Cobbs
Liz and Phil (homeowners)
Kitchen
Topsham, Devon
Spring 2025
Design, Make & Fit: Coast Creative
How old blends with new when extending or renovating a property is often thought of as an external consideration, but you live inside a home and that’s more important than what it looks like from the outside. At Cobbs in Topsham, on East Devon’s Exe Estuary, homeowners Liz and Phil engaged us to design, make, and fit a kitchen that would connect old with new and be the heart of their new home.
What was your brief to Luke for how you wanted to use your new kitchen?
It was a pretty open brief. The kitchen is housed in an extension to the original house, and we wanted it to feel as thought it belonged to the old house while still having the benefits of a modern kitchen. Due to the nature of the building the kitchen and dining room couldn’t be linked seamlessly, but we really wanted to incorporate space for the family to gather whilst preparing and cooking dinner. Working on the layout for the kitchen and ground floor as a whole before any building work got going really informed the restoration process and defined the themes that we used throughout.
What were the key features and non-negotiables for the space?
We were open to anything really! We wanted to make sure that we could accommodate as much of the family in the kitchen as possible when preparing meals, as we have so many nice memories of that time with our family.
During the design stage Luke presented initial layout options for us to review. We honed in on what we liked the idea of and then developed them from there. Through the development phase Luke suggested key practical features that have proven to be really useful, and they were incorporated seamlessly without having a negative impact on the look of the space.
It has made the room feel so much bigger and lighter than we could have imagined. The various seated elements that were incorporated, the bar and the window seats, have worked really well. Luke suggested we have seating at the bar instead of on the island to work with the character of the building. It’s also been really nice to have different height seating options for the different generations of our family, young and old!
The in-built lighting and obscured glass really creates a feature out of some of your kitchen storage. How has that secondary lighting design affected the feel and mood of the room in the evenings?
It’s such a nice element and really warms the colour of the walnut interiors of the cabinets when in use. It’s a lovely feature to have on when we are hosting, and all the lights come back to a single switch, which we like.
What is your favourite feature, and why?
Everything is so well considered when in use. Even after just moving into the house, everything falls to hand! The attention to detail during the design phase and the unbelievable quality of the build and fitting really stand out against anything we have previously had.
The kitchen is the heart of the home – it’s where we all spend so much of our functional time at home, every day. How have you used this new space, and have you spent more time in your new kitchen than you did before?
We have only just moved in and as I said previously, everything feels like it’s in exactly the right place. The proportions, size of the walkways, and space around seating really feels perfect, whether it’s just the two of us or when the space is full of family.
How do you feel when you’re in the new space?
It makes us really happy! Phil has always worked with wood and I know all the details that have been carried out so carefully really please him. I have enjoyed cooking and hosting in the space; it fits our personalities just right! Its also incredibly light and airy for what was previously a gloomy room. The window proportions and the inclusion of the French doors were all drawn up by The Coast Creative during the concept stage.
What have your friends who have visited had to say about your kitchen? What sort of comments has it elicited?
People are just so impressed with the space as a whole. They love the colour and all the special details like the brass cornice inlays that tie in so nicely with the handles.
We’re always happy to discuss custom design! Get in touch to speak with a member of the Coast Creative team. We’d love to see how we can bring your ideas to life.