In 2015, UK Permitted Development rights were relaxed, allowing many homeowners to extend their properties without requiring full planning permission. This situation was due to end in May this year but the law has been given a long-term continuation. Because of this, the open plan kitchen and living space has become a very fashionable option for homeowners that can either knock-through from one room to another or who have been able to extend their property, and many kitchens have been designed as part of open plan cooking, dining and living spaces, all in one large lifestyle area.

This is fantastic if you have the luxury of space where there are specific zones for cooking, dining and living, but many home extensions only allow for a larger open plan kitchen and dining area. This then becomes a homework area by day, but a dining room by night, when you might want to feature an open bar, if you have guests. Or, it might be a  home office to use by day, but that will need to be hidden from view when it becomes a working kitchen the rest of the time. Space, or lack of it is always the major issue, and many innovative European kitchen furniture companies (and Searle & Taylor) have found ways to ensure that you can have a fully multifunctional room, whatever your requirements. How? By using pocket doors…

In fact, the latest fashion in European kitchen design is to completely conceal the kitchen altogether in order to purely have a beautiful and uncluttered social or workspace. You then have the opportunity to open it up, by pivoting the pocket doors back into recesses to reveal a fully functional kitchen with all appliances on show, but only when they are required. This is why pocket doors are now becoming the ‘fashion essentials’ in the kitchen, whether it is ultra-contemporary or a more traditional bespoke option.

How do they work?

Using a special pivotal runner system, most pocket doors in kitchens are featured as double doors when closed, but single versions can also be used. When the doors are opened, they pivot into carefully measured side recesses to be completely out of sight, leaving an open area for your bar or for your cooking appliances, or your utility space. As soon as you want to conceal it, just pull the doors back out and close them. Voila!

Alternatively, you can also have bi-fold doors created that double-back on each other first and then the folded doors withdraw into side recesses, which is ideal for use with a freestanding dresser with limited depth. This is a great option if you have a concealed TV screen integrated within the furniture.

Pocket Door options from Searle & Taylor 

As pocket doors have become more fashionable across European kitchen design, our Austrian kitchen furniture partners, Intuo feature a number of contemporary options within their portfolio, and their kitchens are always designed by us.

Alternatively, for those of you seeking a handmade kitchen with contemporary twists, our Signature Bespoke collection features pocket doors made to any size and style. Before I was a kitchen retailer, I was a cabinetmaker and I love the idea of making furniture with multiple functionality. We design kitchens and workspaces with all types of pocket doors to suit you and your lifestyle, whether for tall cabinetry or for smaller freestanding pieces.

In what will be a series of blogs, we are focusing on the premium brands that we partner with to give you more of an understanding as to why we are proud to suggest them for your kitchen. The first is for Gaggenau appliances, which we display in our Winchester showroom.

The history:

Founded in the town of Gaggenau in Germany, the company was originally established as an ironworks in 1683 making agricultural machinery and consumer durables. By the 19^th century the company was producing bicycles, advertising signs and stoves, but it had also become a specialist in enamelling. This was the basis for the oven enamel that was originally used for its coal and gas-fired stoves, and the distinctive heat-absorbent enamel that is used to coat the interior of its ovens to this day.

The company was taken over in 1931 by Dr Otto Von Blanquet and when his son Georg took the reins in 1956 the business took a new direction. He had a vision for a fully fitted kitchen with easy to use appliances and his passion for cooking established the company as a leading brand for innovative built-in appliances with timeless beauty and functional aesthetics.

Inspired by the requirements of leading professionals and top chefs, Gaggenau brings professional culinary technology to the domestic kitchen. The current product range includes ovens, combi-steam ovens, vacuum and warming drawers, microwaves, espresso machines,

Vario specialty appliances, glass, ceramic, gas and induction hobs, extraction and cooling appliances, wine climate cabinets and dishwashers.

