Our display kitchens are there to inspire and Mr and Mrs Lane wanted the same cabinets and worktops for their kitchen as our front Stoneham display. The brief was also to include an island or peninsular with a breakfast bar, as there was a fair amount of free space in the centre of the room. The Aga (not quite central in the run) and other free-standing appliances were to remain, so designer Derek had to work around these, particularly to integrate the American fridge-freezer into the furniture as much as possible.

The wine cabinet was moved to the far end of the room. The existing feature lights and false chimney were removed, the latter to free up useful worktop space around the hob, and we designed a custom canopy to house the extractor. Once in, the peninsula breakfast bar area made the room feel very different, leading more naturally into the adjoining conservatory, and giving more storage and a more fluid working arrangement than an island would have done. Our worktop suppliers made such a neat job of the quartz cladding behind the Aga, that the customer tricked his daughter into thinking that it was put in in one piece, rather than three.

Once the putty furniture and grey worktops were fitted on the existing grey tiles, the one remaining free-standing Oak tall unit looked out of place, so fitter Gary mixed a matching paint to blend it in.