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The Ingatestone Restoration
Ingatestone, Essex
The Ingatestone Restoration is an in-frame bespoke kitchen designed by Bridger Bespoke for a period property in Ingatestone, Essex, finished in Little Greene Ceviche and Harley Green on Noble Carrara quartz, with appliances by Sub-Zero & Wolf.
An extensive restoration of a historic Essex countryside property, centred on a Classic Shaker kitchen with cock beaded front frame and mouldings. The elegant pairing of Little Greene Slaked Lime Deep and Basalt extends through the kitchen, walk-in larder, drinks dresser, media wall and utility room, unified by burnished brass hardware and Calacatta Valencia Quartz.
The two-tone scheme of Slaked Lime Deep and Basalt by Little Greene creates a sophisticated interplay between the perimeter cabinetry and island, unified by Calacatta Valencia quartz surfaces and burnished brass Armac Martin hardware. The project extends well beyond the kitchen - a walk-in larder, utility room, bespoke fluted-glass drinks dresser, walnut-backed media wall, and a full-stave black American walnut dining table demonstrate the workshop’s range across materials and room types.
Kitchen Details
- Cabinetry StyleClassic Shaker with cock beaded front frame
- Colour PaletteLittle Greene Slaked Lime Deep & Basalt
- WorktopsCalacatta Valencia Quartz throughout
- HandlesArmac Martin Queslett in burnished brass
- Range CookerLacanche 1405mm with induction hob and double oven
- ExtractionWestin Prime beneath bespoke chimney breast mantle
- Sink & TapShaws fireclay with Perrin & Rowe Ionian in aged brass
- SplashbackAntiqued silver mirror behind range cooker
The Brief
A period property in Ingatestone retained a generous U-shaped kitchen with strong natural light. The brief asked for the existing layout to be preserved and the cabinetry rebuilt as a permanent piece of architecture, with appliances and finishes detailed for daily family use.
Design Response
The cabinetry follows the existing U-shape with a 2-metre double-sided island at the centre. The proportional move is the island length: long enough to anchor the room without crowding it, deep enough to take seating on the social side and a working face on the other. The handmade in-frame Shaker doors carry the architectural language of the room.
The colour palette is calibrated to the room's light. The main runs are finished in Little Greene Ceviche, a neutral pale grey that reads almost white in the high natural light. The island is painted in Little Greene Harley Green, a deep greeny-blue that grounds the centre of the room. The contrast is composed rather than decorative: it gives the kitchen two readings, calm at the perimeter and weighted at the island.
Worktops are Noble Carrara quartz, carried up as upstands and backsplash so the surface reads as a single architectural plane. A handmade wirework pull-out larder mechanism with integrated lighting was drawn into the cabinetry to give the family deep storage without breaking the elevation. Every appliance has been specified for permanence: Sub-Zero & Wolf cooking and refrigeration, Perrin and Rowe brassware, Quooker boiling water.
Detail Focus
The two-tone palette
Little Greene Ceviche on the perimeter cabinetry, Little Greene Harley Green on the island. Both hand-painted on site in five coats. The pale neutral lets the room's natural light do most of the visual work; the deep greeny-blue island gives the centre of the room a weighted anchor. The two paints sit next to one another without competing because the saturation is matched rather than the value.
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Materials Palette
- Cabinetry style
- Handmade in-frame Shaker, hand-painted on site in five coats.
- Perimeter paint
- Little Greene Ceviche, a neutral pale grey with almost-white tones.
- Island paint
- Little Greene Harley Green, a deep greeny-blue.
- Worktop
- Noble Carrara quartz, with matching upstands and full-height backsplash.
- Sink
- Shaws of Darwin double sink, classic white finish.
- Tap
- Perrin and Rowe Juliet Monobloc sink mixer with pull-down rinse, finished in pewter.
- Soap dispenser
- Perrin and Rowe contemporary deck-mounted, finished in pewter.
- Boiling water
- Quooker PRO3 Nordic round in stainless steel, with Quooker cube.
- Ovens
- Wolf M Series professional built-in single oven with stainless steel knobs, paired with a Wolf M Series convection steam oven.
- Hob
- Wolf Contemporary induction cooktop.
- Extraction
- Westin Cache 1100mm.
- Refrigeration
- Sub-Zero 914mm French door fridge freezer with Pro handle.
- Specialist cabinetry
- Handmade wirework pull-out larder mechanism with integrated lighting.
Every Bridger Bespoke kitchen is drawn from scratch in response to the architecture of the room. There is no catalogue. There are no ranges. The cabinetry is engineered and built entirely in our own workshop in Bishop’s Stortford.
Highlights of This Kitchen
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Lacanche Range with Mantle
A prestigious Lacanche 1405mm range cooker sits beneath a handcrafted chimney breast mantle with Westin extraction, creating a commanding focal point.
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Drinks Dresser
A handcrafted dresser in Basalt featuring fluted glass-fronted cabinets, walnut veneer interior and LED-lit shelving for elegant entertaining.
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Island Pedestal Table
The Basalt-painted island incorporates a bespoke pedestal table at one end, offering comfortable social seating transitioning naturally from the working kitchen.
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Walnut-Lined Larder
A generous walk-in larder with artisan shelves, walnut veneer interior, LED lighting on every shelf and Calacatta Valencia quartz worktops.
Frequently asked questions
Why two paint colours rather than a single tone across the kitchen?
A single tone across a U-shape can flatten the proportions of a generous room. By painting the perimeter cabinetry in Little Greene Ceviche and the island in Harley Green, the kitchen reads in two layers: the room itself reads as calm and bright, and the island anchors the centre. The pair of paints sit alongside one another because their saturation is matched, not their value.
What appliances are specified in the kitchen?
Sub-Zero & Wolf throughout: a Wolf M Series professional built-in single oven, a Wolf M Series convection steam oven, a Wolf Contemporary induction cooktop and a Sub-Zero 914mm French door fridge freezer. Extraction is by Westin (Cache 1100mm). Brassware is by Perrin and Rowe in pewter; boiling and chilled water is by Quooker PRO3 Nordic with cube.
How is the quartz worktop detailed at the upstand and splashback?
Noble Carrara quartz is carried as worktop, upstand and full-height backsplash so the surface reads as a single architectural plane rather than as a series of discrete components. The continuation removes a small horizontal joint at the wall line, which is the proportional detail that gives a Shaker kitchen its calm.
This project was crafted in our own workshop by The Handmade Kitchen Company.