drawer Base Units
Apart from being practical, the wide drawer base units deliver a designer look, enhanced by sleek curved stainless steel handles.

Statement Worktops
The 30mm thin profile of the granite worktop is a current trend, rather than chunkier worktops from a couple of years ago. The overhang provides a handy bar height seating area for casual dining and is a key new styling feature for kitchens.

Sapphire Blue Glass Splashback Teamed With Oak Flooring Creates a Calming Effect
Inject colour into a white kitchen with coloured glass splashbacks. Sapphire blue creates a calming effect when teamed with this light oak wood effect flooring.

Mood Lighting – a vital ingredient in kitchen design
The room is flooded with natural light from the large roof lights but plinth lights provide additional softer lighting - ideal mood lighting for entertaining.

What’s Cooking In Kitchens - Dual Ovens & Island Hobs
The two main appliances that are in high demand right now are the induction hob, frequently being designed into a central island unit rather than along wall worktops; and additional steam ovens alongside conventional ovens, to provide a choice of cooking facilities.

A Hot And Practical Solution
Vertical radiators are a good space saving solution in the kitchen.

Betta Living’s Dallas kitchen is priced at just £2,471 for an average sized kitchen (based on a guide layout and in Betta Living’s 70% sale), with a 600mm base unit from £262.50.

Betta Living has 20 showrooms, 25 pop up stores and offers free, no obligation design consultations in customer’s homes throughout the UK, to ensure its kitchens are designed to individual, exacting needs and budget.

For more information on Betta Living’s Dallas kitchen, please visit the website.

Tel:    0800 269 945 for a free home design consultation.

Buying a kitchen is a big investment and for many people it can be a daunting prospect. Some people like to take on the entire project themselves, while others require help through the whole process.

That’s why IKEA is making the process of buying a kitchen easy for all customers, by offering a choice of services, depending on the amount of help needed!

From in-home planning, installation to delivery, IKEA offers all the services you may require, to help you achieve that kitchen you’ve always dreamed of.

Featured here is the Faktum Aktum/Tidaholm oak kitchen, £2145; plus VAT.

Planning
When it comes to planning your kitchen, you can become your own interior designer, by either planning it yourself using the free online IKEA kitchen planning tool, or with assisted planning in-store, or pay for IKEA to plan your entire kitchen in the comfort of your home.

Installation
Professional kitchen installation can save you valuable time, especially when it comes to the trickier tasks like worktops, appliances, the sink and tap or even unit installation.

You can choose one or all of the items from the installation menu, depending on how much of the work you want to do yourself.

The Ikea installation service includes, a pre-installation visit to check measurements and the accuracy of your order, certified gas and electrical service providers and your order pre-checked and consolidated prior to delivery – plus a free three year guarantee on workmanship and installation.

You will get a fully coordinated service with a personal case handler, all at the usual IKEA low-price!

Delivery
Most of IKEA products are designed and packaged in such a way that you can easily get them home in your own car; that’s why there are 15 kitchen ranges that are available to take home straight from the IKEA store if you choose.
Alternatively, IKEA can arrange for your kitchen to be delivered straight to your home.

Visit IKEA’s specialist kitchen website, for some great tips and ideas to help you through the kitchen buying process.