InToto kitchens
Latest Homes meets a very satisfied customer whose dream has been realised with InToto kitchens
There are times when there simply isn’t an easy solution. Jonathan and Dave had bought their home between Lewes Road and Upper Lewes Road because they saw it had potential. A mid-Victorian corner property, it had originally been a bakery and shop. As such, it had a large basement and very large windows on the ground floor. The windows, whilst giving them huge amounts of northern light, would also mean that they were very exposed. Convention demanded that this large ground floor space would be their main living area and that the lower floor would be given over to the kitchen and services.
But Jonathan and Dave are not bound by convention and thinking outside the box came up with a far more creative solution. Why not put the kitchen on the ground floor and the main reception and dining area downstairs with a new staircase that would drop down in front of the main window?
It was a brilliant solution and one they have now finally completed with the help of kitchen designers and installers InToto. The brief was very exacting. The clients were looking for a very particular look and a very high finish.
“Over the past 10 years, converting our 1850s bakery into our dream house has been a labour of love but we had decided to leave the kitchen to last,” says Jonathan. “We thought it would be the biggest project to undertake, and to be quite honest we didn’t really know where to start! We knew we wanted a large multi-functional open-plan space for both cooking and entertaining, bold design and clean lines, and fell in love with the graphite and burgundy hi-gloss finishes and the extra thick Corian work surfaces combination.
“We just needed somebody to create the design for us and we are so pleased that we discovered Christine and Steve at InToto in Brighton. Nothing was too much trouble, everything was handled with care and both the products and the installation have been of the highest standard… faultless!
“We are especially pleased with our wall unit with glass doors which was fitted around a problem pillar in which all our glasses are kept. It’s a fantastic use of space. I don’t think there’s anybody who has walked in and not been stunned by the transformation. We are very happy customers!”
“I don’t think there’s anybody who has walked in and not been stunned
by the transformation”
And that look was a sleek and elegant modern style. It’s a look that is easiest to accomplish in a more modern building where there is more of a chance of finding level floors and clean 90° angles. InToto were not put off. There was plenty of work that had to be done, and, in particular, in creating a level floor on which to lay the fabulous flooring. But that work paid off and the resulting kitchen is a testament to what is achievable.
The space focuses on a central Corian surface island with a gas hob. It is also designed as a comfortable casual dining area with concealed stools that tuck away beneath the surface. Two of the four walls have the large windows and these have been kept clear of units. The remaining two walls have everything that a modern kitchen might need, from ovens and microwave, refrigerator and freezer, to a cold drinks machine (refresher unit) and a wine chiller. All are housed behind high-gloss Japanese lacquer red doors.
The lighting is complex too: under unit lights glow a soft violet, above the island three pendants offer focused light on the main work surface and dining area. Elsewhere, there are downlighters and spots. This is perhaps the most complete kitchen design that we have ever seen, from the fixtures and fittings to the wall of ornate wallpaper and even the art hanging on the walls. And it is totally successful.
So how did they achieve such a great result. Well, the answer is in collaboration. The clients had a vision of what they wanted to achieve and the team at Intoto were able to help them do that.
“Jonathan came in to see me initially saying he knew roughly what he wanted,” says Christine of InToto. “From here on I carried out a quotation and CAD drawings and asked him to come back in to see them. When we sat down and looked at my design together he said that I had done what he had thought of in his head, so we were on the same level from there on really.
“Jonathan knew what he wanted and we kept in regular contact getting all the finishing items decided so that everything was organised in advance ready for when we started the fit. Steve [the owner of InToto], who has years of installation experience, then came to the site survey with me to do accurate measurements for the plumbing etc to make sure we had everything in hand. This is also where we picked up final details like the steel trim for the stairwell where the new floor would raise the level.
To InToto the client brief is paramount; nothing is more important, and although, along the way they might make suggestions of how things could be done differently, in the end they want that client to have the kitchen of their dreams.
This project has worked with a handsome budget, but for InToto the same rules apply at every level, from the smallest space and tightest budget to those that are created on a grand scale.
And are the clients happy? “Our new kitchen has turned out to be everything we wanted… and more! From our initial meeting in their Brighton and Hove showroom right through to the installation itself we couldn’t have been more impressed.
“InToto were attentive, gave plenty of time and were more than happy to take on our installation in full. From the obvious things like plumbing, electrics, and floor tiling right through to the less obvious things like replacing skirting boards and general redecoration, the whole project has been carried out with a ‘can-do’ approach which was exactly what we wanted.
“Until we discovered InToto we had endured endless pushy sales people, special offers that turned out to be anything but special, a lack of pricing transparency, limited ranges and an unwillingness to provide the complete service that we wanted. We are so pleased that we decided to walk into their showroom. We have a beautiful new kitchen which is both practical and stylish. We couldn’t be happier!”
InToto Kitchens, 119/120 Western Road, Hove, BN3 1DB, 01273 771469
www.intoto.co.uk
