THE LARKHALL KITCHEN BY deVOL

Every so often you come across a project that just connects. Aesthetically, it’s exactly your style. And, for me, this is one of those projects. I’ve been an admirer of The Sebastian Cox Kitchen by deVOL since I first laid eyes on it. This design sums up everything I love: craftsmanship, as each cabinet is beautifully handmade using British grown timbers; texture, as the design features a combination of sawn and woven timbers for an approach that’s both rustic and modern; and a subtle colour palette that draws out the beauty of the wood.

As Sebastian Cox has said of this collection and his collaboration with deVOL: “The whole kitchen is designed to look like it breathes. Together we’ve created something that feels clean, simple and light but is brimming with subtle texture to keep the choice of material front of mind.”

This kitchen in Bath showcases the Sebastian Cox cabinets brilliantly as the owners, a chef and a fashionista, combined the rough sawn cupboards with a gorgeous range of textures. The new kitchen sits within an extension the couple added to their home in Larkhall, a little enclave in Bath, and the original Bath stone exterior wall has been incorporated into the design, creating a rugged backdrop for the cabinetry with its mellow tones.

The cabinets are made in English beech and have been band sawn to give this textured finish, and then stained with a combination of deVOL’s Inky Blue Black and Natural dyes, giving each cabinet a gentle wash of colour – a detail I particularly love about the Sebastian Cox collection. The owners specified chunky concrete worktops as well as a sleek concrete floor, enhancing the tactile palette, while the Crittall-style windows and doors and the industrial pendants add to this mix.

And, as you would expect from a chef’s kitchen, this was designed to be a hardworking space. The island houses the dishwasher, the sink and a pull-out bin on one side with open and closed storage on the other. The stainless steel Falcon range cooker provides a focus to the cooking zone on the back run of cabinets, and this looks fantastic with the copper pans hanging from a simple rail above, shimmering against the old stonework.

And with a wall this beautiful, why would you want to cover it completely with cupboards? Instead the owners have chosen four rustic shelves as a way to display cooking utensils and crockery and have everyday ingredients within easy reach.

As deVOL founder Paul O’Leary has said of The Sebastian Cox Kitchen: “We have come to think of this look as Urban Rustic; it brings a little bit of woodland into the city, with some style.” I love this concept of bringing the woodland, with all its natural textures and tones, into the city, and creating a space that combines a visual sense of calm with a dynamic contemporary design.

See The Sebastian Cox Kitchen by deVOL here.

All photography from deVOL.