Hand-Crafted Bespoke Kitchens

Each Handcraft Furnishings bespoke kitchen is uniquely designed and made to order, with no predetermined styles or ranges.

This bespoke approach allows the client to specify exactly what size and type of kitchen they require.

Cabinets can be made to any height or width, with custom height counter tops and appliances set in practical positions for ease of use.

Types of kitchen designs range from:-

  • Contemporary & modern styles
  • Cooks, country & farmhouse kitchens
  • Classic & traditional styles
  • Heritage & reproduction styles
  • Galley & U-shaped kitchen layouts

 

When designing a kitchen, Handcraft Furnishings will consider the client, their lifestyle, family status and particular tastes:-

  • Is the kitchen just to cook in?
  • To entertain guests?
  • To be relaxed in and integrated as part of the living space?

Family kitchens are carefully planned to be more child friendly, with plate racks, wine racks and book shelves placed out of reach.

For the layout the main consideration is what sort of cooker is required, allowing for canopy extractors and chimney flues.

Factors that also influence the kitchen layout include:-

  • The type of property
  • Views from the windows
  • The aspect to the sun

Commonly, the placement of the sink is under the main view window.

A design consultation with Handcraft Furnishings allows you to bring along your ideas, photos, samples, drawings and plans which can be developed into a working design.

It is useful to have a ‘wish list’ of any required appliances and features at the design stage so they can be cohesively incorporated into the layout.

The meeting usually lasts about an hour and can be scheduled after hours for your convenience.

Kitchen Construction

When planning to build a Handcraft Furnishings bespoke kitchen there are mainly two methods of construction employed:-

  • In-Frame designs
  • Frameless designs

The most traditional method is In-Frame construction with flush mounted doors, which makes a fitted kitchen feel more like individual pieces of quality handmade furniture.

The presses are made as a solid wood frame carcass and the doors are mounted within the frame on butt hinges.

In-frame construction is a tried and tested method, structurally stronger, and is built to last a lifetime.

This technique requires a great deal of skill, and can be labour intensive to craft and fit.

A more contemporary style is a Frameless construction with lay-on doors which lends itself to simpler, cleaner lines like modern handleless designs.

Solid wood or veneered board doors are mounted on the front face of a blockboard or plywood carcass with hidden soft-close hinges.

It is a more economical method of production than in-frame construction, but can still offer a high quality and luxury feel by using exotic hardwoods and veneers, quality engineered boards and finishes.

Materials & Finishes

Handcraft Furnishings carefully select hardwoods for the construction of their bespoke kitchens, which provide a wide range of interesting colours, quality and grain patterns.

The choice of wood is often influenced by the client and part of the kitchen design colour palette.

Handcraft select hardwoods such as:-

  • Oak,
  • Pippy Oak
  • Walnut
  • Mahogany
  • Cherry
  • Maple
  • Beech
  • Chestnut
  • Ash
  • Elm
  • Burr

Hand-painted kitchens with finished wood accents are growing in popularity, and can be coloured to complement your cherished Aga range cooker but still have real wood features like a chopping block style countertop or a contrasting Walnut island unit.

Where the grain and colour of the wood is not as important in the painted parts of a kitchen, Poplar (Tulipwood) and Hard Maple are utilised for stability, durability and the grain doesn’t bleed through the painted surface as with other woods.

Bespoke Features

With Handcraft Furnishings you will find the difference is in the details.

By selecting and providing the highest quality fixtures and fittings, the craftsmanship of a Handcraft kitchen is unmistakable. These might include:-

  • Soft-close drawer runners
  • Brass and stainless steel butt hinges
  • Elegant handles and fittings

Look closer and you will also see:-

Secret magnet catches inlaid into the wood to hold the closed door in place without disrupting the line of the design.

Curved doors laminated from layers of solid wood and shaped to fit into tightly jointed frames.

Thick, solid wood dovetailed drawer boxes fitted with:-

  • Threaded peg-board organiser systems to hold pans and cookware in place
  • Bespoke solid wood cutlery & utensil inserts

Bespoke larders with:-

  • Custom engraved itemised drawers
  • Spice racks and notice boards
  • Chopping board stows
  • Tray presses
  • Bottomless plate racks
  • Bespoke wine racks & drinks cabinets

Handcraft Furnishings can also specify and supply a wide range of appliances and fittings including:-

  • Range cookers,
  • Hobs & steam ovens
  • Dishwashers
  • Extractors
  • Fridge freezers
  • Coffee machines
  • Wine coolers
  • Instant boiling water taps
  • Sinks & waste disposals

Appliance brands available include:-

  • Neff
  • Smeg
  • Range Master
  • Miele
  • Fisher & Paykel
  • Ilve
  • Liebherr

For sink and tap fixtures we use quality names like:-

  • Franke
  • Suter
  • Perrin & Rowe

Production & Installation

After the design and order stages of a Handcraft Furnishings bespoke kitchen are agreed, production commences at their four thousand square foot workshop in Tubbercurry, County Sligo, Ireland.

The hand-made units and presses are then crafted to plan, finished and transported to your property to be fitted as smoothly as possible with the minimum of disruption.

Handcraft Furnishings will liaise with other tradesmen like:-

  • Plumbing and electrical contractors
  • Building and plastering contractors
  • Tiling contractors
  • Painters & decorators
  • Cleaning services

Depending on the client's location in the country, Handcraft can recommend various preferred suppliers, and will organise the production of:-

  • Cut granite and stone
  • Custom glass and mirrors