We turned up to this beautiful home in the Hertfordshire hamlet of Barleycroft and spent the day taking photos and saying how much we wished it was ours!! It was just all so cool, the glass, the stone, the light and especially the mix of Shaker and Haberdasher's furniture, it works so well and gives the finished room a real contemporary edge.

A combination of pieces from different deVOL ranges is always good in our book and this time it was almost all Haberdasher's with a couple of Shaker base cupboards either side of the stove. 'Bakehouse Green' was the chosen colour for these and the family had the Aga, which they inherited from the previous owners, re-enamelled to match this deVOL shade perfectly. How smart is that.

Two substantial, bespoke Haberdasher's glazed wall cupboards stole the show and an all-encompassing central island, made up of both bespoke and standard pieces, was supremely functional but appeared quite un-kitcheny. It housed a large double sink, oak tambour doors hiding dishwashers and bins, elegant glazed drawers for some very stylish storage and an L-shaped breakfast bar so everyone can pull up a stool and be together.

Arabescato marble was the stone of choice, topping all the cupboards and swirling its way almost a metre up the wall behind the cooker run. For the handles, it was a mix of brass and matt black bronze and another of our favourite bits was the choice of lighting, particularly those impossibly pretty amber glass pendants over the dining table.

Cupboards and styling aside, we were in awe of how absolutely filled with gorgeous light this kitchen was. Huge windows and glazed doors across two whole sides of the room, and a vaulted glass skylight just totally flooding the space with sunshine from above.

This is how you do open plan living in a big room. Being gutsy with your choices all while showing restraint and considering the things you leave out to be equally as important as the things you include. Gosh, we have some cool customers and some clever kitchen designers.

Scroll through all the photos to see the little boot room we made for this family too. Located neatly right by the front door so you can kick off muddy boots, dry the dog or grab a coat with ease. Some open storage, some closed and a place to sit, all finished with a lick of ‘Mushroom’ and a happy reminder that the most hardworking rooms can also be the most beautiful.