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Introducing Charlotte Stirling-Reed and the Kitchen that Looks After You
The pace of life is increasing. The things we care about are changing. The way we live as families is evolving.
Today’s homes hold multiple generations under one roof, and they play thousands of roles to accommodate all facets of our lives. The modern kitchen balances busy working parents, homework, extra-curriculars, uni work, impromptu dinners and drinks, the dog’s favourite napping spot, house parties, dinner parties, quick chats between shifts, long evenings catching up over a bottle of wine, summer holiday entertainment, cooking healthy meals, cooking quick meals, cooking showstopper meals, and, of course, brewing endless cups of tea.
When all this happens in a kitchen that isn’t living up to its full potential, the onus is on you to make all these things happen. You have to make them work around a space that doesn’t naturally lend itself to all these different roles.
When you have a kitchen that looks after you, the weight is lifted. You can let go of being everything to everyone all the time, confident in the knowledge your home can support you, whatever is going on at home.
The kitchen that looks after you does things differently.
What is “The Kitchen that Looks After You”?
The kitchen that looks after you does more than just look good. It’s based on design that supports you to actually make life feel better. Sometimes it’s practical: architecture that simplifies everyday routines. Sometimes it’s emotional: a space that just feels good to be in.
It’s designed around you, your priorities, your passions, and your everyday life.
The Practical Kitchen
From a purely practical standpoint, the kitchen is a room with a very specific purpose – to feed your family. Of course, in today’s world, this doesn’t come close to describing everything that happens in the kitchen. Socialising, homework, hosting, dining and more happen here in the heart of the home.
With so many crossing paths and different functions, designing a practical kitchen means considering the existing and potential layout of the room and positioning walkways and appliances accordingly.
Creating specific zones for different activities can also help make a multifunctional space run more smoothly, while carefully considering the appliances you need in your home means no wasted space, and every piece earning its place.
A Tom Howley kitchen is always designed around and in collaboration with you, so you can be confident it is fit for purpose, whatever you need that purpose to be.
The Emotional Kitchen
We spend so much time in our kitchens that they really do become the beating heart of the home.
Interior design can change more than how a space looks; it can transform how a room feels to spend time in.
Colour and light can have a surprising impact on how we feel. Having the luxury of a room that you can look at and find beauty in each day can boost your mood even just a little bit, whatever else is going on your life, is incredibly special.
Additionally, carving out spaces for calm and relaxation can put you in the right mindset for your day, while creating layouts that encourage conversation can set the environment for meaningful connections every day.
Creating a Kitchen for Charlotte Stirling-Reed
We recently created a kitchen that looks after baby and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed. At work, Charlotte gives parents confidence about what and how to feed their little ones, while at home, she’s mum to two young children, so needed an open plan kitchen that lets her work and play with ease.
Charlotte’s priorities in her kitchen were an open-plan layout, a large kitchen island, and extensive storage. All of these would help make cooking for her family, as well as for her online audience, more accessible.
Immediately, Charlotte was drawn to our deep green Avocado paint, so we used this colour for the statement island where she cooks, works, and spends quality time with her children, while keeping the cabinetry in a soft, natural oak finish. The kitchen also features a larder pantry, and maximised lower storage spaces specifically for the kids to help them grow their independence in the kitchen.
The result of this collaboration is a kitchen doesn’t just tick all the family’s practical boxes.
It’s a kitchen that looks beautiful, feels like home, and makes connecting as a family that bit easier in the face of busy family life.
It’s a kitchen that looks after them all, every single day.
Over the next few months, we’ll be looking at how the kitchen that looks after you adapts to the myriad demands of modern life and sharing how our designers make sure every Tom Howley kitchen looks after you.