SUCCESS STORIES

See some of our fantastic client projects

Alison & Tony

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

Alison contacted me after receiving a recommendation from one of my previous Berkhamsted clients. The brief was to design a modern kitchen which would fit into a new extension that the couple were having built. I submitted designs using their Architect’s plans.                                                                                                                                     Unfortunately, despite Alison & Tony excited to move forward with one of my designs, they incurred hefty, unexpected costs from their builder which resulted in the house extension being halved in size.                        

Before

After

Materials & Style

In keeping with the revised budget and space that was now available I redesigned the kitchen ensuring that all the ‘must have’ features remained in this now smaller room space. White gloss handleless doors were selected, with dark wood laminate worktops, with this same laminate used as end panels and block pelmet & cornice to the ceiling and plinth. Two single built-in ovens gave cooking space for large family gatherings and variable cooking options. The work took approximately 3 weeks which included the additional design, supply & fit of a utility room.

Review

We just wanted to say that we were very impressed with the approach you took to designing our kitchen – the options you came up with were fantastic, particularly when it came to the details. Despite the fact that we had to shrink the space that you had to work with, you were still able to fit everything in that we needed, and you worked hard to keep everything within our budget, whilst maintaining the quality and functionality that we were looking for, and providing a wonderful, modern space.

The end product is of a very high quality and our kitchen is now an absolute pleasure to cook and live in. Every inch of the space can be accessed easily and making use of the tall wall units has meant that storage just isn’t an issue. The kitchen flows really well into our new dining area, which means that entertaining friends for dinner is now a lovely, sociable experience.

Thank you so much

Claire & Dave

Reading, Berkshire

Project Overview

Claire contacted me, with the brief for a modern kitchen, two internal walls would need to be taken down, which would provide an area for open plan living. My main goals were to increase storage and, ultimately as I always aim to create a wow factor look, all whilst keeping to the client’s budget. These I appear to have achieved, as soon as Claire and Tony had viewed my design, I received a telephone call from Claire stating that my design was the best that they had seen, and I was given the job immediately. (They already had 2 kitchen companies out, that had all submitted designs with square Islands)

Before

After

Materials & Style

A multiple curve island was the stand out feature of this kitchen, white gloss handleless doors and black quartz stone worktops. One of our kitchen fitters Pat, completed all works on this project including wall demolition, plastering and painting of walls, new wood flooring as well as the kitchen and all appliance installation. Pat Williams was a great kitchen fitter and a valued friend, but with having suffered a stroke, is sadly now unable to work anymore, he is missed by myself and all who worked alongside him.

Review

When we set out to have our kitchen renovated, we started off by getting a couple of designs and quotes from the large well-known suppliers. We weren’t particularly impressed by the designs as they were very ‘ordinary’ and we wanted something special. When Keith first came round, we were impressed with his appearance, his courteousness, and his general manner. It was also clear that he was very knowledgeable about his subject and very enthusiastic. He listened carefully to our requirements and made lots of suggestions to make our kitchen the best it could be. We received the design within a couple of days and as soon as we saw it, we had no hesitation in going forward.


We were extremely pleased that Keith has a team of very professional kitchen fitters, We had Pat, who was able to do all our pre-work. Now we had a perfect ‘shell’ the exciting part came when the cupboards arrived. We were keen to confirm the quality of them and we weren’t disappointed, they were certainly top class. Once everything was installed, the finished product was breathtaking, second to none – we just couldn’t believe it had all come together so well. It is the best kitchen we’ve ever seen, and it has the best finish anyone could ever want.


Overall, the most impressive thing about Keith was his customer service. Nothing was ever too much trouble. He visited our house on a number of occasions and was very attentive to all our requirements, so in summary, Keith provides a fantastic design service, he is a professional project manager who takes pride in his work and has the best contacts for getting the job done properly. We have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him.

Thanks Claire X

Fiona

Reading, Berkshire

Project Overview

Fiona contacted me, seeking a modern kitchen, she expressed that with her partner and 4 boys she felt outnumbered, so wanted a feminine element to the kitchen without it being over the top pink. Fiona fell in love with my design and trusted my commitment in creating her dream kitchen as such, she paid the total project cost up front, we were able to get the noise and dust element of the installation completed whilst the family were away on a two week holiday.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Fiona opted for my design that incorporated a modern curved island with all base and wall cabinets in white gloss handleless doors. 

