'Tones of natural wood and warm olive': Isabella Worsley transforms a coastal Sussex kitchen

This house, near Chichester Harbour in West Sussex, hadn’t been touched for generations when interior designer Isabella Worsley was asked to lead a root-and-branch renovation, working with architect Martin Taylor. They set about reconfiguring the layout, moving the bedroom to the ground floor and creating an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space on the top floor that opens onto an expansive terrace overlooking the sea.

‘We wanted to create an interplay between the inside and out,’ explains the designer. As the house is to be used in both winter and summer, introducing richness to the space was vital. ‘As we all know, the English coast can be stark in winter and houses feel exposed to the elements. We wanted to make sure it would be enveloping, so we chose tones of natural wood and warm olive for the kitchen.’ The pitched roof is clad in timber and painted with a Bauwerk limewash to add some movement and texture.

Kitchen specialist 202 made a run of cabinets, which feature contemporary-style flush doors in a walnut finish and bronze handles. The kitchen island, designed in-house, was made by Arcadia Antiques. The dragged finish to the olive paint lends the surface depth.

Over the island is a pair of rust-coloured pendant lights from Norfolk Decorative Antiques. ‘We didn’t want anything too new in this kitchen. The aim was for it to look sleek, but still rooted in the countryside.’

Art consultant Olivia Paterson of the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery helped choose pieces for the space, such as the large-scale botanical portrait by Kate Friend.

This article first appeared in the August 13 issue of Country Life. For more information on how to subscribe, click here.