At Searle & Taylor, we take a realistic approach to the subject of sustainability. Wherever possible, we are committed to providing sustainable planet-friendly kitchen furniture options and we work with supplier partners that each have their own corporate commitment to sustainability. We use green energy to heat and light our Winchester showroom, with plans to add solar panels to the building to generate our own electricity in the future. We never send our old displays to landfill, preferring to recycle them into the circular economy, and we are award-winning for doing so. We are always seeking to reduce consumption as a business, and we are aiming to be net zero by 2030.

Bespoke kitchens made in England

As designers and retailers, we work with two English bespoke furniture makers with workshops that are within 30-miles of our Winchester showroom, thus having a low carbon footprint. All our bespoke furniture is handmade, hand-assembled and hand-finished. For the past three decades, we have used responsibly-sourced timbers, including reclaimed wood from trees that were felled in the great storm of 1987. Today, all timbers come from certified FSC and PEFC suppliers. All our bespoke kitchens are built to last, with a focus on longevity. We also use a safe form of eco-friendly Terra-MDF because it is stronger than wood, therefore more durable. It has zero formaldehyde in its composition and it does not release harmful volatile organic compounds into the environment.

Minimising the use of VOCs

All trade and retail paints, lacquers and stains we use are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We prefer to use water-based paints for our kitchens, which are always hand-painted on-site.

Contemporary kitchens by ewe

Our contemporary furniture offer is by Austrian company, ewe (pronounced ‘Eva’). At ewe, responsibility towards the environment and future generations is an essential part of the ewe value system. Its kitchens are built to last, using responsibly sourced materials from Austria. Proof of this is provided by its ISO 14001 certification, which anchors environmental protection in its management and it has held this certification since 2014.

Our supplier partners

As an independent kitchen retailer, we choose to work with premium and luxury partner brands. Most of these are British, with products entirely manufactured in Britain, or they are European.

All the branded worktop suppliers we partner with all manufacture in Europe, each with high sustainability credentials. We also work with independent stone companies that import natural granite and marble surfaces that are sometimes unique to a quarry in the country they are sourced from, and we can supply details of their provenance, if required.

While many of the appliance, sink, tap, lighting and handle brands we work with are European, we cannot always guarantee that the products are manufactured in Europe. However, each product comes with a label that states the country of origin and we can provide those details prior to purchase, if required.

We recommend energy, noise and water-efficient appliances, products and technologies

At Searle & Taylor, we are renowned for bringing the latest technological innovations to our showroom, often before any other kitchen retailer.

Induction hobs: We were very early adopters of induction technology, which is the most energy efficient form of surface cooking, safer, speedier and more controllable than gas hobs. We also display a couple of gas hob options in our showroom, because some of our clients prefer the power of the naked flame when cooking.

Vented hobs: We display on-trend vented induction hobs in our showroom, including models that are purely recirculation versions that do not need to be ducted to an external vent, making them much more energy efficient. We also display recirculation cooker hoods and ceiling hoods, too.

Self-cleaning ovens: We feature ovens from a range of premium brands that are low in energy usage, yet high in functionality. Many ovens we display are self-cleaning pyrolytic versions that safely heat to a very high temperature to carbonise grease and dirt in the interior cavity. This is a more cost-efficient option than buying gloves, sponges and oven cleaner, and it is time-saving.

Energy and noise-efficient appliances: We design a lot of open plan kitchens so we actively seek out cooking, extraction, cooling appliances that are not only energy efficient, but noise efficient too, and we display them in our showroom.

Water-efficient appliances: We always recommend having a dishwasher in the kitchen and we display energy, noise and water-efficient versions in our showroom.

Boiling water taps: We recommend the use of boiling water taps in the kitchen and our preferred supplier is Quooker. These taps only boil the exact amount of water you need, with no wastage, and are much more efficient than a kettle. The Cube function provides hot and cold filtered water, 100° boiling water and filtered sparkling water, all from the same tap.