rustic recipe Simon Shaw and Giuliana Cortese have created a simply stylish scheme that s ideal for family life and their Italian cookery business

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1 rustic recipe Simon Shaw and Giuliana Cortese have created a simply stylish scheme that s ideal for family life and their Italian cookery business Feature Jane Crittenden Photography alistair nicholls Natural flair The warm timber furniture and cedar wood beams help counteract the coolness of the stone worktops and polished concrete fooring Beautiful kitchens 29

2 Wonder wall The cottage s original wychert construction (white clay mixed with straw) was left exposed to create an eye-catching feature while adding texture and charm to the modern scheme The layout Project profile THE OWNERS Simon Shaw, creative director of a communications agency, Giuliana Cortese, who runs Italian cookery courses, and their daughters, Francesca, 8, and Scarlett-Grace, 5 THEIR HOME A 17th-century cottage with a modern extension in Buckinghamshire THE PROJECT Extending their existing dark and compact kitchen to create a contemporary multipurpose space 30 BEAutIFul kitchens

3 Plan the layout by thinking about the experiences you ll have in the kitchen, and then focus on how it should be styled ROOM SIZE 3.5 x 7m DESIGNER Simon Shaw CABINETRY Faktum units in Abstrakt Black, total 1,350, Ikea BUDGET 8,000 (excluding building work) BEAutIFul kitchens 31

4 Smooth surface The idea for the large Carrara marble worksurface came from a restaurant the family had visited in Tuscany. It s perfect for making pizzas and pastries We decided to splash out on beautiful marble and granite worktops to prevent the inexpensive Ikea units from looking too mediocre Simon Shaw and his Italian partner, Giuliana Cortese, were so delighted with a pizzeria they discovered while visiting Giuliana s family in Tuscany one year, it became the inspiration for their own kitchen design. The restaurant has a deli upstairs full of amazing produce and a small area downstairs with a woodburning pizza oven, says Simon. Dining there was very comfortable a bit like being in someone s sitting room and we just loved the theatre and intimacy created by the chef making pizza on the marble table in front of us and the oven warming the room. In 2012, the couple had the opportunity to recreate this ambience when they added a 65m modern extension onto their 17th-century cottage. We were fed-up with our old kitchen, which was dark and tiny, and desperate for a more family-friendly space, explains Simon. As a trained architect, Simon drew up the plans for a double-height structure with plenty of windows. The kitchen is almost as high as it is wide, which makes you feel as if you re in a much larger space than you actually are. With a blank space to work with, Simon and Giuliana, who have two daughters, Francesca, 8, and Scarlett-Grace, 5, were able to design a kitchen that would suit all their needs. It was important to create a space large enough for cooking and eating together as a family, as well as having friends around for informal meals, says Simon. Giuliana also runs their artisan cookery business, CiCi-CoCo, from home, so the room had to act as a test kitchen and accommodate groups of people for demonstrations, too. The couple were astute with their budget, favouring Ikea cabinets, which Simon customised, over expensive Italian designs balanced of with luxurious but hardwearing marble and granite worktops. It s incredible that this kitchen only cost us 8,000, says Simon. I designed it myself, so we ve got our own bespoke design and the quality is excellent. 32 BeAuTIFul kitchens

5 Clever cladding Instead of tiles, the couple attached a series of Ikea cabinet doors to the wall to create a splashback that complements the surrounding units Professional quality An industrial-style range cooker and a good extraction system were essential requirements for this hardworking kitchen

6 Take a seat A mixture of vintage wooden chairs adds a quirky touch to this simple, informal space DeSIGn SOLuTIOn Simon explains The details Was planning the kitchen s layout a straightforward process? Once I fully understood how we wanted to use the space, the design followed quite naturally. First I began by imagining idealistic scenarios, such as Giuliana kneading pastry with our girls on a marble worktop; our friends sitting at a large table sharing food; the children running around the house; a larder full of food within easy reach It s a somewhat romantic view of life but it really helped! How have you visually linked the old building with the new extension? Where the kitchen adjoins the cottage, I left parts of the wall exposed so you can read the narrative of how the property was frst built. We ve gone for a natural lime-plastered fnish throughout the house so I wanted to replicate that rustic feel in the kitchen. Variety and interest is added to the monochrome palette via natural textures and materials such as marble, polished concrete and cedar wood. What was your must-have item? My indulgence was the large Carrara marble worksurface. I love everything it stands for: luxury and utility, strength and beauty. We put it on the peninsula so it s a real centrepiece. Why did you choose Ikea cabinets? I like contemporary door styles but wanted to create something of our own without spending lots of money. The basic Ikea units are really good value you can t buy a piece of MDF and have it sprayed for any less. We ended up buying twice as many doors as we needed in case any get damaged in the future. How did you customise them? To create a foating efect, we took the carcases apart, removed the legs and replaced the top surface with ply. The strength of the ply meant we could attach the units to the walls so they re of the foor and also wrap marble around the sides of the peninsula. Was the pizzeria your sole inspiration? No, I also love the Querini Stampalia museum in Venice, designed by the architect Carlo Scarpa. He was a master at inserting modern elements into a very traditional building and I followed that concept by installing a contemporary kitchen inside a period cottage. CABINETRY Faktum units, 1,350, Ikea. Modern wire D handles, 7 per set, B&Q APPLIANCES Britannia 100cm range cooker, 2,249, O Gormans. Tesco sells stainless-steel microwaves, see Sharp, 80. Try Falcon, 705, for an industrial canopy extractor. For a comparable freestanding fridge freezer try Siemens, 694. Dishwasher, 692, Siemens SURFACES Carrara marble and black granite worktops, total 3,500, The Marble Workshop. Splashback made from Applad 30 x 70cm cabinet doors, 26 each, Ikea. Walls painted in Dulux s Kitchen Plus Pure Brilliant White, 21 for 2.5 litres, B&Q. Senso Floors ofer polished concrete fooring, price on application SINKS AND TAPS Planar single-bowl sink in stainless steel, 550; Rotondo kitchen sink, 150; 2 x Aria taps with pull-out spray, 22 each, all Franke FINISHING TOUCHES The Old Cinema is a good place to source vintage dining tables and chairs. Belid Magnum pendants, 160 each, John Lewis, are a match. Twoslice toaster, 150, Dualit. Try ebay for Poole Pottery cofee pots like these 34 BeAuTIFuL KITChenS For stockist details go to page 133