The kitchen was formed in what I refer to as my layer cake effect, with grey mirror stone flooring, white gloss base doors, grey mirror stone worktops, and white gloss wall cabinet doors. Fiona did opt for some pink with a bold pink painted feature wall, with an added coat of glitter glaze. As a parting gift I did purchase Fiona a glitter disco ball, Fiona later informed me that she put this up on the kitchen ceiling, and she has apparently done some dancing on the worktops!! I would add that we strictly wouldn’t recommend this.

Review

Thank you so much for designing and completing the new heart of our busy home.

We are thrilled and delighted with our wonderful new kitchen and it’s shapely curved granite breakfast bar complete with matching grey sparkly floors and features like the custom-made glass storage unit for all of our treasures and a delicious colour theme throughout.

Our new utility room is now piled high with everyone coats and shoes tucked away from view but beautifully and neatly organised away.

It is so delightful when each and every guest coming into our home comments on how wonderful it looks, and we can’t thank you enough!

Kind regards

Fiona

Gillian & John

Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

Gillian contacted me desperately seeking a new modern kitchen, her existing one was falling apart. She wanted more storage and ultimately a delightful space to cook and entertain in.

Before

After

Materials & Style

The beautiful Lundhs Blue Polished Granite, which is a natural stone from Norway was selected by Gillian and John, accompanied with white gloss lacquered painted doors, and dark pink glass fitted to walls from worktop to under wall cabinets. Gillians perfect find of a window blind brought the colour choice combination together. This project took 2 weeks to complete.

Review

we are absolutely delighted with the kitchen. Nothing was too much trouble for Keith and his expertise and design flair has made a mundane space into a delightful cooking and living area that works extremely well. His contacts and project management skills ensured the fitting out work was as smooth as it could have possibly been. We would be delighted to show our kitchen to anyone who would like to see it – we just want to show it off as we are so thrilled with it. We have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Keith.
The kitchen looks fantastic. Far beyond our wildest dreams.

Toodlepip
G x

Jo & Chris

Wallingford, Oxfordshire

Project Overview

Jo made contact requesting a design visit following a recommendation from a previous client. Their property was Grade II listed and, Jo & Chris wanted something traditional and in-keeping with the house age but hoped that the new kitchen could make a modern statement at the same time.

Before

After

Materials & Style

A shaker two door colour scheme was selected however, in my design I included 1200mm by 1200mm concave curved base cabinets and doors to bring a modern element and ultimate wow factor. Jo and Chris were so pleased with their new kitchen, that I was asked to design, supply and fit furniture to a Boot Room and Front Door Reception. Edmond completed installation of the kitchen, boot room, and front door reception, as well as being asked by Chris, if he could shorten in height a bookcase ladder. Jo and Chris found their own granite worktop fabricator from Thame, however they very much appreciated that I booked a day to be on site, for the worktop templating, when I ensured that the joint line would not be in eye view, as he was going to do, and asked for the join lines to run into the red brick pillars, which made them short in length, and also not in eyes view. This project took approximately 5 weeks to complete. Longer than usual due in part to additional works requested by the clients and the fact that we were working alongside their builders for the duration of our time on site. Floor levelling and pouring of wet cement 7 to 8 inches deep, made access to areas at times impossible.

Review

We used Keith Laker to design and fit our new curved kitchen. I have to say the design and ideas that he generated were extremely well thought through and more than just functional. The kitchen is a really beautiful design which works really well for the needs of our family. He was always flexible and incorporated our needs and feedback making it easy to evolve the project and really get what we wanted. He sourced really great quality kitchen units, made sure the templating for our granite surfaces was done as it should be and that it looked as good as it could, with the joins at the right places. He used his own contact to fit the kitchen and the attention to detail and desire to get a top quality finish was evident.

We are extremely pleased with the kitchen and grateful to Keith for taking the time to make sure that everything was well thought through. The kitchen did take longer to fit than I expected but was worth the wait.

