Fast MOVE

A TIGHT TIMESCALE ENCOURAGED LINEY AND JONATHAN CUMBERLEGE TO MAKE BOLD DESIGN CHOICES IN THEIR NEW KITCHEN

- AMELIA THORPE

After living in Australia for three years, Liney and Jonathan Cumberlege returned to the UK with their three children and assorted pets, on a mission to find a family home. ‘We stumbled across this house almost by accident when we were looking at schools for the children,’ says Liney, adding that the large garden and Dorset village setting instantly appealed. The kitchen was another major attraction, given its generous size and lofty height. ‘This room was once a barn attached to the house,’ she says. Less appealing, however, was the wood-on-wood-on-wood finish of the room. ‘Oak units, dark timber beams and roof trusses felt quite oppressive,’ says Liney. ‘And anyway, the cabinets were getting to the end of their life.’