A Georgian Kitchen Made for Modern Family Life

Inside a characterful Georgian home in Sandhurst, Kent, a richly coloured kitchen brings together period elegance, Indian heritage and the realities of a family who really loves to cook.

For Aniket and Russ Pritchard, the kitchen was always going to be more than somewhere to prepare food.

At the heart of their Georgian home in Sandhurst, Kent, it is one of the first rooms you encounter on entering the house — and the centre of family life for the couple, their daughter and dog.

“The kitchen is the heart of our home, both in the layout of the house but also the ethos of our family life. We knew it had to make an impact and be something we loved.”

The challenge was to create a kitchen that belonged within the architecture of the house without becoming an imitation of the past. It needed to feel elegant and sympathetic to its Georgian surroundings, while accommodating everything demanded of a busy contemporary family kitchen.

And, importantly, it couldn't be boring.

Period character, without the pastiche

Aniket and Russ describe their style as classical, but with clean lines and little fuss. A simple Shaker design provided the starting point, while the cabinetry was designed to have the character of individual pieces of furniture rather than the uniform appearance of a conventional fitted kitchen.

“We wanted the kitchen to appear freestanding, so it looked like Georgian cabinetry rather than a fitted kitchen. It's timeless without being a pastiche and yet still captures our individual style.”

The generous proportions of the room allowed the cabinetry to be taken higher than usual, drawing the eye upwards and making the most of the Georgian architecture. Elsewhere, open shelving prevents the furniture from overwhelming the space and provides somewhere for the family's much-loved collection of ceramics.

The cabinetry is painted in Farrow & Ball's Railings, a deep shade that changes subtly with the room's abundant south-facing, triple-aspect light.

Against it, a large light-oak island creates warmth and a natural gathering place at the centre of the room.

A kitchen with a family story

Some of the most successful details are also the most personal. Aniket's Indian heritage is woven gently into the room through the family's collection of platters, bowls and ceramics, while the stone chosen for the island has an even deeper connection. The leathered Indian granite originates from the Deccan — the region from which Aniket's family comes.

“It is reminiscent of the work surface Aniket had in his family home in India and a nice nod to the shared heritage of our family.”

Rather than designing those personal elements away, the kitchen gives them somewhere to live. And that matters in a home where cooking is very much a family affair.

“Our style of cooking involves plenty of mess, enthusiasm and focuses on sharing dishes.”

The oversized island therefore isn't simply a visual centrepiece. It allows several people to cook together while connecting the working kitchen with the dining area beyond.

The beauty of making something to fit

Of course, Georgian houses rarely offer perfectly straight walls and predictable dimensions.

That is part of their charm — and part of the challenge.

Because every element of the kitchen was made specifically for the room, dimensions could respond to both the architecture and the people using it. Worktops were raised to suit Aniket and Russ, who are both tall, while pantry and coffee cupboards were designed around the proportions and irregularities of the existing walls.

Even the integrated refrigerator was treated as a piece of furniture.

“Our fridge is a beautiful piece of bespoke cabinetry that is cleverly designed to look as un-fridgey as possible!”

One particularly old lath-and-plaster wall proved predictably reluctant to behave. Shelving at the coffee station required additional support during installation, which was made, fitted and hand-painted on site.

It is precisely the sort of imperfection that comes with working in an old house — and the reason bespoke furniture can work so beautifully within one.

Materials that are allowed to age

There is an appealing lack of preciousness about the materials in the room.

Reclaimed herringbone terracotta flooring from Ca' Pietra brings warmth and character underfoot and is robust enough for children, animals and everyday country-house life.

The sink run is topped with polished Carrara marble — chosen despite the couple being well aware that it would change with use.

“We know it's not the most practical material but there is nothing like it and we have no regrets. You just have to accept it's a living material which will mark and age with time.”

It's an approach particularly suited to an old house: rather than expecting every surface to remain pristine, new materials are allowed to acquire their own history.

Burnished brass hardware from Armac Martin adds another layer of warmth, while a Shaws farmhouse sink sits comfortably alongside distinctly contemporary appliances from Siemens, Bora and Quooker.

The favourite

Ask Aniket and Russ to choose one part of the finished kitchen and, despite all that stone, oak and cabinetry, their answer is wonderfully practical.

The pantry.

“It's beautifully made, the lighting is so calming, and we think that it's a beautiful yet wonderfully practical piece of furniture for a working kitchen.”

It was something Russ had particularly wanted from the beginning.

And perhaps that's what makes this kitchen work.

It doesn't feel like a Georgian kitchen created for display, nor a contemporary kitchen inserted into an old building. Instead, the architecture of the house, the family's heritage and the way they actually live have been allowed to meet.

A kitchen designed not simply to belong to a Georgian house, but to the family who now calls it home.