A Kitchen Begins Long Before It Reaches Your Home
Every luxury kitchen has a story long before the doors are fitted and the drawers glide quietly into place. At Harvey Jones, that story begins in our workshop, where raw timber, skilled hands and time-honoured techniques come together to create kitchens designed for a lifetime. It’s no wonder we’ve been designing dream kitchens for families for over 48 years.
A truly bespoke kitchen is not built in a factory. It is crafted. Measured. Refined. Thought through at every stage. From the first sketch to the final hand-painted finish, the journey of a Harvey Jones kitchen is one of precision, patience and pride.
In this guide, we take you inside our workshop to reveal how a kitchen is made, and why that process makes all the difference.
Where Craftsmanship Lives
Our bespoke kitchen workshop is the heart of everything we do. This is where your furniture transforms from an idea into finely built furniture.
Our team of highly skilled joiners and cabinet makers bring decades of combined experience to every project. Each kitchen is made by hand, to order, using carefully selected timber and traditional practices that cannot be replicated by mass production.
Your design is shaped specifically for your home, not adjusted to fit a template. Every cabinet is crafted with intention. Every detail serves a purpose. This level of control allows us to achieve exceptional precision and consistency that truly stands the test of time.
How a Kitchen Is Built, Step by Step
Every bespoke kitchen travels through a carefully structured build process. From timber preparation to final quality checks, more than twenty-five skilled specialists contribute to each project.
The core construction process includes:
- Milling and preparing raw timber
- Precision sizing and cutting
- Hand assembly of cabinet frames
- Screwing and pressure-gluing for rigidity
- Priming and surface preparation
- Rigorous quality inspection before delivery
Each cupboard is built as a fully solid, six-sided structure, including backs and tops. This method creates exceptional strength and stability, helping your kitchen maintain perfect alignment for decades.
Because this entire process happens in our own British workshop, we can adapt quickly to unique requirements like warped walls, complex room layouts and personalised storage needs.
Built With Traditional Joinery, Designed for Modern Life
The techniques used in our workshop have been refined over more than four decades.
Our doors are fitted using classic in-frame construction and secured with strong, traditional hinges to create a solid wood-to-wood bond. This ensures doors do not drop, warp or misalign, even with daily use.
Kitchen drawer boxes are crafted from solid hardwood, joined using traditional dovetailing at both front and back. This method has been trusted by furniture makers for centuries and is proven to withstand heavy use over a lifetime. Each drawer is fitted with soft-close, full-extension runners to create a smooth, silent and effortless feel every day.
These are quiet details you may not notice, but they are the quality details that create a bespoke kitchen that feels different the moment you use it.
Sustainable Materials, Responsibly Sourced
A luxury kitchen designed to last must also be made responsibly.
We carefully source our timber from sustainably managed forests and have a deep commitment to reducing environmental impact at every stage of production by reviewing our production regularly. Plus Harvey Jones cabinetry is a lifetime investment, creating long-lasting kitchens that can be repainted, refreshed or refurbished rather than replaced, we reduce waste and support more sustainable homes.
Long-term thinking is built into everything we make, to ensure your kitchen lasts a lifetime.
Hand-Painted Kitchens, Made Personal
One of the most distinctive stages of the kitchen-making process is painting. Our kitchens are expertly primed and hand-painted to your chosen shade, creating a beautifully smooth and durable finish.
Because we paint on site once your kitchen is fitted, you are not restricted to standard colours. Your designer can help you select the exact tone that works with your light, architecture and personal style.
And because the finish is paint rather than a factory wrap, you may repaint your luxury kitchen years later if your taste evolves. This is what makes our kitchens not just bespoke, but future-ready.
Built for Real Life, Not Just Showrooms
Behind every door, drawer and shelf lies a purpose.
Your storage is designed around how you live, not just how the space looks. Hidden pantries, handcrafted larders, internal organisers and practical layouts are built at the workshop stage to maximise space without cluttering the design.
Because everything is made to order, we can modify dimensions, shelf heights and internal configurations to suit your routine exactly.
Why Workshop Craftsmanship Matters
There is a difference you can feel.
A well-made kitchen moves differently. Doors close with quiet confidence. Drawers glide smoothly. Shelves feel weighty. Handles sit perfectly in the hand.
These sensations are not created in a production line. They come from skilled hands refining every stage of the build and caring about details you may never consciously see, but will feel every single day.
This is the difference between a kitchen that looks beautiful and one that lives beautifully.
Kitchens That Improve With Time
Our bespoke kitchens are designed to be lived in, loved, refreshed and renewed.
Many of our clients return to us years later to repaint their kitchen cabinetry, update hardware or refine their space, not because the design has failed, but because the craftsmanship has endured. That is the hallmark of true quality.
We stand behind that quality with our comprehensive Harvey Jones cabinetry guarantee, because we trust the way we build.
A great kitchen does not expire. It evolves.
FAQS About Our Handmade Kitchens
How are Harvey Jones kitchens made?
Each kitchen is handmade in our British workshop using traditional joinery, solid timber construction and skilled craftsmanship. Cabinets are built as solid six-sided structures, with dovetailed drawers and framed doors.
How many craftsmen work on one kitchen?
More than twenty-five specialists contribute to the making of each bespoke kitchen, from timber preparation to final inspection.
Are your kitchens really handmade?
Yes. Every cabinet, door and drawer is built by hand in our own workshop, to order, using time-honoured construction methods.
Can your kitchens be repainted later?
Yes. Our kitchens are hand-painted in-situ. The beauty of hand-painting means it can be easily touched or repainted, allowing you to refresh your space whenever you choose without replacing any of the cabinetry.
Are your materials sustainable?
We source timber from responsibly managed forests and focus on long-term durability to reduce environmental impact.
How long do your kitchens last?
All of our kitchens are backed by a 10-year cabinetry guarantee, providing peace of mind should any item not perform as it should. Our kitchens are designed for life, and many of our clients return decades later not because their kitchen has failed, but to refresh or repaint it, with the cabinetry still performing as beautifully as the day it was installed.
Are You Thinking About a Kitchen Crafted to Last?
A beautifully made kitchen starts with understanding how it is built.
If you would like to experience and feel the quality of our craftsmanship firsthand, visit one of our kitchen showrooms or book an appointment with one of our designers. We would love to show you what makes a Harvey Jones kitchen truly exceptional and worth every penny.
Your luxury kitchen begins in our workshop, but its story is written in your home.
