Tomas Kitchen Living has three gorgeous showrooms, in St Albans, Cambridge and London; the production centre is based on the same Cambridge site. The showrooms are neat and immediately appealing – full of interesting and attainable detail, with super styling featuring lighting and furniture from their on-line store. Investigate the Danish Connection here and it may put you in the mood to perk up your current kitchen with some extra lighting or feature chairs. Here, Tomas Hinton tells us about one of their recent projects, the spacious and easy-to-use SKATE kitchen in mid green in North London.

Q: What were the stand-out priorities in your brief from the client? 

They wanted a functional and funky open plan kitchen for them to enjoy with their young family. The priorities were simple …. Plenty of space to prepare food when entertaining and hanging out with friends. They wanted vibrant colour and lots of wood. This brief was completely up our street and a pleasure to work with!

Q: How did you set about answering that brief, what were your first thoughts?  

We started off with a liveDESIGN session at the Tomas Cambridge studio. Lots of ideas are explored and depicted on screen with the client on hand for feedback. The original pine floor was a key element in their colour palette – so the oak features on the kitchen were kept back to minimum, as it worked beautifully as a great contrast. Poppyfield Green was the Tomas colour of choice. A strong green with plenty of zing!

Q: Explain the reasons behind the choices of cabinetry and work surfaces …

Our clients chose the SKATE model; they liked its slightly industrial feel, emphasised by the inset handles. For us, this SKATE kitchen in something of a novelty, as up to now, 95% of the kitchens we supply are from the SHEER handle-less range. Behind closed doors solid oak drawers and plywood cabinets provide strength and durability – plus they also happen to look great too! I’m always very conscious that the interior of the kitchen should look as good as the exterior, and the internal wood finishes always add a sense of luxury and sophistication.

Q: What design elements do you think make the scheme so successful?

The long run being broken by the tall cabinets meant the fridge and oven were to hand for everyday immediate use. And then we could specify a separate countertop area beneath an awkwardly positioned side window. The peninsular with its open shelving works well, providing a natural division between the work space and the entertaining space, plus of course there’s loads of storage.

Q: What is your best advice for someone who may be planning a new kitchen? 

Don’t compromise. Decide what you really need, as opposed to what you really want and make a list of must-have’s. Don’t go too cheap (because in the long run that could be expensive) but don’t over pay. Remember that your kitchen designer wants you to have the best kitchen he (or she) can possibly get you, taking into account your budget and wish-list. We want our clients to go away perfectly happy with the service and the kitchen they have received! We know that Tomas kitchens are excellent quality, the design service is first class and the price tag is very reasonable all things considered.

We LOVE: The slight-retro feel of the recessed handles, plus the fabulous Poppyfield Green colour choice, which creates a perfectly simple colour scheme with wood flooring and white walls. Take a look at some accessory designs below …

Three super ideas for finishing touches, all from Tomas Kitchen Living; Toldbod 120 Pendant in Green with Bronze interior; GUBI 2D kitchen stool; Cirque Q150 Pendant, other colours are available.

Kitchen cabinetry: SKATE by Tomas Kitchen Living, 0800 023 6471, www.tomas-kitchen-living.co.uk