What are Bespoke Kitchens?

We specialise in ‘truly bespoke’ kitchens here at The Handmade Kitchen Company. Below you will learn the differences between our truly bespoke kitchens and off-the-shelf kitchens available elsewhere. A truly bespoke kitchen is what our client’s demand and deserve in their homes – they are affordable too, so we encourage you to continue reading or to contact us for a free quotation today.

Carcass construction

Carcasses are constructed in our workshop in Essex from an Oak Veneer MDF. This offers the most luxurious look and feel when looking inside doors and drawers as the veneer is a real solid Oak. The MDF is there for stability and to ensure the carcass stands the test of time. Other options are available on request such as solid pine or a solid oak carcass however this is normally cost prohibitive, you could spend the extra money on more premium appliances for example.

We do not use a melamine chipboard construction in our carcasses. You might be surprised to learn there are many high-street kitchen showrooms and high-end kitchen companies using this method. However we believe the chipboard material absorbs moisture and is not stable over time. The other issue is you cannot treat, sand down or repaint the carcass if it has the melamine laminate surface. Only an oak veneer, solid pine or solid oak could this be performed on.

Drawer construction

With our drawers we almost always use a Solid Oak Drawer box with an extra deep 500mm capacity, another advantage of a handmade kitchen – you get to use the full depth of the carcass. Off-the-shelf kitchens available elsewhere are generally up to 450mm deep. We can also construct drawer boxes in pine as a cost saving or in more exotic wood such as Walnut as a special request.

All our drawers sit on soft close runners which are full extension (bringing the back of the drawer right to the front) and are made by the industry renowned GRASS brand. Drawers in our traditional country style kitchens can be opted without runners.

Door construction

With doors there are two main options which are closely connected to what style of hinge you would like.

So if we look at the first option which is a wooden door, this will be made from Tulipwood, Maple, Oak, Ash or a mix. This door construction means there will be more character present in the kitchen, it will age over time in appearance. This type of door would be fitted to a butt style hinge as these are reliable and give more character to the design. There will be a need to have magnets or clips to keep the doors closed.

The second door option is an MDF door, which is more favorable. The majority of clients who visit our showroom will testify to this. The door is lighter, it is smoother in operation due to the soft-close concealed hinges and looks more contemporary overall compared with the wooden door with exposed hinge as above.

Hinges – Butt vs Concealed Soft-Close

When it comes to hinges there are only really two main options unless you were looking for something more unique such as forged barn hinges. The two main options are Butt or Concealed soft-close. Butt hinges are more traditional as they are exposed (much like the doors in your home) and they are very strong being able to support the weight of more solid construction doors. Butt hinges we supply will only be from the market leaders made in the UK.

Soft-close hinges are concealed and they have three main advantages over butt hinges, they offer a more contemporary look from the outside, close softly and keep the door tightly shut in the frame.