‘THERE’S LOTS OF SPACE FOR EVERYONE’ Opening up the ground floor of a 1970s house has created a sociable space
Opening up the ground floor of a 1970s house has made it a much more sociable area
Louise Morgan, a writing trainer and editor, lives with her husband Charlie, a civil servant, and three sons. They have reconfigured their 1970s house in Kent to create a spacious kitchen/living area
Tell us what the kitchen was like when you moved in…
Along with the rest of the house, it was very tired and dated. We’d chosen this property because of its convenient location and the fact that it had so much floor space. We knew we could change it to suit our own style, with the kitchen as the absolute heart of the home, but this also meant it was the room we needed to think most about! What did you do first?
Getting the downstairs space right was the starting point, and we decided to completely reconfigure the layout. We intended to make the kitchen much bigger, so we took some space from the sitting room next to it. Then we turned the garage into a games room, and connected this to the kitchen with a newly built utility room and separate loo. The rest of the downstairs has been arranged so there’s also a snug, study and cloakroom.
How did you plan the kitchen layout?
Very carefully! After a Christmas in the old kitchen with the whole family, one area had became known as ‘the corner of doom’. This was where the kettle, the bin, the sink and cupboards were situated, which meant we were all constantly on top of each other. That really gave us the impetus to ensure the layout worked for us, was safe for the boys and easy to navigate. We took a long time drawing it out, but we were only able to get so far without professional guidance. How did you decide on the style?
I got lots of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, and from visiting friends with great kitchens. However, while I’ve always been drawn to very clean, white designs, I began to think that it would date quickly if it was too modern, so I veered towards a modern Shaker style that would work with the house instead. Budget was really important but, by this time, I’d realised that if we bought a cheaper off-the-peg kitchen, we wouldn’t be able to have exactly what we wanted, so we decided to go the bespoke route. I went to see about six companies, but when I visited a friend who had a kitchen designed by Traditional Bespoke Furniture (TBF), I really loved it and was confident I’d found the right designer.
Was it easy to convey what you wanted?
Yes, TBF’s joint owner Chris understood us from the start. He was really enthusiastic about our ideas and came up with things we hadn’t even considered. For instance, I had wanted a built-in window seat with drawers underneath: other companies had told me it was something we could consider later, but Chris thought it was a wonderful plan and suggested lowering it slightly so that we could enjoy a full view of the garden. He built cupboards on either side to act as ‘bookends’ designed for specific use: one is a drinks cabinet,
and also used for glasses, tablemats and tablecloths, along with a charging drawer for devices; the other holds all my baking equipment and ingredients, and also serves as a station for the toaster and coffee machine. I’d also seen an island design on Pinterest which I thought was great, with a raised bar for people to perch on one side, and the hob on the other. We decided the bar should be constructed in oak – I wanted to incorporate some wood in the kitchen to complement the wooden floor we’d chosen. TBF subtly stained and varnished it to make it stain-proof – even though the boys are always leaving cups on it, they never leave marks!
Were there any major issues to consider?
We were a bit worried about the installation of the Neff hob.
I didn’t want the usual overhead extractor, but this downdraft one is so clever. It sucks air down through the middle of the hob, travels down through the floor and out into the garden (the drawer beneath the hob is a dummy – inside is the appliance). Chris had never installed one before, but it all went in smoothly and it works brilliantly. I also gave a lot of thought to the oven. The house gets very hot, so I decided against an Aga, and I didn’t want the inconvenience of cleaning a large range oven. This one by Neff is fantastic – it’s pyrolytic, so cleans itself in two hours. It’s also really practical, being at eye-level with doors that slide back, so it’s easy to take things in and out of the oven.
Tell us about the decorative finish
I wanted it to feel fresh and clean, but not bland. The combination of blues and greys against the white countertops and wooden floor feels so harmonious, and the back wall of the dining space – painted a very deep blue – looks effective and adds a bit of punch. It’s an excellent backdrop for my collection of maps, which shows places where we’ve lived abroad. It’s lovely to have first visualised how the room would eventually look and see it all come to fruition.
What do you love most about the room?
There’s space for everyone and for everyone’s interests. For instance, I love baking, so it was important to build in plenty of easily accessible storage for all my cookware and so on, not least because I don’t like things cluttering up the kitchen – I want a clean island! This is also a great place for the boys to hang out, aside from their den. We keep stuff such as their art materials in the drawers under the window seat, which makes it all quickly accessible, but still keeps things tidy. The room is also a great place to entertain and never feels overcrowded: last Christmas we had four families including 13 children here, and there was room for everyone with food laid out on the island. There’s certainly not a ‘corner of doom’ any more!
‘There’s space for everyone and for everyone’s interests. It’s also a great place for the boys to hang out – we can keep their art materials in the drawers under the window seat, which makes it all quickly accessible and keeps things tidy, too’