Case Study: Where Craft Meets Kitchen

This striking kitchen, painted in a vibrant green and enriched with bespoke wooden detailing across the worktops and dining table, beautifully blends craftsmanship and character. Designed and handcrafted by bespoke furniture specialist Chad Punchard, and illuminated by our signature Tom Raffield Pendant Lighting, the space radiates warmth and creativity. Here, we catch up with Chad to understand how this design came to be.

TR: Can you tell us a little about the project?

CP: It was a really fun design brief – the clients asked me to ‘make a kitchen island extension with an ice cream cone shape base using natural wood’. They were happy for me to be creative within the brief, which gave me plenty of scope. For our initial consultation, the clients visited my workshop in Wales, where I often have a lot of wooden items on display, some purposely unfinished. I feel having some unfinished items allows people to imagine what could be done, while seeing some finished pieces also takes the guesswork out of certain details.

TR: How would you describe the clients’ style and how that influences your design direction?

CP: They have a sophisticated style – natural, with a twist of creativity. In terms of the design direction, wood is organically a beautiful material that adds warmth and character, so blending natural characteristics with formed shapes and crafted texture is something we decided to pursue in order to create something truly unique.

TR: You design several custom elements – could you walk us through the process behind the wooden addition to the island the bespoke dining table?

CP: Using native oak, sourced from a local sawmill, we wanted to create something special. Not just with the furniture, but with the origins of the material. Having the whole space to design two special pieces meant I had to be careful not to let one overpower the other.

For the table, I designed a steel base in line with its style and size and collaborated with fellow craftsman Anthony Bissicks to bring it to life. I then added hand-carved detailing on the table edge and torched it black to complement the base.

This carved detail was then carried over to the spiral table, this time keeping the edge natural in colour. To make the spiral base, I cut up 115 individual strips of oak and ran a router over both of the external edges to soften the face. These were then carefully steam bent into a form and left to dry.

Having multiple strips enabled me to create various natural warm tones throughout the piece of furniture, which were further enhanced once I finished them with natural wood oil.

TR: How do you feel the organic shapes and natural materials of our lighting complement your bespoke joinery work?

CP: I believe it’s the perfect collaboration. Form, colour tones and craftsmanship all work hand in hand to complement each other, giving the client a bespoke, unique blend.

TR: Your joinery and our lighting both celebrate natural craft – do you see a shared design approach?

CP: Yes absolutely! I believe the answers are found in nature and taking time to appreciate our world can help with design.

Posted: 09.01.26
Updated: 09.01.26