We are proud to announce that the kitchen renovation at St Milburga Chapel is now officially finished. Our recent guests have been loving our bright and airy kitchen in their holiday accommodation. They have been making full use of the brand-new appliances on their Shropshire self-catering holiday. Here is the story of the kitchen redesign.
As mentioned in the previous blog post, we used Howdens in Ludlow for the kitchen refit. The lovely Hattie came up with a great design for us. We wanted something classic that wouldn’t date too quickly but that would fit with the look of St Milburga Chapel. The brief was to give us a much lighter, brighter and more modern feel with plenty of worktop and storage space – not an easy task given the size of the area. However, by taking out a dividing wall, moving the fridge-freezer to the opposite side, re-positioning the appliances and removing some of the wall cabinets, Hattie nailed what we were looking for from her first design.
We chose Halesworth cabinets in sage green. These are a classic shaker style cabinet to fit with the age of the Victorian chapel and the pale green colour echoes the colour scheme throughout the chapel renovation. We also chose black handles and taps to reflect the ironwork both inside and outside St Milburga Chapel. In terms of appliances, we have gone for an induction hob as we think they are fantastic to cook on. Plus, they are super easy to clean as a bonus! We now have a full-size fridge-freezer rather than the small one we had previously so plenty of space for holiday food and drink. Hattie made sure there was space for a slim-line dishwasher because who wants to wash up on their holiday in Shropshire! We also chose a duel washing machine/tumble dryer. Rather than the free-standing bin we had before, we now have built in bins – and there are 2 separate compartments so guests can sort out their recycling as well, important even when you are on holiday.
The worktops had to be hard-wearing so Hattie suggested we go for a quartz worktop. We chose an off-white colour with a bit of sparkle to keep the kitchen crisp and bright but we’ve gone for one with a subtle darker veining to hide the inevitable marks that crop up with use!
Hattie suggested we replaced the wall cabinets on one of the walls with a shelf instead to open up the space. We were a bit worried we wouldn’t have enough storage space but we took her advice and are very glad we did. Removing the wall cabinets made a huge difference. It opened up the kitchen and improved the flow around the area. We chose a solid oak shelf with black wall brackets. It is wide enough to store plenty of crockery along it and looks great with the black caged wall lights we chose above it. We have made the worktop below into a “breakfast station” with a new kettle and toaster to sit alongside the breadbin and tea and coffee caddies. Dressed with a plant or 2, it’s my favourite bit of the kitchen!
Our guests so far have given us a big thumbs up to the kitchen redesign. We love how fresh and crisp the space feels now compared to how the kitchen was previously. It has been fantastic to bring the kitchen at St Milburga Chapel up to date with a more modern feel to it. Guests have remarked how clean and spacious the kitchen is and how easy the appliances are to use. A number of our guests return to holiday in Shropshire on a regular basis and chose St Milburga Chapel for their self-catering accommodation. It has been lovely to welcome returning guests to St Milburga Chapel and we hope they enjoy our beautiful kitchen for many years to come.