‘Wren Kitchens gave us the confidence to go for something a bit different’
Rachel and James thought they knew exactly how they wanted their new kitchen to look until they visited Wren where the designs were better than they’d imagined…
‘When I saw the island in Blueberry Matt, I knew that’s what I wanted’
When Rachel and her husband, James, moved into their Victorian house in 2019, renovating the kitchen was one of the first things they planned to do. As a lover of interiors, it was usually Rachel who made the home décor decisions. However, preoccupied with their new-born baby and with a business to keep up and running through Covid, it fell to James to take the lead with the much-needed kitchen makeover.
Thankfully, James had plenty of expert help. From his first call with Wren, he was immediately impressed by how helpful the design team were. The couple had visited other kitchen companies, but thanks to how the team guided him through the steps, James only felt secure with Wren.
FAMILY DAY OUT
With their new-born daughter, Elsie, and family dog in tow, Rachel and James decided to visit their local Wren showroom in North Shields. ‘It was a really lovely experience,’ Rachel remembers.
To tie in with the character of their Victorian home, the couple wanted a traditional style kitchen but with a modern twist. They had planned to go for a dark design but, after seeing the array of options on offer they changed their minds. ‘Flexibility with colours was a big thing for me,’ Rachel explains.
‘I was tired of seeing kitchens in the same colours, so it was important to be able to have a wide range of choice. I wanted an interesting colour on the island and when I saw the Blueberry Matt, I knew that’s what I wanted.’
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
The architects who originally planned the couple’s kitchen only provisioned a bar, but Rachel really wanted an island so she was delighted when Stephanie, their Wren designer, said it could be incorporated into the design. Stephanie also helped them to figure out the layout of the space, configure the cupboards and suggested features the couple hadn’t considered before that would be useful to the family. Other must-haves included a large fridge-freezer and a wine cooler. ‘It’s a nice addition to the space,’ says Rachel.
Keen to keep things as simple and fuss-free as possible, the couple bought all their kitchen appliances from Wren, something they would recommend to other customers. ‘Wren price-matched all the appliances, so we got the best deals,’ Rachel explains.
To visualise how the finished kitchen would look, Rachel and James took advantage of the 3D renders on offer. It allowed them to make adjustments to the kitchen design and add any features they felt were missing, like a spice rack. ‘James loved playing around with the design,’ Rachel says.
BRINGING IT HOME
Getting the kitchen delivered was just as straightforward as the rest of their Wren experience, with everything arriving on time. ‘It was a very smooth process overall,’ says Rachel. One of the couple’s favourite features is the ceramic Skye sink, as well as the luxurious Calacatta Cloud Matt worktop. ‘It has a really lovely texture, and it has the nicest marble aesthetic,’ she says.
As well as being a stylish space for entertaining, the new-look kitchen is perfect for day-to-day life for the family of three; with
plenty of storage space making it easier to keep the space looking neat and tidy.
The kitchen is now the hub of the home and Elsie, now aged two-and-a-half, absolutely loves to join her mum and dad for mealtimes at the kitchen island. With the stunning transformation complete, the couple can’t believe how simple it was to turn their kitchen dreams into a reality. ‘It was such an easy process with Wren,’ says Rachel.