Minimalist Extension Kitchen
Market Rasen

The project came through ID Architecture, who were managing the wider extension works at the property. The client wanted a high-quality modern kitchen in keeping with the new space: minimal, well specified and built to a standard that matched the investment being made in the rest of the house. The direction was clear from the outset. This was not a project where the brief needed a lot of refining. It just needed delivering properly.

The island is the defining element of the layout, at approximately 4.5 metres long. It is not just large: it is the working centre of the entire kitchen, housing the hob, the sink and the main prep area, with twin wine coolers integrated at the end. By concentrating the cooking and preparation functions on the island, the back runs are freed up entirely for the appliance column, storage and the pantry, which gives the room a clarity of organisation that makes it very easy to work in. 

The hidden doorway into the pantry is one of the more carefully considered elements of the design. Concealed behind furniture doors that read as part of the main cabinetry elevation, the pantry opens into a separate room fitted with bespoke shelving. From the main space, there is no visible interruption. The door is there when you need it and invisible when you don’t.

The cabinetry is Häcker Perfect Soft in Matt Black, a handleless modern German kitchen with clean, flat-fronted doors that give the room its characteristic precision. The worktops are Dekton Kelya throughout, with the hob flush-fitted directly into the surface so there is no visible frame or trim around it: the hob and the worktop read as a single continuous plane. This is the kind of detail that is only possible with a surface material precise enough to be cut to exact tolerances, and it contributes significantly to the overall feeling of the kitchen as something more architectural than domestic.

The hob itself is a Novy 42120 Panorama Pro, a 5-zone induction unit with a built-in downdraft extractor. It is an unusual specification: there are only two products on the market that combine a full 5-zone induction surface with an integrated downdraft in a single flush-fitted unit. It removes the need for any overhead extraction, which keeps the sight lines across the open plan space entirely uninterrupted. The Quooker tap is fitted at the 1810 Company ZenUno10 Options sink on the island, keeping the working area self-contained.

The tall appliance column is fitted with Neff Flex appliances: ovens, a coffee machine, larder fridge and larder freezer all sit within the same bank of units, their doors reading as a consistent, uniform elevation on the back wall. Integrated LED strip lighting with remote control is built into the handleless rail, so the kitchen is illuminated at worktop level in the evening without any additional fittings. The bar stools at the island were sourced by the client to complement the overall direction of the design.

The flush-fitted hob and the hidden pantry doorway are the two details that most clearly define the quality of this project. Both required careful planning and precise execution. The flush-fitted hob, in particular, is the kind of finish that reads immediately as different, even to someone who cannot immediately say why.  

The twin wine coolers at the end of the island are integrated cleanly into the island cabinetry, adding practical function without introducing visual clutter. Together with the island’s scale (the 4.5 metre length gives a generous working surface, a prep area, a sink and seating), they make the island a genuinely useful piece of furniture as well as a kitchen component.

The project was coordinated alongside the wider extension works managed by ID Architecture. Sam remained closely involved throughout the installation, attending key stages to ensure the cabinetry, Dekton worktops and appliance column were all delivered to the standard the design required. A project at this level of finish has no tolerance for shortcuts.

The Old Rectory kitchen is precisely what it set out to be: a minimal, furniture-like modern kitchen that holds its own in a serious, well-designed home. It is a kitchen that functions at a high level, looks completely resolved and will continue to do so for a very long time.