This Sussex Kitchen Cleverly Hides a Pantry Inside the Former Chimney Breast — "The Two-Inch-Thick Stone Helps to Keep the Space Naturally Cool"

In what could be called the quintessential Sussex village of Horsted Keynes, you'll find an equally quintessential country home and kitchen. A vision of rustic wood and textured warmth, the kitchen may only have been installed recently, but the new and old blend together so harmoniously that they have become part of one complete whole, neither entirely new nor old, so that you can't imagine a time before this kitchen came to be, or the home without it.

This space was all about finding ways to honor tradition while supporting contemporary life. The homeowners wanted a modern kitchen that felt in line with the architecture of their historic home, bringing together contemporary features and traditional elements in a way that felt harmonious and natural. Luckily, this is something the team at Inglis Hall has perfected as a fine art. "Creating a modern traditional kitchen might sound like trying to balance two competing priorities, but it’s something we encounter often," explains Jenna Spicer Lumb. In period properties, the kitchen essentially has to straddle two worlds: providing the modern functionality we expect from our homes today, while still feeling connected to its surroundings.

Instead of fighting the existing architecture, this kitchen intentionally embraces it, actively incorporating it into the new design, reimagining the space in a way that pays homage to all that came before. A design steered by genuine consideration and care for the home's history, as well as a true excitement for modernity, this is a kitchen where old and new become one.

The Inspiration

In period homes, there can often be an underlying duty to honor the history of the property, which at times can begin to feel like a kind of shackle, preventing you from exploring the full breadth of your desires and design ideas. In this home, however, it was clear from the jump that this was not going to be the case.

"Our very first conversations with the client quickly established that this would not be a project politely bound by tradition," explains Jenna. The house was already so rich in history, with a life that stretched far beyond the current homeowners. That said, when they were designing the space, it was important that it felt true to them, reflecting their lifestyles and habits in a way that was authentic and natural. And, as passionate cooks, nowhere was this more important than in the rustic kitchen.

This duality presented a challenge for the team at Inglis Hall. They had to create something that felt in keeping with the rest of the home, but also specific to the current homeowners' needs: "A cook's kitchen that feels unmistakably contemporary, yet completely at home in its surroundings."

To achieve this, the team began by creating a clear outline of priorities and intentions for the space.

First and foremost was functionality. "This kitchen needed to work hard," says Jenna. "Its owners are serious cooks, so generous kitchen storage and space for the equipment, ingredients, and paraphernalia that come with that were essential."

The family's passion for food stretches beyond the confines of the kitchen: "They grow produce in their kitchen garden and preserve their own food, as well as regularly cooking and entertaining for family and friends." The space needed to be dinner-party ready, as well as suitably practical to support their agrarian pursuits, too.

The Process

The team at Inglis Hall had quite the task set out for them, but they were more than ready to rise to the challenge, and the natural first step in the journey towards a contemporary chef's kitchen was, of course, choosing the right kitchen appliances.

Sourcing appliances is one of the most crucial steps in building a true chef-worthy kitchen, making it a natural starting place in the design process. "Finding the perfect range was an early priority, as was incorporating an industrial dishwasher and a generous walk-in pantry," Jenna explains.

In such a large, rustic space, a range oven was a natural choice. In recent years, it's become one of the most popular traditional kitchen features, and can become a true focal point of the home. For many, it doesn't get much better than a traditional Aga oven. So, the decision to remove one from this space could feel like sacrilege to many.

But in the original design, the traditional Aga had been built into the chimney breast and was positioned away from the main kitchen. Ultimately, the Inglis Hall team found that in removing the Aga, they were able to open up the space, making the overall kitchen flow more naturally.

This, in many ways, became the turning point in the design process. By removing the Aga, they suddenly had a whole extra block of space to work with, opening up the opportunity to build a concealed kitchen pantry within the former chimney.

"The pantry occupies the former inglenook and is lined with two-inch-thick stone, which helps to keep the space naturally cool. It turns what could have been redundant space into a hardworking part of the kitchen, while keeping a considerable amount of storage discreetly out of sight," says Jenna.

Finding ways to incorporate the existing architecture into the new design became one of the core principles of this process. "The former inglenook chimney became the setting for the walk-in pantry, while the leaded windows provide a natural home for the daybed and relaxation area," says Jenna.

And it didn't end there. Even elements that could have been seen as restrictive became integral to the design, like the supportive timber column, which became the central mark for the kitchen island to be built around. Explaining this choice, Jenna says, "Rather than butting cabinetry up against it and allowing the two elements to fight for space, we built around it so that the island and architecture feel naturally connected."

Positioned in the bucolic countryside, the surrounding setting becomes a key player in the design, too, and the choice of colors, materials, and even the kitchen layout was selected with the outside world in mind, creating a sense of natural continuity between the interior and exterior world.

The Design

In this design, there was a natural harmony between the aesthetic properties and the functional ones. Across the design, there was a consistent desire to find a balance between modernity and tradition, finding ways to honor both at every step of the process.

This becomes particularly clear when looking at the materials used across the kitchen, from the kitchen worktops to the wooden flooring; each element blends modernity with tradition in a way that feels wholly natural and authentic to the space. "The material palette deliberately brings contemporary and traditional elements together," says Jenna.

For the countertops, they opted for Richlite, a durable, composite surface that brings a surprising depth to the space. For the rustic effect, wood was the only way. "Band-sawn oak introduces texture and natural timber; it feels fresh against the aged structural beams while being essentially the same material," says Jenna.

From there, burnished brass kitchen handles and natural stone details round out the palette. "These are materials chosen not just for how they look when new, but for how they will age: developing patina, marks, and character through use," says Jenna. "This project was a joy from start to finish, and captured so much of what we’re about: a kitchen made to be lived in, that will tell its story with every passing year".

It's this combination of modern and traditional materials that makes the overall effect feel so cohesive. "Rather than trying to replicate the existing architecture, we used materials that could sit comfortably alongside it and develop their own character over time," Jenna explains. "Color, texture, proportion, and vista were all important in bringing the old and new together as a cohesive whole."

Get The Look

In this setting, the natural texture and warmth you can find only in wood kitchens were essential to achieving that rustic, country feel while maintaining a contemporary feel, too. But even if rustic isn't your style, there are so many different looks you can create using wooden cabinetry as your base.

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