A brand new kitchen
The principal change at Laughton Place has been a brand-new kitchen, including a wall-mounted rack above, all made by our Workshop Manager Mark Smitten in our workshop at Honeybourne, Worcestershire. Hot-footing it from our current restoration project Llwyn Celyn, it was also installed by him and Beau Boulton.
It has been painted in a striking Farrow & Ball colour called ‘Cook’s Blue’. Farrow & Ball’s website says “Cook’s Blue was inspired by the rich and poignant finish in the cook’s closet at Calke Abbey [just down the road from Knowle Hill] where the walls had been untouched for many decades. This bright and deeply pigmented colour is perfect for use both in kitchens and exterior eating areas, as this vibrant tone is said to deter flies! But it is perfectly at home anywhere in the house.” We have been able to include a dishwasher for the first time here, and together with a new cooker and fridge, Landmarkers are all set for some ‘fine dining’.
This kitchen/dining room has a rather lovely lozenge-shaped terracotta tiled floor – which over the years had lost much of its pointing. Repointing such a floor is a tricky business but Ben Muriel of the Traditional Buildings Company, ably assisted by our own Craft Trainee Bill Barkley, has done a very nice job. Bill helped for two weeks of the closure enabling much more to be done in the short time available.