{"id":2400,"date":"2024-08-24T15:52:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T07:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2024\/08\/24\/custom-fronts-bespoke-ikea-cabinet-doors-inspired-by-nature\/"},"modified":"2024-08-24T15:52:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-24T07:52:11","slug":"custom-fronts-bespoke-ikea-cabinet-doors-inspired-by-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/fr\/custom-fronts-bespoke-ikea-cabinet-doors-inspired-by-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Fa\u00e7ades personnalis\u00e9es : Portes d'armoires Ikea sur mesure inspir\u00e9es par la nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Custom Fronts launched at the start of the year as a stylish, sustainable kitchen design service that takes inspiration from nature. Founded by husband-and-wife team Rachel and Ian, it has attracted the attention of the design world, not least because the clean lines of their designs\u2014made to order from their studio in Sussex\u2014start at \u00a329 ($39) per door.<\/p>\n


Above: \u201cOur design philosophy is really quite simple,\u201d explains Rachel. \u201cWe love simple design, but we\u2019re not interested in the cold minimalist look. We think good design needs to have heart and soul, but it also needs to be affordable.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ian\u2014who studied fine art and was previously a landscape painter\u2014has many years\u2019 experience creating bespoke joinery and installing kitchens. He found it difficult to source kitchens that weren\u2019t either high-end and unobtainable, or \u201cpile-it-high, sell-it-cheap.\u201d Together, he and Rachel had the idea to offer an affordable alternative: handcrafted, sustainable, FSC-certified wooden doors and fronts that attach to tried-and-tested, low-cost Ikea cabinets.<\/p>\n


Above: \u201cWe are influenced by Modernism and midcentury design, and Ian has always loved working with plywood,\u201d Rachel says. <\/p>\n

The service offered is simple and seamless. If you have existing fronts you wish to replace, simply send the studio precise measurements and they will make up new fronts for you. If you are purchasing a new Ikea carcass, then the measurements have already been done for you and the hinge holes have been pre-drilled. You can choose from native or European hardwood, white oiled birch ply, or one of 14 colorways.<\/p>\n

The studio is on the banks of the River Ouse, and the couple\u2019s passion for the natural world is apparent in their pared-back, poetic palette. Muted tones such as Seven Sisters, Dungeness Black, Musk Mallow, and Downlands Path are named after the local landscapes that inspired them.<\/p>\n

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Above: Three examples of the Custom Fronts colors: Windover Fog (\u201cThe color of fog on Windover Hill, home of The Long Man of Wilmington in Sussex), Lavender Light (\u201cA light, silvery lavender that you may be lucky enough to glimpse over the sea on occasion\u201d), and Darks (a word used by sailors, particularly smugglers, for nights when the moon does not appear).
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Above: There\u2019s a choice of handles: You can opt for circular insets (shown), short or long square insets (see below), or none at all.
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Above: Rachel, whose background is in law, stresses that assembly is simple. \u201cI\u2019m not a maker at all and even I can attach the doors. You really don\u2019t need a kitchen fitter.\u201d The material arrives flat-packed, the panels screw on, and there\u2019s a simple click and fix mechanism to attach the doors.,

Above: The plywood edge bands are left exposed. <\/p>\n

\u201cAesthetically, we\u2019re not keen on edge banding,\u201d Rachel explains. \u201cWe have very strong design ideas and we like to stick to them, but also, when you edge band a surface you create a point of weakness in the design. The edge will always be the first thing to go and it\u2019s important to us that all our products are extremely durable and last for a very long time,\u201d says Rachel. \u201cSustainability is really at the heart of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple hadn\u2019t planned to offer worktops, but, by popular demand, they have started to supply metal-topped birch ply surfaces that need to be cut on site by a kitchen fitter. Brass, zinc, stainless steel, and copper are all options. \u201cWe love metals because they are living materials that patinate over time and respond to how you use them. They take imprints of you, and you end up with something completely unique.\u201d<\/p>\n


Above: The Dungeness Black fronts are \u201cinspired by the old black fishermen\u2019s cottages in atmospheric Dungeness in Kent.\u201d <\/p>\n

All colors are spray-painted using a high performance, eco-friendly, water-based paint. The studio is also happy to match to any color you like, for a truly customized finish. \u201cPeople spend a lot of time worrying about what color to use in their home,\u201d says Rachel. Her advice? \u201cJust look out the window. It will always feel right.\u201d<\/p>\n

More in the world of customizable cabinet fronts:<\/p>\n