Manly kitchens, secret doors, suede-effect countertops, custom heights, interior drawer illumination that brightens as you pull it open - all offered in a rainbow array of colours and finishes - this kitchen showroom is next level and worth a day trip from Dublin.
Like trying to gain entry to a speakeasy, access to Next 125 is through a secret door that takes you to next-level kitchen design with more colour and finish options than most paintboxes.
When you ascend, directly in front of you is a split-level monolith in an umbra marble look that has aluminium-lined, reinforced steel-framed drawers and doors to support the weight of the ceramic-clad island.
This tobacco-coloured design features a cuboid sink trough that is stepped up from the main work surface. The design can be custom-built to the personal height of the main cook in the house.
Next 125 is a new showroom that is perched atop Evoke, a kitchen company that is housed in the Esker Business Centre on the outskirts of Waterford city.
The company was founded by father and son Colm and Declan Furlong. The second generation is led by Declan and his wife Teresanne.
At first glance, the secret door looks like the emergency exit of a nightclub.
Painted black, it gives no idea of what’s at the top of the stairs, an offer that can deliver colour, texture, design and functionality.
In addition to great design, there is also a strong emphasis on customer service, which starts with a consultation, what Teresanne calls a feasibility, designed to get a sense of what you really want and need from a new kitchen.
A kitchen is not designed in 2D on paper, Declan explains.
“It has to work hard. It’s easy to make it look nice. Getting the functionality right so that you will still like it in five years is not as straightforward.”
This level of deep-dive detail means that 95 per cent of their business is generated through referrals.
They ask questions to find out if you like to cook or just reheat food, if there are any bakers in the house, and what considerations might make their hobby more enjoyable.
“It’s about parking the Pinterest board and making a list of likes and dislikes,” he continues. “You stop designing and start saying ‘I like this’ and ‘I don’t like that’. It makes it far less taxing and frustrating.”
Crucially, the firm will not just sell you a kitchen but will also do simple construction work, like taking down walls or adding a few square metres of space to better accommodate the design you want. Exactly the kind of work that you can’t get a builder to do for love nor money in the current market. They’re all too busy.
With Declan’s background in carpentry and building services, you can open a space to house your new kitchen without having to find a builder to do it. The firm will look after every aspect.
This is their unique selling point. It means the kitchen you want, in the colour of your choice, can be fitted to a bespoke space. The firm will also refurbish bathrooms for clients who buy kitchens from them. It means all will be done to the same exacting standards that you see in the showroom.
You can also make some final decisions as it is being installed, such as which direction you’d like doors to open, for example. "We’re detail-oriented," Teresanne explains.
In another corner of the showroom is a burnished orange design with pull handles that have to be used to really understand the subtle point of difference. It too has secret doors. The cognac lacquered walkway pantry doors in the same colour lead through to a back kitchen. When closed, the space is completely concealed from view.
Adjacent to it is a teardrop-shaped counter finished in Lavatech, a lava stone from Mount Etna, that has been enamelled in a deep green.
At the far end of the showroom is a sexy black kitchen that might be one of the most manly kitchens this writer has ever seen. Its black internals are strip-lit and can be controlled to emulate daylight and warmer ambient tones for after dark. There’s ultra-discreet strip lighting above the drawers too that brightens as you pull them open, illuminating the interiors. It takes 24 transformers just to deal with the lighting demands. These are hidden under the island.
There are simpler set-ups that deliver a strong style statement too; one has ghostly bronze glass countertops and cabinet fronts, in a spectral khaki that is colour-matched to a Miele oven.
A chamfered chef’s table has a suede-finish ceramic top that has mitred edges that make it look like real stone that feels good to the touch. A steel bar cart with chopping boards and knife holders that can be wheeled in under the table out of sight when service is over has gorgeous brutalist lines.
The appliances include top-of-the-range marques such as Gaggenau, Miele and Bora, a Swiss company that first made its name with its game-changing undercounter extractors and has expanded into ovens and new modular hobs that can combine gas with induction and even a teppanyaki plate.
In a back room, there’s a model clad in linoleum which can be ordered in any RAL colour. Thanks to the dimmer provided, you can also play with contrasting colour options to see how the swatches behave under warm light and cooler daylight.
The images do not do the space justice. The attention to detail throughout makes Next 125 worth a day trip. It offers inspiring new ideas and a fashionably fresh colour palette.
Prices start from about €40,000, excluding appliances.
To find out more, visit Next125ireland.ie
