full circle
Johnny Grey Studios have been producing fine handcrafted kitchens for over forty years. Occasionally an opportunity arises for a new client to take on one of these existing kitchens, or furniture collections. As the antiques of the future, these pieces are made to last a lifetime. It's environmentally responsible not to let them go to waste, as part of the increasingly important circular economy. Above all it honours the outstanding skill and care of the hands that made the furniture.
We create between 10 to 25 kitchens per year worldwide and one may become available when a house is sold and the new arrivals want something different. We can then help you as a new client design and reconfigure the cabinetry for your own sustainable kitchen. You can use the furniture items in a variety of ways, mixing them with your own furniture or with pieces from other sources. We offer a design and planning service for whole spaces or to add new pieces to a repurposed kitchen. Our service is international. We currently have representatives in USA, Australia and Switzerland.
Our small collection of previously-owned kitchens can be purchased for between £8,000 and £30,000 in comparison to an average budget of £80,000 to £150,000 for a new custom-made kitchen today.
The following kitchens are currently available for sale:
For Jan and Howard Jones (musician)
In 1994 we created a kitchen in a single-storey stable block. At every stage Jan and Howard Jones wanted us to be adventurous with the space, treating it as a hybrid cooking, dining, living and hallway area. The key pieces are the centre island, curved sink run and two landmark items of furniture on the inside wall that frame the shape of the island and provide storage.
This kitchen was the central feature of Johnny's media tour, ‘Turning Kitchens into Living Rooms’, which was widely viewed in America in 1997.
Adare, Ireland
The commissioning client, a visionary retailer and art collector, took this kitchen of curves under his wing when he and his wife needed to move house. Considering it in the same category as one of his artworks, he has carefully stored it himself in readiness for the next owner.
The kitchen was built about 2006 for our clients' new country house on the West Coast of Ireland. Planned around a central ‘sixties-style fireplace, the space was designed for easy access to the garden and for entertaining. It was – and will be again - the perfect setting for slow cooking, generous family meals, relaxing in the evening. The furniture is hand-built from mostly maple and iroko, the stainless steel surfaces custom made.
SOLD - Multigenerational kitchen from the Helix Centre, Newcastle
The World’s Most Intelligent Kitchen (!) was built in collaboration with Prof Peter Gore as a research project aiming at total kitchen inclusivity. It has a state-of-the-art ‘cooking anywhere’ induction hob made in the Netherlands and representing the newest, safest cooking technology. Other features are a working table with a linked circular preparation counter, rise-and-fall countertops and wall cupboards made from carbon-neutral, lightweight and fireproof materials. There is a ‘soft geometry’ walk-in pantry for easy visual and physical access.
The kitchen can be viewed on this video .
SOLD - Art meets science
A handmade kitchen designed for a biotech CEO and a president of the NFU in 2003, this is mostly made out of sycamore and maple, complemented by beautifully crafted metalwork by Paul Jobst, one of Britain’s top artistic blacksmiths.
Key pieces are the window seat – a lovely way of sitting in a recess to enjoy your garden, the curved walk-in corner pantry, and the central island with its well-organised set of surfaces on which to cook, prepare and display dishes or serve drinks. There is a sink cabinet set comprising plate-rack, china cupboard, tea cabinet and raised-height dishwasher cupboard.
This kitchen features on pages 68-73 of Johnny's book Kitchen Culture. You can still buy copies on Amazon.