Thanks Keith

All the best

Jo

Julia

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

Julia contacted me, to request a home design visit, she explained that her brother was a builder and was going to build a back of house extension to her home, the kitchen was staying in the existing house space but, the glass on the extension would bring so much natural light in. Julia is a professional chef and in my design, I needed to include 2 ovens, large hob & ceiling cooker hood on this large island for added working space.

Before

After

Materials & Style

We returned to fit the kitchen once the house extension was completed. Chalk White and Blue painted shaker doors which, were solid wood frames and veneer centre panels and bespoke crafted cabinetry. White seamless worktops with grey flecks were selected by Julia, proving a worktop run with no visible joint lines. Julia took on her own personal project by painting an antique drawer unit she had in the same shade of blue and placing a large mirror above…. good work Julia.

Review

The whole experience was a
pleasure from start to finish, everyone who sees the
new kitchen admires it.
It is so rare these days to find such friendly professional people like Keith, who gave a reliable service from design to fit.

Keith created a lovely design making the process
painless, and very willing to please,
but with no hard pressure sales!

Keith made all my dreams for a new kitchen a reality.

Mr Patel

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Project Overview

This job came to me via a recommendation given to Mr Patel’s son via one of my Berkhamsted clients. Although I was extremely proud of the finished results, this project was a complex one and very time consuming, as I did not realise until my initial visit to the Patel’s home that their builder had walked out on them leaving, wiring and loft insulation hanging from the ceiling. I emphasised that there was a lot of work to be done before giving any consideration to the style of kitchen they wanted. At a second group meeting with Mr and Mrs Patel and their son, I agreed to provide an initial design and costing, Mr Patel had already asked a friend of his, also a kitchen provider to give him a design and estimated costing, my price based on their plan came in £25,000 cheaper and had included the provision of superior cabinetry. 

Mr Patel selected me to provide his kitchen, but I could not move forward with a specific design or order furniture when the kitchen space was literally a building site.

Mr Patel asked if I could help him find the trades needed to complete the works, and I asked Edmond, who is Director of his own building and fitting company and took on all the works needed for the kitchen to be installed. Edmond took on additional tasks that were requested by Mr Patel whilst on site, this included lifting the existing wood flooring, sanding all planks and adding a coat of wood stain to create a feature wall. Water fed under floor heating was installed by contractors that Mr Patel found and, Edmond fitted engineered wood flooring.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Mr and Mrs Patel had already selected door style and colours from samples that I had shown them during visits to their home. However, I accompanied Mr Patel to one of my manufacturer’s showrooms, so he could view their choice in situ. The two paint colours chosen were Hartforth Blue and Dove Grey and, with a modern twist for a Shaker wood door, an addition of matching painted wood handrails fitted flush within the cabinets, this bar to open doors and drawers, in effect handleless. Blum technology was also a significant feature of this kitchen with ‘Touch door to open’ then press button to close doors, this was fitted on all 4 Bi-Fold wall cabinets, Blum bespoke cutlery trays with their foil and cling film holders/cutters and, 6 base pull-outs. One of our trusted stone worktop fabricators, Sadik did a great job with all the quartz requirements for worktops, upstands, 1200 range cooker wall splashback, and with the very long island Sadik made the worktop joint line, run in the middle of the hob, and ending with the island ‘waterfall’ drop to the floor. A final cherry on the top of this project, well not cherry but two bold red extractors, which I sourced, which Mr and Mrs Patel loved to complete this impressive kitchen.

Review

I had big plans for a new kitchen but had major building, electrics and plumbing works to be done before any kitchen could be installed, I had been let down by builders and so our kitchen space was literally a building site. Despite this Keith travelled to our home to take a preliminary measure to provide designs and costing, he listened to all members of my family who were present on the day, gathering ideas of what we wanted from the new kitchen including, my own desire for gadgetry. Keith kindly supported me by sourcing all trades to complete the work ready for the new kitchen to be put into production. It was exciting waiting to receive the kitchen designs, Keith gave us ideas we had not even thought of, I’d already decided on a rich blue shade of kitchen door and Keith had provided us with a sample door but to cement my choice Keith accompanied me to his manufacturers showroom in Slough so that I could view a larger kitchen display. Keith sourced all the appliances I wanted and after I told him I wanted a brightly coloured feature to the kitchen found us a glorious bright red extractors.

