This past week its been all about kitchens so what better way to round off the week than to look at a Cornish family business, that specialises in just that, kitchens. I discovered Treyone as they are very near my family home in Cornwall and I am very keen to support local businesses. This firm is no newcomer to the market, having been around nearly 40 years they have got quite a following and are well known amongst the Polzeath and Rock set and with a new showroom recently opened in Kingsbridge they are going to be loved by the Salcombe homeowners too! The showroom in Kingsbridge is stunning and full of inspiring ideas but what really stands out about this company was the obvious amount of knowledge they have and the friendliness in which its delivered.

After working together on some design ideas for a future project with Zoe the Head Designer who is by the way has a wealth of wisdom on all things kitchen, I managed to pin her down for an interview to talk about her family business.

As a family business, it would be interesting to hear how the company was set up and how it has evolved over the years.

Treyone was born in 1978 when Mike Gething, a joiner by trade, moved to Cornwall and set up a small workshop in a barn next to his house. Mike’s first orders included doors, windows and a pine kitchen…Since those early days the company has grown and evolved to become the successful kitchen makers of today; and it’s still very much a family business – we now have three father/son combinations working for us!

Robin Doyle – Managing Director

Robin’s career with Treyone started in 1980 when Mike, his brother-in-law and Treyone’s founder, sold him the idea of abandoning his IT career in Ireland for the good life in Cornwall. Robin and Mike built the company from a two-man concern working from a barn at Higher Treyone Farm to the thriving kitchen makers of today. Robin oversees all aspects of the business with a particular focus on client care and ensuring a happy work environment.

Zoe Gething – Director and Designer

Zoe was two years old when her father Mike established Treyone so you could say she’s grown up with the company. She joined Treyone straight from school as a general trainee, working in, and getting to know, all areas of the business before focusing on kitchen design. She combines encyclopaedic product knowledge with an approach that melds the practical with the aesthetic, and is passionate about cooking and entertaining.

Marc Doyle – Workshop & Installation Manager

Marc is Robin’s eldest son and like Zoe, grew up with Treyone. Marc joined the business in 2004 after completing a History degree and working as a graduate trainee with a large multi-national. Renowned for his organisational skills, Marc takes on many roles at Treyone but is primarily tasked with overseeing the workshop and installations along with managing customer service.

The kitchens are all handmade in your workshop in Cornwall. Can you walk us through the process from design to installation?

Each kitchen is carefully planned and made as a single job, never from ready-made components. All work is done in-house: some kitchen styles require us to use traditional methods such as jointing five-piece solid wood doors or comb-jointing wooden drawers, others call for precision machining on inert board materials for a clean line and contemporary look.

While your kitchen is being made to your exact specifications, your designer liaises closely with the workshop team to make sure that everything - from sourcing work surfaces to appliances and accessories - is lined up for the smooth running of the next, installation stage of your project.

What skills are required to work at a company such as Treyone?

Personality is the main attribute to our staff. It is key to their performance and interaction with our customers and other members of staff. Our designers must be enthusiastic and inspiring (to our potential customers), our workshop staff must be practical paying attention to detail and finishing. Fitters need to be patient, thorough and have good organisational skills. Dealing with the last part of the process can be quite a stressful time for our clients.

What are the main materials you tend to work with? Are there any new exciting materials you are starting to incorporate into your designs?

The main materials in a kitchen construction are hardwood timbers in either a natural, limed or painted finish in a colour of your choice. MDF is often used and allows many more applications for slab styled doors that are not possible with timber. The ever expanding applications of this product are immense.

Furniture textures seem to be the "new" material, with dead flat matt painted finishes and rough cut veneers.

Zinc and copper worktops are proving great feature/statement piece's, it's lovely, tactile and beautiful finish is hand made for us in workshops in Devon.

Highly indestructible worktops from Dekton, Neolith and Lapitec allowing us to work with stunning finishes yet versatile applications. Creating natural rustic looks combined with modern sleek designs.

Neolith quotes:

" Neolith line sees the world of kitchens as an environment where design and functionality co-exist as well as elegance and durability, aesthetic details and technical characteristics.".

Lapitec quotes:- Sintered Stone: Precision, Pressure, Time

"Sintering happens naturally within mineral deposits. Lapitec have harnessed this phenomena, and it’s key within the manufacturing process. Precise pressure over a defined period of time causes the atoms in the materials to diffuse across the boundaries of the particles, fusing them together and creating one solid piece. The end result is a beautiful piece of material, which has colour stability, recyclability and zero porosity, which can be used in all aspects of interior and exterior design."

Dekton quotes:-

"DEKTON is a long-term product for those looking to turn their kitchen into a unique space. It allows greater potential for installation in one piece with no cuts, no joints and no limits. It has the appeal of a completely uniform surface, which fits seamlessly into very different design styles.

DEKTON combines the qualities expected by the chef in all of us. It is a clean surface that is nice to touch and resistant to all the daily grind that takes place in a kitchen over years of use. It is an ultra-sophisticated material for busy everyday life, capable of creating spaces that make the day to day preparation of food a pleasant experience that precedes the pleasure of sharing a meal with friends or family."

How do you ensure you are supporting the environment?

Many of the raw materials that go into making your Treyone kitchen come from nature. Our timbers come from sustainable forests and we strive to dispose of any waste products in as careful and environmentally friendly a way as possible.

We recycle our waste paper, metal and timber offcuts and convert our sawdust and shavings into briquettes. These briquettes then fuel our bio-mass heater and keep our factory workshop warm!