The British Invasion

(Editor’s note: This is a continuing series of profiles of some of the designers involved in the 2014 Pasadena Showcase House of Design, one of the most successful showcase houses in the country. Each year a major estate in the Pasadena area is selected. The property is then completely renovated by leading interior and exterior designers. The Showcase House is open to the public for four weeks during April and May.)

How many designers can come to your home, create a design for your new kitchen, plan it, actually swing the hammers to build it, and then make you dinner in it?

That’s what Jan Ledgard of Yorkshire Kitchens does. And has done many times.

The Yorkshire, England native grew up with a handy father who did a little bit of everything, and showed her each step of the way. She took that upbringing along with her as she worked in the hospitality business, eventually buying up pubs and small hotels and refurbishing them.

She built a successful career being part chef, part construction manager, part hotel clerk and everything in between, as she hopped about Northern England and France, applying her skills to various ventures.

But a little over 20 years ago, she visited California with friends, and found her new home. She opened Yorkshire Kitchens in 2000, and since that time, she has worked all over Southern California, worked extensively with the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), and has worked on everything from simple bathroom re-models to a recent job on a 25,000 square-foot home in Lake Las Vegas.

“That one had two kitchens and a two-story closet, and it looked down on Celine Dion’s house!,” she laughed.

But she still brings a bit of England to her work; in fact, one of her clients hired her over the phone because Ledgard knew what a “hoosier” (an old English baking cabinet) was. She eventually imported all the original parts from across the pond to build the special kitchen unit.

Ledgard’s participation in this year’s Pasadena Showcase House of Design is her fourth , her first being an outdoor kitchen and kitchen terrace at the historic Craven Estate in 2010.

“I wasn’t going to do one this year, since it’s such a huge commitment, but I got talked into it by the girls, and I do believe in the project, so I just thought, ‘Why not?’” she told Pasadena Now.

This year, Ledgard will design and build the outdoor kitchen, a dining patio and what she calls a children’s sculpture garden with a playhouse and a live bird aviary. The garden itself will also feature unique antique toys.

“It’s really fun, it’s really stressful and it’s a lot of work, and I’m already a week behind,” she laughed.

It’s unlikely the design veteran will let that shake her, however, as she busies herself at the site every day, getting ready for that April evening when the house, and all of its magical designs, will finally sparkle for an appreciative audience.

And someone else will do the cooking.

Yorkshire Kitchens is at 849-A Foothill Boulevard, Suite 1, La Canada. (626) 345-1750. www.yorkshirekitchens.net