Chinese Kitchen. A combination of Unfitted and Fitted Kitchen by Mark Lewis, Design Director Lewis & Horning 1983-87
Richard Royds, a practitioner of traditional acupuncture, invited Mark to design a kitchen for his 1st floor Chiswick apartment.
Naturally, a Chinese theme was an appropriate and welcome aesthetic to have incorporated into the room and have embodied in the details of the furniture, fittings and finishes.
The room was to serve as the dining space as well as the room in which to cook. The simple minimal design for the doors and work tops were achieved by the doors being machined from ply and the work tops made of laminations of ply topped with black Formica.
The door handles selected were from an existing product range also possessed the essence of the Orient. The gas hob over the electric oven was specific to the wok cooking preferred by Richard.
The requisite dishwasher, fridge, and a washer dryer were accommodated under the counter and behind integrated door panels affording a basic utility adequate for a couple to do most of what was expected in a kitchen, and maintain a uniform presentation in a natural lacquered finish.
During the production of the furniture, the workshop roof in the Midlands caved in under the weight of snow that had fallen that year – a fantastic excuse for the delay in delivering a kitchen.
Production was switched to a Surrey work shop and due to the extraordinary finesse of the production team there, it was delivered on time in any event. This began a long relationship with Mark and the Surrey workshop, it producing many kitchens for the Lewis & Horning studios and their clients.
Many years later Mark was recommended to visit an acupuncturist for some needed therapy, an outfit based in Waterloo, London.
It turned out the therapist greeting Mark at the reception of the practice was indeed Richard – Mark having taken no notice of the name of who he was due to see but merely turning up at the address for the appointment.
Intrigued and delighted greetings were exchanged and a lasting patient practitioner relationship was established assisting Mark, nurturing his earth element and balancing all the others.