A painted in-frame kitchen under old oak beams in Ringwood

By Thomas Matthew

Low oak beams cross the kitchen ceiling of this old house in Ringwood. The painted in-frame cupboards sit quietly beneath them, and a long island topped in veined stone takes a ceramic sink and a swan-neck tap, and stools line one side.

What we made

Along one wall, a glazed dresser with lit glass shelves stands beside a pair of full-height larder cupboards and two built-in wine coolers. The range is set between painted cupboards under a stone worktop, and the aged cup handles on the drawers sit well with its brass rails and knobs.

The surprise is under the stairs. The space beneath them is now a wine store, racked in oak, lit from within and closed with a glazed oak door, so the bottles are on show from the kitchen.

Every cupboard was made in our Poole workshop for this room, and the beams still have the last word.