‘Wren Kitchens brought our dream space to life’
Nine years after buying their home, Olga and oan knew how they wanted their family kitchen to look, but it wasn’t until they visited Wren that their vision became a reality
When Olga and her husband, oan, bought their home in 2012, it was clear the house needed a lot of work, but the couple could see it had plenty of potential. Rather than tackling the renovation bit by bit, they decided to wait until they could renovate and extend their home all at once. In 2021, renovations finally got underway, with the couple and their children, 10-year-old David and eight-year-old Evelyna, continuing to live in the house throughout the process. ‘We managed to go through it all without getting a divorcefl’ laughs Olga.
First on the to-do list was the kitchen. Living a 15-minute drive from the Wren showroom in Romford, Olga had often admired the kitchen displays in the window. ‘I was always curious,’ she explains, ‘and I convinced my husband to stop by as I liked what I saw in the window.’
MAKING IT A REALITY
With a clear view of the kind of kitchen she wanted – ‘modern but with traditional elements; a transitional design’ – Olga met with Wren designer, Shanyda, to help bring her vision to life. ‘Shanyda was very helpful,’ says Olga, ‘she gave us lots of ideas and solutions.’ Wanting a practical but stylish design, Olga picked out white units offset with black accents, including the Samsung American-style fridge-freezer, plus marble-effect Quartz Treviso worktops that match the wall tiles and wooden floors.
‘I love the colour contrast between the white kitchen and the black fridge,’ says Olga. ‘It looks very modern and sleek.’ Along with Shanyda’s expert advice, Olga says using 3D renders to see how their kitchen would look proved particularly useful. ‘ They helped reassure us that everything was as we’d pictured in our minds.’ In fact, after seeing the 3D renders, the couple changed part of the original design. Initially planning an L-shaped space, they thought it looked too crowded when they saw it on screen, so they decided to switch to a more simple layout.
The couple loved just how interactive the whole experience with Wren was and enjoyed being involved with the process from start to finish – oan even installed the kitchen himself. ‘It took him two-to-three days to install,’ Olga explains. ‘ Wren’s instructions were very clear, so he didn’t have any issues.’
FAVOURITE FEATURES
To keep things as straightforward as possible, the couple were pleased to discover that they could buy all their kitchen appliances directly from Wren. Olga particularly likes the built-in oven and microwave: ‘It’s very easy to keep clean and it also saves worktop space’ she says, while the pull-out pantry tower makes day-to-day tasks that little bit easier. ‘You can just pull it out and find whatever it is you’re looking for straight away.’
SOCIABLE SPACE
The whole family love the new space. As the main cook in the house, Olga is delighted with how much room she has for food prep and storage, while the hub of the home is now the spacious island. ‘When David and Evelyna come back from school, they love to sit there and tell me stories about their day,’ says Olga.
As hoped, the kitchen really comes into its own when entertaining guests and, thanks to the new sociable layout, hosting has become a real family affair. ‘While I cook, oan takes on the role of bartender. We even have matching aprons,’ says Olga. ‘Our daughter likes to set the table and our son pretends to be the waiter – he even puts a towel around his arm’
With the beautiful kitchen transformation now complete, the couple are thrilled with how their new space has turned out. ‘I am really pleased with the design and the overall process,’ says Olga. ‘I always recommend Wren to my friends as the quality is great.’