Why we recommend Gaggenau

Gaggenau is not just a kitchen appliance brand, it is a luxury brand. The products are incredibly well-made and they look beautiful in the kitchen with their characteristic good looks. The use of glass and stainless steel and the distinctive silver or anthracite options are created to suit every kitchen whether traditional or contemporary. There is a choice of ovens with handles or versions that are handleless with a touch screen button to open the door.

The unique blue interior enamelling of the ovens is also distinctive, and it is created to ensure that the oven temperature is always at the correct setting. With pyrolytic self-clean options, including a self-cleaning steam oven, the cooking products are stunning. The hobs, including zoneless induction options make cooking simple and energy efficient and the integrated cooling products are fantastically designed. Over the years, Gaggenau has become a specialist in wine climate cooling and if you are a connoisseur, or a collector of wine, you can now have a full cooling wall of Gaggenau integrated appliances situated side-by side. Not only is this fashionable, it is a brilliant idea for a fully fitted kitchen.

Gaggenau only partners with premium kitchen companies that are able to design and make the bespoke-sized doors that are attached to the front of their integrated appliances for a fully streamlined effect in the kitchen. Gaggenau specially trains its retail partners so that they can make the right appliance recommendations for every kitchen, always in accordance with their manufacturers guidelines.

Searle & Taylor was editorially featured in the recent Bespoke Britain supplement in consumer interiors publication, Essential Kitchen Bathroom and Bedroom Magazine. This supplement was dedicated to highlighting the best and most important bespoke kitchen companies across the whole of the UK.

1. What is a bespoke kitchen?
A bespoke kitchen is one that is custom-designed and made to your exact specification and to sizes that will suit your exact space. It can be made from any available material and in any style that you wish for. It can be contemporary, classic or traditional or a blend of all three.

2. Can you buy a bespoke kitchen anywhere?
No. There are very few kitchen companies that make fully bespoke kitchens. Many offer ‘made to measure’ options, which are never bespoke, because a bespoke kitchen is always handmade for you, your home and for your specific requirements. But, like any kitchen, it will have to conform to all standard safety regulations and most of all be practical and work in harmony alongside appliances that do follow standard sizes.

3. How does the process work?
As bespoke kitchen and furniture designers, we always recommend that you look in kitchens and interiors magazines or on Pinterest or KBB Ark to see the style of kitchen that you would like in your home. Then, please make an appointment with a member of our highly-trained team and we will discuss the architecture of your home and what type of kitchen style you are seeking. We have a client brief that you can fill in – in the showroom, or online and we will work from that, along with the room dimensions to create an initial plan for you. We always recommend that you visit our showroom in Winchester to seek inspiration and to take a look at the many colours and materials we offer including various work surfaces and appliance options. If it isn’t in our showroom, we can source it for you.

4. What happens next?
We will arrange another meeting, where we will present an initial design and a mood board of styles, materials and textures. Because the design is created bespoke, we never work with specific ‘furniture ranges’ so anything can be adjusted and organised according to your needs and desires.

5. What is the difference between Handmade Bespoke and Signature Bespoke?
At Searle & Taylor, we have nearly 30 years of experience designing and making bespoke kitchens, so we have broken this down to the Handmade classic hand-painted Shaker-style or country kitchens to more unique Signature styles that may have additional contemporary and technological twists like pocket doors and pop-up TV’s, plus Wi-Fi enabled lighting and appliances.

For more information about having your new Handmade or Signature Bespoke kitchen designed by Searle & Taylor, please contact us to arrange an appointment at our Winchester showroom or fill in our online client brief and we will call you.

At Searle & Taylor we have partnered with Quooker for many years. A Quooker Boiling Water tap is one of our most requested appliances and one that we love to demonstrate. At our Winchester showroom we feature the recently launched Quooker Flex which we believe is a gamechanger in the kitchen because of its truly flexible functionality. No need for a kettle, no need for a filtered water jug – just the tap.

