Kitchen trend: curves

AN EGG-SHAPED ISLAND AND SHAPELY FLOATING CABINETRY GIVE ENTREPRENEUR MEG MATHEWS’ KITCHEN AN ETHEREAL EDGE

A year after Meg Mathews bought her Primrose Hill home in 2010, the ground floor was devastated by an electrical fire.

‘I was going to renovate anyway but it certainly focused my attentions,’ says the former music PR turned entrepreneur. ‘I lost a lot of art, including work by Banksy. It was hard, especially for my daughter Anaïs who was only 12 at the time, but I realised we had too much stuff. We decided to reframe the experience as an opportunity to be more minimalist.’

Out of the ashes also came a new open-plan lifestyle, thanks to the removal of the wall between kitchen and living/dining room. ‘I went for the biggest glass doors and windows possible and the light is now beautiful,’ says Meg. The units were inspired by her love of curves. ‘I wanted them to appear to float and for everything to feel free-flowing, including the spiral staircase.’

Working with interior designer Sean Cochrane, Meg came up with the ovoid island, which was made from steam-bent wood finished in lacquer. Topped in chunky Corian, the softly tapered shape mimics an ostrich egg, says Meg. ‘Corian is a massive favourite of mine,’ she adds. ‘You can bend it, do anything with it.’

The two sinks were a happy accident. ‘The fabricators put in the round one, but it was hopelessly small for cooking, so I asked them to add a bigger one,’ says Meg. ‘Now the small one is for hand-washing and it’s actually brilliant, so practical.’

A world away from her party-loving past when married to Oasis star Noel Gallagher, Meg, a vegan, is now more likely to be found whipping up fresh salads in her kitchen. ‘I like to sit at the island holding court when friends come round, and it’s also the base for my menopause campaign,’ she says. When her website megsmenopause.com was launched last February, Meg decided to paint the walls and ceiling in Little Greene’s Confetti. ‘It’s a stunning pink that changes with the light,’ she says. ‘I love it and it’s great on skin tone. Everyone looks so healthy in here now.’