A Classic English-Style Kitchen Custom Designed for a Vegan Family

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What does a vegan culinary setup look like? In the case of this project for a young family of six, it takes the guise of a craftsman-made, English country-house kitchen—with some tailor-made details for washing and storing vegetables, doing a lot of prepping and cooking, and sending meals outside.

The owners—Dan runs a tech company and Lorraine is a teacher—left London behind for East Sussex in 2018 to grow a lot of their own food. They live in a historic structure known as the Mill House that was converted from two farm cottages back in 1897, and were in the fortunate position of being able to start from scratch in this part of the house. To replace the existing kitchen and adjacent rooms—and with a goal of achieving near self-sufficiency (even the family dog keeps to a plant-based diet)—they hired Inglis Hall, a local bespoke kitchen company. Run by cabinetmaker Toby Inglis Hall, the workshop specializes in sustainable materials and peerless craftsmanship. Let’s take a look.

Photography courtesy of Inglis Hall.

&#8\2\20;does the self sufficient vegan objective conjure certain sensibili 17 — Above: “Does the self-sufficient vegan objective conjure certain sensibilities?” asks Toby. “Think again. Pleasure is taken seriously here.”

Dan and Lorraine wanted the space to have an unfitted look, and one of the ways Inglis Hall complied was by designing this freestanding “crockery cupboard,” detailed with ash woven by basketmaker Josey Goodin. The door to the right leads to a capacious utility room aka “the vegetable processing plant.”

the room is centered by a large, painted wood island with turned legs that prov 18 — Above: The room is centered by a large, painted wood island with turned legs that provides ample work space, storage, and a place to sit and eat. The cabinets are fronted with raw band-sawn oak, and, for a utilitarian-modern twist, the long counter is concrete.

the sink has rudge & co. wall mounted pevensey brass taps and a hammer 19 — Above: The sink has Rudge & Co. wall-mounted Pevensey brass taps and a hammered brass basin from The French House.

the fridge surround is fitted with wooden trays that make it easy to serve meal 20 — Above: The fridge-surround is fitted with wooden trays that make it easy to serve meals in the garden. All of the appliances are by Fisher & Paykel, including dishwasher drawers and the side-by-side ovens with induction cooktops—”often the second oven is dual function to include a steam oven or similar, but in this instance, they just needed that capacity,” says Toby.

there&#8\2\17;s a round family table alongside french doors. &#8\2\20;t 21 — Above: There’s a round family table alongside French doors. “The interior shutters were existing and helped define the style of the room,” says Toby.

All of the lighting, including the Foster pendants over the island, are from Jim Lawrence Lighting.

Pantry

lorraine and dan came to the project with a collection of orange lidded jars fo 22 — Above: Lorraine and Dan came to the project with a collection of orange-lidded jars for the pantry.

Admiring the reeded-glass door? Toby explains: “We made the two doors leading to the pantry and utility choosing to go with super-traditional joinery detailing, including, for any fellow closet joinery nerds out there, a fine beading around panels and tapered door styles.” The handles are from Optimum Brasses.

Utility/Laundry/Mud Room

a corner of the utility room is outfitted with a custom marble sink and storage 23 — Above: A corner of the utility room is outfitted with a custom marble sink and storage for canning jars. Says Toby: “It was particularly interesting to plan how to process the seasonal bulk vegetables needed to feed an entirely plant-based family for the year.”

in addition to being &#8\2\20;the vegetable processing plant,&#8\2\2\1; 24 — Above: In addition to being “the vegetable processing plant,” the space serves as a mud room and laundry room (washer/dryer are concealed behind paneled wood sliding doors).

carved from a single block of macael marble, the custom sink was designed for c 25 — Above: Carved from a single block of Macael marble, the custom sink was designed for cleaning vegetables—”it’s deliberately shallow with a decent fall to wash away mud,” says Toby. The tall brass taps by Rudge & Co. are mounted on a soapstone counter.

the view from the utility room. note the &#8\2\20;barista station&#8\2\ 26 — Above: The view from the utility room. Note the “barista station” next to the table.

Floor Plan

the kitchen opens to the side by side pantry and multipurpose utility room. 27 — Above: The kitchen opens to the side-by-side pantry and multipurpose utility room.

Inglis Hall is based in East Sussex, England, and currently creates about 25 kitchens a year. Here’s another standout example:

Kitchen of the Week: An Unexpected Palette in a Custom Kitchen

Three more English-style country kitchens:

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Kitchen of the Week: An English Country Kitchen for a Vegan Family, Vegetable Processing Plant Included

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