My kitchen At Home Victoria’s beloved Aga
beginning of the project. Victoria, 40, works alongside her husband
F
Michael, 45, director of Ashley Homes. The company builds prestigious houses in Surrey and Victoria is the ‘specifi er’, choosing the ‘look’ of the houses, including the kitchens and bathrooms. The couple bought the plot of land to build their
home fi ve years ago, and she was thrilled to get the chance to implement the design features she liked from the homes she’d worked on. Victoria explains: ‘Knowing this house was ‘for
keeps’, I was very excited to be able to pull all the best features from the houses we have built and designed to produce something that worked perfectly for our own family. ‘For instance, l was happy to sacrifi ce a formal
dining room in this house so we had the space for a larger live-in-eat-in kitchen.’ Of course, Victoria designed the kitchen herself
and had it built by Richard Baker Furniture. ‘We’d worked with Richard in the past,’ she says, ‘and knew he would do a brilliant job for us. ‘l wanted a ‘modern classic’ kitchen design that
looked like it was meant to be here. The kitchen had to look like the space had been created for it and not the other way round.’
Adapting to the children Victoria painted the units in Farrow & Ball Bone and chose a Corian worktop for its simple practicality. The kitchen was completed three years ago and Victoria is pleased with how it is adapting as her daughters Anna and Evie grow older. She says: ‘The girls are old enough to do a bit
of baking on their own now. Cupcakes are a fi rm favourite and the central island makes a good work station for them.’ Victoria and Michael enjoy having lots of friends
round to eat and Victoria fi nds her Aga copes beautifully with large joints of meat. She says: ‘We like spending time with guests, so I don’t do anything elaborate. We usually serve something like a big slab of beef with salads.’ Victoria confesses tea and a good gossip is one of
her favourite ways to relax. ‘I like to get my girlfriends round for a pot of tea and a slice of cake,’ she says. ‘There is something so soothing, almost ritualistic about the whole process of making tea and this kitchen is the perfect place to do it. ‘All of us love the space we’ve created here. It’s
somewhere we can gather to be a family and enjoy a chat, but it’s big enough that we never feel cramped. I can’t imagine ever wanting to change it.’
GRUBMAGAZINE.CO.UK JULY 2011 73
or many of us, choosing and designing a new kitchen can be stressful, but Victoria Scott knew exactly what she wanted from the
No kitchen is complete without a shopping list
Even the plants colour match
PHOTOGRAPHS: Martin and Jess Reftel Evans
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