Introducing a new bespoke cupboard design: KEW

Coinciding with the opening of our Pimlico Road showroom in London, we introduce our new ‘Kew’ bespoke cupboard design. Inspired by the bustling downstairs kitchens at Kew Palace that were locked away in 1818 and left untouched for nearly two hundred years. This new addition to our archive of cupboards was designed by Creative Director and Owner, Katie Fontana, and speaks of the atmosphere of the palace kitchens. The arched doors on the double cupboards were based on the arches of the original charcoal burners. The colossal central table – which at Kew still bears the deep scores and cuts that are legacy to the chefs who used the kitchen over the centuries – inspired our own bespoke ‘Kew Table’ made from huge slabs of English Sycamore and complete with deep push-me-pull-you drawers. A substantial centrepiece.

Another notable design is our Arched Kew Dutch Larder reflecting the continued influence of Dutch design in the 18th century, working either as a piece on its own or to incorporate and conceal appliances – ours with a hidden tall fridge to one side.

Still positioned on the kitchen floor at the Palace is an early 19th Century bathtub, thought to have been relocated from the main palace to the kitchen building, when King George took pity on staff members having to carry huge buckets of water to and fro, and decided to take his baths next to the kitchen instead. For almost eighty years up to thirty staff would have prepared food in the vast kitchen spaces with bakehouse, scullery, and wet and dry larders.

In ‘Kew’ we hope to have captured the combination of elegance and practicality that was such a characteristic of Georgian craftsmanship, even in utilitarian ‘below stairs’ applications.

We look forward to sharing more from our new flagship showroom and welcome you to come and experience our new design on Pimlico Road.

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