About us

We often get asked why we went into the kitchen business.  It’s a good story!

Shopping for a Kitchen – Several years ago we were doing our own building project which included taking walls down and extending to create a kitchen where we could cook, socialise, work, and entertain – the kitchen would flow into the lounge and be at the centre of our life and actually at the physical centre of our home.

We were visiting family in America and went into a kitchen showroom to get some ideas.  They had displays from different manufacturers and I was instantly drawn to one for two reasons;  it wasn’t standard 600mm units so it immediately looked different than many of the kitchens you see in the UK and also because of the superb build quality.

Back in the UK I kept thinking about that kitchen. One day I picked up the phone, rang the showroom and after a bit of persuasion they gave me the name of the manufacturer – Christiana Cabinetry.   With the help of google I found the contact details and called with the intent of finding out if they sold cabinetry in the UK.

Lucky Phone Call – Christiana are based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and they had just been hit by a big snowstorm – big enough to send everyone except the owner Jerry Metzler home.  So Jerry picked up the phone , we chatted for ages, and no, they didn’t have anyone selling their cabinetry in the UK but they could certainly ship to me as they ship to other parts of the world.

We spoke a bit about our project, I sent him some sketches and he came back with a rough quote.  I also priced shipping – and was shocked to find out how reasonable it was to bring a container to the UK from America.  We spoke a few more times and Jerry invited me to visit the factory and stay with him and his family.

Big Leap and Amish Country – I decided to visit and see if it really was feasible to buy a kitchen in America. Although I grew up about a 3 hour drive from where they were located I had never visited Lancaster Country.  It is home to America’s oldest Amish settlement where thousands still live without modern conveniences like electricity and motor vehicles. It’s a beautiful area with gentle rolling hills, Amish traveling in horse and buggies, wearing plain clothing and tending fields with tools pulled by horses.

I was even more impressed with Christiana. Still a family owned and run business they have been producing cabinetry for over 40 years.  I was able to meet many of the talented men and women who are so skilled in creating beautiful one off projects. They combine state of the art CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) machinery and hand processes. I was totally convinced – this was where my kitchen would come from.

Happy Days – The whole process was smoother than I ever would have expected. It took time to decide on every detail – sizes, internal specifications, and finishes.  Once the order was placed we had an estimated completion date.  When the kitchen was ready to be shipped it was loaded into a container at Christiana and a seal placed on the door. A few weeks later it arrived in the UK, we cut the seal and the cabinetry was unloaded into a vehicle that could deliver to our property.

We now have the exactly the project we wanted and when I think back on our happiest memories of family and over several years they all took place in our kitchen.

We were sure that others in the UK would be as impressed with Christiana Cabinetry as we were so we decided to launch the business.  We cant imagine a better manufacturer to partner with.

Jill and Jerry visiting the Showroom where Jill first saw Christiana Cabinetry.

Newleaf is born – We now really enjoy helping other people create their own special projects.  Sometimes its just a design and sometimes it’s the whole project from working with architects and structural engineers all the way through to appliances, worktops and flooring.

In 2019 we opened a workshop and started producing our Cotswold Collection for clients who still wanted a bespoke kitchen but at a more cost effective price.

Running Newleaf Kitchens is very different than the corporate jobs we have both previously done and we love it. Brian, who comes from a family of cabinet makers builds and installs our Cotswold Collection projects and also installs the projects we import from Christiana Cabinetry. Jill and Brian collaborate on the design and Brian is great at producing sketches and coming up with interesting ways of using spaces. Jill does everything else!