Nothing was too much trouble for Keith nor Edmond the kitchen fitter whose carpentry skills included replacing all wood flooring to the lower floor. Rather than disposing of the old wood flooring I asked Keith whether it would be possible to retain the wood and use it to create a feature wall, Keith agreed that they would try it out on one wall, I loved it so much that I asked for this to be done to all lower back walls. This involved a lot of extra work for which I am thankful, it enhanced my already stunning kitchen. My thanks to Keith and Edmond for their hard work and dedication in bringing my family the kitchen we have longed for.

Sincerely

M. Patel

Richard

Pinner, Middlesex

Project Overview

Richard contacted me, after reading distressing stories and criticisms from on-line reviews, about other kitchen companies and salespeople.    Richard wanted to help his mother find a good person to design a kitchen at his mother’s property and at a fair price.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Gweneth wanted a modern look so opted for white gloss vinyl wrapped doors, this kept us in budget for the Lundhs blue polished granite worktops from Norway, and we fitted cream/grey marble floor tiles provided by Richard. Both Gweneth and Richard were so happy with the new kitchen, that I was asked to design, supply and fit a new bathroom for them.

Review

I resolved to help my elderly mother find a trustworthy and reliable company to install a new kitchen and bathroom at her home in Pinner. I was shocked to see such adverse criticisms on internet review sites of so many of the big name players and I began to despair at ever finding someone suitable. However, my on-line research eventually led me to Keith Laker who, upon speaking to him for the first time on the telephone, immediately impressed me with his courteousness, ease of manner, knowledge, determination to achieve value-for-money and “can-do” attitude. Keith and I arranged for him to visit us at my mother’s property where he was able to articulate his ideas further and show us samples of colour schemes, cabinetry, stone and tiles. He is able to design kitchens and bathrooms to almost any specification or budget and, after taking measurements and with an idea of what my mother wanted, he then produced some computer-aided designs which formed a basis from which she could work and tweak accordingly. Each time my mother wanted a change made, Keith would re-do the designs so that she could have an idea of what the work would look like upon completion. Nothing was too much trouble for him, and he was prepared to visit her as many times as required at his own expense. When commenced, the works themselves were major, of course, as both the kitchen and bathroom were stripped back to their original shells, but Keith was always available when required to act as a project-manager or sort out any issues. As said before, nothing was too much trouble for him, and all was completed successfully at a reasonable price. My mother is now delighted with her beautiful new kitchen and bathroom and we both would have no hesitation in recommending Keith to anyone undertaking a similar project.       

Kindest regards

Richard

Sharon & Richard

Southampton

Project Overview

Sharon and Richard wanted a wow factor kitchen but, were having difficulties getting kitchen companies to come out to them to design, as their house extension had not yet finished the full build, they only had Architects plans. I realise that any client planning to have their new kitchen in a new extension need to know an idea of price up front and I submitted my kitchen design and costing based on measurements from their Architect’s plans.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Dark gloss walnut grain, printed on vinyl wrapped doors, grey vinyl gloss doors, for all the tall houses and wall cabinets, with black glass on back wall, and cutouts for sockets, in addition two pop-up power plug socket towers, were cut out to fit in the white quartz worktops. Our London stone fabricators did an excellent job of ensuring that the quartz white stone worktops, had its joint line running through the middle of the hob, so it did not show a lot, to what it could have been with the joint line running, all of the 900mm depth.

Review

We are absolutely delighted with the kitchen that Keith created for us. Not only does it work functionally, but everybody that visits say how amazed they are by it, with comments like ‘best kitchen I’ve ever seen’. The reason we used Keith to create and deliver our kitchen is simple, we wanted a high-quality focal point kitchen. We had a view of the kind of design we wanted, but whenever we looked at standard kitchen ranges, we ended up with big compromises in either style or size or range (we liked various features of different ranges-not one ticked all the boxes)
Keith was able to keep our overall concept, add new ideas we hadn’t considered and critically design a bespoke kitchen that looked great, functioned brilliantly and used all the space available – including very awkward shapes and curves that we just couldn’t get from standard ranges. We expected to pay a premium over standard ranges, but that turned out not to be the case. Price was on a par, but quality and design was significantly higher.
From our experience, don’t assume that bespoke and beautiful costs more and don’t just accept the ranges you see in the shops, try Keith, we did and would again. We have already recommended him to family and friends, and I would recommend him to you.
Many Thanks
Richard & Sharon

