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“This year it is all about connecting with nature; think botanical wallpaper, plants, living garden walls, rich oaks and hard-wearing rattan furniture, bringing the outside in,” explains Anna Sadej, owner of Kitchen Connections. From colours associated with nature to sustainable kitchens, this year we are all going green in Nappy Valley.
The term biophilic design has been around for a while in the commercial world, but 2020 is the year when it will quite literally plant itself in the homeowner’s psyche. Biophilic is a design concept connecting us to the great outdoors in our homes and workspaces. It draws upon our human affinity to connect with the natural world and is believed to reduce stress, stimulate the senses, increase focus and productivity and inspire creativity.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, where we cook, eat and socialise together and so it’s important to feel relaxed and happy in this space.
And when it comes to design, it’s about the natural flow of movement, where the sunlight comes in from and how it plays off the colours and textures of your surfaces. Anna enthuses about all
the new colours she is sampling, such as sky and ocean blues, different hues of green and natural beige and brown stone colours. She exclaims excitedly that “the age of grey is over!”
In terms of kitchen furniture, Anna predicts a shift away from glossy kitchens to dark oak cabinets, with bronzes, concretes and more natural and rustic looking kitchen cabinets. Shaker style kitchens will continue to be popular but in darker matt colours.
But beauty is just skin-deep. Clients are increasingly passionate about their kitchen’s carbon footprint. Anna sources kitchen units from German manufacturer Schüller, where reclaimed oak and
recycled steel are part and parcel of the manufacturing process. The waste generated in the factory is burnt in a thermally clean way to generate energy for the entire company and a local village to
boot, and a fleet of eco-friendly and fuelsaving trucks transport the units to the UK.
As well as high-spec and cutting edge kitchen design, Anna is also a supplier of top quality smart appliances and brands such as Miele and Siemens, securing competitive rates for her clients, although they can select other brands too. The dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers are all triple rated, the induction hobs only heat up the surface area covered by pans, the fridges use 20% less energy and are chemical free, and the combined instant hot taps, filters and sparkling water taps save energy, making the entire kitchen more environmentally friendly and economical in the long run.
Anna and her colleague, Magda Zawadzka visit clients’ homes, or where an entirely new kitchen is being built into a side return or a basement they will review the construction blueprints to draw up design plans which they input into their 3D software. This enables clients to visualise different layouts and to make any changes they want on the spot. Everything from the worktops to the
furniture and appliances has guarantees but Anna says, “We live in a small community and we care about our clients so if something goes wrong in one of our kitchens outside of the guarantee period, we’ll send one of our fitters around and if it’s easy enough to fix, then we’ll fix it.
I see many of my clients around town, I say hello to them on the street, I want to make sure they are happy with their kitchens for many years to come.” Kitchen Connections has been designing and fitting Nappy Valley with stunning kitchens for almost 20 years and has gone from strength to strength over the last six years with Anna at the helm.
She has loyal customers across Earlsfield, Southfields, Wimbledon and Wandsworth who have no qualms in recommending her, resulting in 80% of her business being through word of mouth.