The Flex is the latest innovation from Quooker. A boiling-water tap equipped with a flexible pull out hose for hot, cold and filtered cold water. This makes it very easy to pour a glass of water, make a pot of filtered coffee or clean your pans quickly and effectively.

We are often asked if the Quooker Flex Boiling Water tap is safe? It is extremely safe thanks to the boiling-water stop. The Flex will not dispense boiling water when the pull out hose is pulled out. In order to get boiling water, you must also first use the (double)-push-and-turn handle. The insulated spout and fine aerated spray ensure no risk of scalding or burning.

Knocked over kettles cause hundreds of casualties each year, especially for young children. Such accidents are a thing of the past with the Quooker, thanks to its childproof handle and insulated sides that ensure it never feels hot to the touch. The water is boiling, but the flow is a fine spray rather than a solid jet, giving you plenty of time to get your hands out of harm's way. The boiling water control is entirely separate from the standard hot and cold. Safety and ease of use go hand in hand with the Quooker.

We are also asked if the Quooker is energy efficient? The patented insulation of its tank means that its standby consumption is less then 3p per day. It uses less electricity than repeatedly boiling a kettle. Most of all, having a Quooker Flex Boiling Water tap means that you have the convenience of all different types of hot and cold filtered water from a single tap.

Please come and ask for a demonstration at our Winchester showroom and you can view the benefits for yourself.

In March last year, I was delighted to be invited to a private view of the launch of the new Gaggenau Vario 400 cooling series; a modular range of refrigerators, freezers, fridge-freezers and wine climate cabinets which can be configured to meet an array of individual needs.

I am pleased to have our selection of the new Vario 400 series now installed in the Searle & Taylor Winchester showroom and the fridge, freezer and wine cabinet look fantastic installed side-by-side as a ‘cooling wall’ in a dramatic contemporary anthracite matt glass Intuo kitchen display on the ground floor.

As you would expect from a luxury brand like Gaggenau, there are a lot of stunning features that make this cooling system stand out from the crowd. The most innovative aspect is the Gaggenau opening assist system: push to open the handleless door and the mechanism will effortlessly open it for you – and this mechanism can also be tailored to excatly suit your requirements. Thanks to its ingenious proximity sensor, even the door‘s ice and water dispenser anticipates your needs and automatically activates the light and touch keys as you approach.

The doors to the larder fridge and integrated freezer open to reveal a complete stainless steel interior and dark anthracite anodised aluminium elements. Clear glass shelving and solid aluminium door racks are further complemented by a stunning atmospheric glow from the warm-white, glare-free LED lights.

The Vario wine climate cabinets in the 400 series take inspiration from the oak barrels used to age wine. Oak and dark anthracite aluminium bottle trays fully extend on telescopic rails to provide gentle support for the wine. Further safeguards are provided by the cabinet’s low vibration, humidity regulation, and the activated charcoal air filter which protects the wine from odour contamination. Up to three independently controlled climate zones can also be adjusted via the newly installed intuitive TFT display. This means part of your wine collection can be stored in cellar-like conditions, while bottles that should be enjoyed now can be served on demand.

We feature a wide range of Gaggenau appliances on display at our Ropley and Winchester showrooms. If you are ordering one of our kitchens with Gaggenau appliances, we can also organise for you to have a private appointment at the Gaggeanu showroom in Wigmore Street, London to view the full range.

Please call or visit us for more information.

At Searle & Taylor, one of the most exciting aspects of working in the kitchen design business is sourcing fantastic complementary appliances and products for our showroom displays that we believe people will love and want in their own kitchens.

We seek out exciting niche brands to bring them to your attention, and one that ticks all the boxes in the lead up to Christmas is the Kaelo integrated wine cooler that can be retro-fitted into your worktop.

The Kaelo is one appliance that is a must-have for anyone who socialises or entertains on a regular basis. It is designed to keep chilled wine or Champagne at the perfect ambient temperature when opened, so you can just relax and pour. Handmade in England, Kaelo uses a patented dry cooling system to keep the bottle within one to two degrees of its opening temperature with no need for ice or refills, and no drips. It is integrated into your worktop and just needs a plug, so if you have an open plan kitchen, your open bottle is always close to hand.