Caity & Nick

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

I met up with Caity & Nick to have our first talks about the type of kitchen that they wanted for their new home. At that time, they were living in a nearby family property whilst, their new home had major building works taking place with a back house extension. The brief was to create for them a modern kitchen and ultimately achieve a wow factor, I produced my designs from measurements taken from their Architect’s drawings. Where possible, I try to provide more than one design for clients to consider, giving them an alternative choice, perhaps an idea/feature they had not thought of. I conveyed to Caity and Nick that one of my designs would be the ‘wild card’, where I would design the kitchen, if I was living here, and would include some curved cabinets, Caity and Nick both laughed responding that they didn’t like curves but, looked forward to receiving my designs. Once Caity and Nick saw my wild card design, they fell in love with it and, the go ahead was given to our cabinet makers in Northern Ireland to commence building their kitchen. I also phoned Caity about design choices during the fit, which being a Doctor, Caity had a patient in her surgery, I told her what my choice would be, and said ‘trust me I’m a designer’ When Caity came back home, she told me she laughed so much in front of her patient, and also told her patient what I had just said to her, and why she couldn’t stop laughing.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Solid wood painted shaker doors in colour choice ‘Daker’, this is a popular paint shade described by some as green and by others as grey. White seamless worktops were chosen so that no worktop joint lines were visible. The standout feature and, what made Caity and Nick choose this design was the stunning 1200 by 1200mm concave and convex free standing island. Edmond was the fitter on this project, completing installation to both the kitchen and utility room as well as all wood flooring on all the ground floor level, As on all installations I visited site at key stages to project manage. I am honoured to have received multiple recommendations from Nick over several years.

Debbie & Ian

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

Ian called me requesting a home design visit after receiving a recommendation from my clients Nick & Caity. Ian works in the field of design so had his own ideas of how he wanted the new kitchen to look with I add, some input from his wife Debbie. However, Ian wanted my advice on anything that I could see working better and to discuss door colours etc.

Before

After

Materials & Style

White painted solid wood shaker doors were selected accompanied by solid oak worktops which were sourced locally, the kitchen was installed by Cesar. Debbie and Ian were extremely happy with their new kitchen and in April of this year 2024, Ian called me to request I design a kitchen for his rental property once tenants have moved out later this year. Again Ian has his own design ideas but values my collaboration in achieving the best design features.

Jan

Newforest, Hampshire

Project Overview

Jan made contact with me, after receiving a recommendation of my work, the brief was for a modern look kitchen and Jan ultimately wanted me to bring some magic to the kitchen as her existing one was just not working for her. Jan informed me that she had arranged for a local kitchen fitter to install the kitchen, so my job was design and supply.

Before

After

Materials & Style

Jan selected white gloss painted doors with J-Profile finger groove to provide a modern handleless streamline look. We used grey mirror quartz stone worktops as well as matching up-stands and hob wall splashback, these were supplied and fitted by our London fabricators, Jan had a grey Flotex carpet fitted to the floor area. Despite not responsible for this kitchen installation, I did visit mid-week to offer my advice on some questions the kitchen fitter had. Sometime later Jan telephoned me to say that sadly, due to a work promotion she was having to relocate and leave her beautiful kitchen. Jan wanted me to know however that, as soon as she had put her house up for sale it had been snapped up by a woman who had chosen it purely because she’d fallen in love with the kitchen. It is receiving reactions such as this, that makes me continue to love the job I do.

