This kitchen has us all divided by its ability to feel completely authentic and traditional on the one hand, yet very out there and pushing the boundaries on the other. House of Hackney is a truly English brand adored by trendy, well-heeled East Londoners, it’s where they go to buy bold and fabulous patterned interiors. Palm trees, monkeys, blousy blooms and wacky takes on traditional English patterns. The company is owned by Frieda Gormley and her husband Javvy Royle, a couple who set trends and have built up an incredibly cool brand and a flagship store on Shoreditch High Street.

When they decided to have a Classic English deVOL Kitchen we were very proud and excited to see how they would interpret our cupboards in their home. Their newly renovated house in London Fields, Hackney is a testament to their style and their love of traditional and beautiful interiors. They wanted a colonial feel to the house with an air of old fashioned tradition, cool tiled floors, parquet, plants, rich warm fabrics and wallpapered walls.

Frieda and Javvy chose to have their cupboards mostly freestanding, just how they were intended all those years ago when Paul, the owner of deVOL, first designed them. A pair of pot cupboards either side of the Italian Ilve range cooker, an island with a sink looking out into the garden and a big pantry cupboard to house everything else. Such a simple way to have a kitchen yet so practical, and not only beautiful but more of a furnished room feel than a kitchen. The rest of the kitchen was filled with a combination of classic items that created a really welcoming room, traditional French café chairs, old fashioned English crockery, trailing vines and a banquette style seating area of plush velvet and buttons. It was a cross between a French country home and a really posh English pub, a funny combination I know but it proved to us that Frieda and Javvy really know how to make their house into a home with unrivalled style, comfort and quirky panache.