We have a Kaelo integrated wine cooler on display at both of our Ropley and Winchester showrooms, so please pop in or arrange an appointment and we can demonstrate it to you.

Searle & Taylor is one of Hampshire’s few premium kitchen companies that make fully bespoke kitchens. There are even fewer that can create curved and circular furniture, as it is a very complicated process,  but we always love to keep ahead of the curve…

Having trained as a cabinetmaker, I have always loved working with beautiful and pliable timbers, and that training also allowed me and my team to develop designs where we can feature curved furniture within an otherwise linear kitchen layout. By adding  curved units we can continue a line of cabinets around corners in a seamless run, and we can also maximise storage space by doing so. By incorporating a curved breakfast bar to a rectangular island makes a cold space seem much warmer and more inclusive.

We are delighted that one of our Signature Bespoke curved designs is featured in the October 2018 issue of Utopia Kitchen & Bathroom; a newsstand magazine dedicated to luxury interiors.

Curves soften the look of a room, no matter how large or small. If you are seeking a beautiful bespoke kitchen with lots of different and up-to-the-minute design ideas, then please talk to us about our Signature Bespoke kitchens.

Many of the kitchens we design are part of open plan living spaces that are multifunctional rooms. Because of this, the kitchen furniture needs to blend with the rest of the living area and appliances need to be as unobtrusive as possible. However, part of our design process is to consider ‘the working kitchen’ for years to come, and this includes what happens when you cook, clean and use your appliances on a regular basis.

In order to keep grease and cooking odours at bay in a working kitchen, we recommend a range of different extraction options, from concealed hoods to the latest combination versions, where the extractor comprises part of the induction hob. The most popular type of extractor that we specify for open plan kitchens and lifestyle spaces is the fashionable integrated ceiling hood and while it is ideally situated directly above the hob, it can be installed anywhere above the overall kitchen space. These discreet extraction models are designed to remove bad odours while recirculating fresh air, so you can live in an ambient environment.

A ceiling hood does not disturb the eyeline nor compromise the aesthetic of the kitchen furniture and we partner with two extraction brands that feature powerful, yet very quiet extraction models, so they won’t drown out the sound of conversation when you are entertaining.

Even if you have a period property with limited veiling space between the joists, we can recommend compact ceiling hoods with integrated motors of less that 20cm in depth, and we can also recommend motorless versions and also the best recirculation models.

For ceiling hoods we recommend two brands: Novy and Westin.

Firmly established for over 50 years as the leading premium extraction innovation brand in Northern Europe, Novy is a relative newcomer to the UK. Manufactured in Belgium, Novy invented and patented perimeter extraction and the first silencer in cooker hoods and its appliances are proven to be the quietest and most powerful on the market. Every Novy ceiling hood features LED mood lighting that can be easily adjusted by remote control from cold light for cooking and warmer tones when socialising. Exceptional quality is paramount with Novy products, which accounts for their premium position. We were proud to be one of the first kitchen specialists to feature a Novy remote-controlled ceiling hood on display in our luxury boutique showroom in Winchester.

Searle & Taylor is a Novy Premium Innovation Partner and we can source all Novy induction, combination and extraction models for your kitchen.

There are very few truly British appliance brands, but Westin, based in Huddersfield, Yorkshire is one of them. Established in 1921, the company makes a range of cooker hoods including true bespoke versions, if required. Every hood and extractor is hand-built, and they make a wide range of options to suit all kitchens, with a focus on British kitchens. They have a middle to premium position and we have been a retail partner of Westin for a number of years.

We feature Westin remote-controlled ceiling hoods on display at our main Searle & Taylor showroom in Ropley.  We can source all types of Westin cooker hoods and extraction models for your kitchen.