Kevin

Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire

Project Overview

Kevin made contact with me after receiving bad service from a local kitchen showroom. I was asked to carry out a home design visit and Kevin explained that his wife wanted a ‘cottage style’ kitchen look.                                                                   

Before

After

Materials & Style

To create the cottage style kitchen we opted for farmhouse doors and a Belfast Ceramic sink and bridge tap. Black mirror quartz was used for worktops, upstands and oven splashback to give a modern element, 600x600mm light grey gloss floor tiles were chosen for the flooring. Pat fitted this kitchen and tiled flooring assisted by his brother. Kevin kept all his own appliances, but we did buy in the sink and taps and built in wall cabinet microwave to save on worktop space.                                         

Margaret & George

Rugby, Warwickshire

Project Overview

One of my Berkhamsted clients, asked me if I could help his mum & dad who were looking to buy a new kitchen. The couple lived in Rugby outside, my usual travelling distance for work but, I knew how much Margaret and George had loved their son’s & his wife’s new kitchen and I wanted to replicate the same reaction for them. Following a home design visit I submitted designs, the kitchen was small but in one design I had included two 1200x1200mm concave base units, as Margaret told me that she loved curved kitchens, I told Margaret I was unsure, with the size of her kitchen, but would try. Once Margaret saw this design, she told me that she had to have it.                                                               

Before

After

Materials & Style

Margaret & George were of the same mindset, wanting to have base unit doors and wall unit doors in 2 separate colours. Margaret chose the base shaker doors to be painted in a cream shade with a hint of pink, George with his love of natural wood, chose the doors for the wall cabinets, and selected croft washed solid oak shaker doors. White quartz with a light brown fleck within it, for a nod to the wood, which was templated, supplied and fitted by our London fabricators to worktops, upstands, hob wall splashback and windowsill. The latter feature looked great, as the windowsill being low lined up in parity with the height of the base cabinets of 870mm, the worktop was cut deeper to run into the window/worktop as one piece. George found a great deal on some carved wood and planned to use this for walk through door framing which he intended to do himself at a later date. Edmond carried out this kitchen installation and also fitted a utility room for my clients.                                 

Nina

Bushey, Hertfordhire

Project Overview

Nina contacted me requesting a home design visit. Nina informed me that she had already got a bathroom company in to create a downstairs bathroom, but this would take away part of her kitchen space, and with the only one door that was access into her kitchen, will now be the door for access into her new bathroom. We were given the job of taking the old kitchen window out, as this would be the entrance to the kitchen. I suggested to Nina to have a Velux window in the roof, this would flood her new kitchen with natural light, and enhance the space available.                                                           

Before

After

Materials & Style

Traditional Shaker doors painted in Willow Green and Nina’s must have wall plate rack cabinet and, solid oak worktops. With space at a premium, I designed to house in one tall cabinet, the oven, microwave, warming drawer and a plinth heater. Nina absolutely loved her new kitchen, and in my design, with the window coming out, I took the kitchen cabinets out of her kitchen, and into the existing conservatory, with using two 300mm by 300mm curved cabinets. Nina’s daughter had visited soon after completion of the kitchen fit, and couldn’t believe what I had designed, as the daughter had the same setup, with having her old kitchen window taken out, and also had a conservatory running side by side with her kitchen, and told her mother, she wished she had me design her kitchen, because her kitchen designer, had not curved her kitchen out, in to her conservatory, and loved what I designed for her mother.

Patricia

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Project Overview

Penny, a friend of mine asked if I could help her 96 year old mother who wanted a new kitchen. During my home design visit with Patricia, she described how her family thought that she was mad buying a new kitchen at her age, and they were likely worried that the kitchen would be expensive and cut into their inheritance. Patricia assured Penny that she wasn’t mad, and a new kitchen would make it easier to sell her house when the time came. Dying is not a typical subject raised when I’m discussing someone’s kitchen design, but Patricia brought humour to this project, and was looking forward to using her new kitchen, for many years to come. The brief, Patricia wanted a traditional look kitchen but requested laminate worktops, as her big spend was going to be on Miele appliances, and the kitchen cost without appliances must not exceed £10,000.                                                        

Before

After

Materials & Style

Ivory painted on solid wood doors for both base and wall cabinets, laminate worktops with Flotex waterproof carpet fitted to the kitchen floor. Edmond fitted out this kitchen including fitting new ceiling boards, plastering and painting all walls in Apple Green. Also added new LED downlights and fitted a corner base cabinet pullout. Patricia was able to stay with her daughter for the duration of the project, giving us the opportunity to work later in the day to complete the job ahead of schedule. I sincerely hope that Patricia has many more years to enjoy her kitchen.

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