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Inside the meter-thick walls of a former barn and shellfish hatchery in the Cotswolds is the country seat of architect Luke Chandresinghe and his wife, Estelle, who together run the London design studio Undercover Architecture. All the hallmarks of Englishness are here: clay plaster walls and ceilings, exposed timber beams, ancient-looking stone floors. There’s even a behemoth enameled range and handmade cabinetry by Plain English, the venerated firm responsible for making back-to-basics joinery more covetable than any “it” bag. But rather than lean into the cluttered “cottagecore” aesthetic, the couple eschewed further ornament. “This kitchen feels homey without having paintings or rugs or pictures of our children everywhere,” says Luke. “After doing so many complex kitchen projects for our clients and even ourselves, we thought, Gosh, we don’t have to do this.”
Paring back didn’t impede the joy, though. Luke made a few choice architectural flexes, such as deeply recessed windows to show off those traditional walls. And Estelle chose unexpected, uplifting paint colors: violet grays to reflect the Cotswold palette and an egg-yolk yellow that delivered the sunlight that’s “shy” in the region, as she puts it. Says Luke, “This kitchen is about not overdoing it.” Read on to find out how they got it just right.
A warm neutral paint, Hammock by Little Greene, complements the natural clay plaster walls.
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Leaving a gap between the upper cabinets and ceiling makes built-ins feel more furniture-like.
Simon BrownMind the Gap
Chandresinghe made the controversial decision (at least in the kitchen design world) to leave space between the upper cabinets and ceiling. “When you fill that, you lose the ability to see the original volume of the space— the floors and walls—so the room feels smaller,” he explains. An island with legs preserves this idea, too, as does a hutch to the right of the stove.
Create Cozy with Sightlines
Creating an intimate setting isn’t just a matter of adding rugs or cushy upholstery. “You want eye contact across a dining table, or even from a prep area to the kitchen table,” says Luke. “With those visual connections, you won’t need bright colors or soft furnishings to make it a warm room—the feeling is already there.”
Cabinet cutouts inspired by the ventilation holes once used in larder cupboards enhance the kitchen’s been-there-forever feel.
Simon Brown
In the dining room, Plain English’s evocatively named Mouldy Plum paint underscores Luke’s assertion that “color doesn’t have to be about being bold—it can be relaxing, calming, and joyful.”
Simon BrownSay No To “Panic Cabinets”
There’s often an inclination to add more storage simply because there’s room. But cabinets attract possessions—unneeded ones. “I know the exact number of spatulas we have and the size of the casserole dishes we need to host 25 people,” says Chandresinghe, who built with those requirements in mind (plus a little spillover space).
Keep Islands Simple
There’s no need to contort an island into something it’s not, says Luke, who kept theirs unfettered by a cooktop, a sink, or functions other than the surface itself. Its small stature—just 30 inches wide—is its strength: “With islands, people think, the bigger, the better. But it’s intimacy that brings everyone together.”
The coffee bar incorporates a boiling water tap and hidden fridge to make morning brews a breeze.
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Spitalfields cupboards and Wilkes doors by Plain English were inspired by those found in 18th-century Georgian kitchens.
Simon BrownMismatch Your Millwork
There’s no wall paint in this house, only dollops of soft color on cabinetry, the myriad hues plucked from the surrounding landscape by Estelle. The boot room, located near the courtyard and gardens, received different tones of leafy greens, while the kitchen-slash-dining space references “a nature morte of Cotswolds lavenders, lilacs, wisterias, and plums,” she says, chosen based on how the light plays on different pieces.
Heat Things Up
The boot room is ultimately about shedding dirty layers and getting warm and dry. In addition to laundry machines, the Chandresinghes’ has radiant heat floors and a heated towel rack to expedite the process: Close the door and hanging clothing dries within an hour, no tumble-dry needed.
Pretty enough to serve as the house’s main point of entry but hardy enough to withstand muddy Wellies and wet dogs (that’s Willow, the family’s cocker spaniel), the boot room is cloaked in a duo of blue-green hues inspired by the garden outside: Card Room Green (on back wall) and French Gray (on island), both by Farrow & Ball.
Simon Brown"Color doesn’t have to be about being bold—it can be relaxing, calming, and joyful."
– Luke Chandresinghe
Plain English's Wapping cabinet cut-outs were copied from a pair of Georgian window shutters found in Wapping, U.K.
Simon Brown
The boot room serves triple duty as laundry room and dog-washing station.
Simon BrownTHIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 18 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!
