A classic kitchen isn’t the safe option, and this Harvey Jones kitchen proves that. Recently awarded Best Classic Kitchen at the House Beautiful Real Style Awards 2026, designed to our client’s exacting requirements to create the perfect family hub, packed with personality.
Most classic kitchens play it safe. Anna Hope’s didn’t.
We’re delighted to share that Anna’s (hope_and_the_house) Harvey Jones Original kitchen was awarded Best Classic Kitchen in the House Beautiful Real Style Awards 2026. The perfect combination of individually handcrafted bespoke kitchen furniture and uniquely sourced personal touches throughout.
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From Sterile to Storied
The kitchen Anna inherited wasn’t working for her family.
“It was very sterile and cold thanks to the white, gloss cabinets and cream tiled floor,” Anna explains. “It felt as if I would be forever cleaning the space rather than enjoying it.”
With a young family plus a furry friend, and a galley layout that meant the family could never be in the room together, something had to change. Consequently, Anna’s brief was the opposite of sterile: homely, nostalgic, and unafraid of imperfection.
“I love interiors that are homely and nostalgic,” she says, “making guests feel comfortable and relaxed rather than that everything is a little too ‘perfect.’ Ideally everything should have a homemade feel and like it has a real story behind it.”
That thinking shaped every material choice — aged brass taps and hardware, reclaimed antique lighting, a terracotta floor, curtains instead of cupboard doors, worn Persian rugs. Nothing that looked new. Everything that looked like it had always been there.
A Kitchen Built on Patience
“I waited to find the perfect piece rather than rushing to get everything bought at once,” she says. “This definitely helped to make sure the kitchen strikes a balance between being characterful rather than twee or old-fashioned.”
The island began life as a doughbin table — a French antique over a hundred years old, originally built with a lid that lifted for proofing dough. This Victorian dresser, now used as a plate rack, came from a local dealer Anna found on Instagram, just a few streets from our client’s home.
“I was lucky enough to be a contestant on a show called Antiques Hunters,” Anna says, “so was very spoilt in that I had an antiques expert who went all the way to France to find the item for me.“
A Kitchen the Whole Family Actually Uses
“The space works so much better,” Anna says. “We now love to sit and hang out as a family — it’s such a joy to be in all the time. The team came with a proper carpenter and worked hard to make all of our cabinetry and other features work around the original walls,” she says, “so that the kitchen feels truly integrated into our home.”
Why This Kitchen Won
Antique furniture and bespoke cabinetry don’t naturally go together. What made Anna’s vintage kitchen a winner is that Harvey Jones cabinetry was designed around her antiques, rather than asking her pieces to fit a standard layout — so a hundred-year-old French dough bin and hand-built joinery sit together as if they’d always belonged that way.
If your dream is a bespoke vintage kitchen like Anna’s, our team are available to chat through your ideas. Book a design appointment to start planning your own bespoke kitchen designed for life, built for living.
FAQs
What is a classic kitchen, and how is it different from a traditional kitchen?
No single look defines a classic kitchen. In this client’s case, that meant building a vintage kitchen around antique and vintage pieces she sourced over months, then fitting bespoke cabinetry around them rather than the other way round.
How long does a bespoke Harvey Jones kitchen last?
With solid timber construction and traditional joinery, a Harvey Jones kitchen is built to endure for decades, not years. Every kitchen comes with a 10-year cabinetry guarantee. Many of our clients are still living with, and loving, kitchens fitted well over a decade ago.
Where did the pieces in Anna’s vintage kitchen come from?
The island is a French doughbin table over a hundred years old, sourced with help from an antiques expert Anna met while a contestant on Antiques Hunters. The Victorian dresser came from a local dealer found on Instagram, and the Georgian buffet unit came from Vinterior.
What award did this kitchen win?
Anna’s Harvey Jones kitchen was named Best Classic Kitchen at the House Beautiful Real Style Awards 2026.
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