Kitchen designer Tim Moss creates bespoke ‘workshops’ for his clients from his Muswell Hill studio, as well as custom made pieces of kitchen furniture.
His understated designs, whether contemporary or more traditional in style, are reminiscent of the Georgian townhouse – versatile and utilitarian but also aesthetically pleasing.
Using natural, quality materials such as oak, beech, maple, tulipwood and stone, and a subtle grey and earth-toned palette, his kitchens are designed to be used. They are popular with clients in North London and he has worked on several kitchen extensions and refits in Hampstead, Highgate and surrounding areas.
And he has finally put his ideas into practice in his own Bounds Green home, which he shares with his wife and two sons. “We have one of my kitchens, at last. We wanted one for a while but it’s kind of the case of the cobbler’s children.”
So, what are Moss’s top considerations when designing a new kitchen?
Get your lighting right
I always do a suggested lighting plan. My tips for lighting are to spread it out, and use targeted task lighting. You can kill a kitchen with bad lighting. You can kill anything with bad lighting.
Modern touches can bring traditional bang up to date
My signature look is pared down and traditional looking, but with the odd contemporary feature. Just adding a few small touches can make a kitchen look very modern. The main things I use to give things an updated look are modern handles and appliances.
Porcelain worktops are coming on the market now and are set to replace quartz composite as the material of choice. They are very hard and durable and come in a huge range of colours.
Keep things flexible
There’s a trend for a looser type of kitchen in the air at the moment. People are getting away from the ultra-fitted look and going for a more broken up space, which gives you much more flexibility. You can change the furniture around and you’re not stuck with units that all have to be exactly the same height.
You’re creating a workshop, so make sure it’ll stand up to use
I always say to people “this is a workshop, it’s got to be designed and made for that purpose and it has to be durable.” I don’t like the idea of them not being used.
I did have one client who I went to see five years after we built her kitchen. She was saying that her oven didn’t work and they’d stopped making the model. It turned out it was the first time she’d tried to switch it on since it had been fitted!
A large, shallow cupboard will change your life
What we really wanted in our own kitchen was a good ergonomic space as we had quite a tight spot to fit it in and we’ve got a dining area in there too.
The one thing we’ve got in our kitchen that almost everyone who sees it loves is a huge, tall, shallow cupboard. The fact that it’s shallow means that it’s really easy to access everything but it’s still big enough to fit everything in.
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