‘WE WANTED A SOCIABLE SPACE FOR ENTERTAINING’ Enlarging a tiny kitchen has allowed for a relaxed dining area
Enlarging a tiny kitchen has resulted in the creation of a relaxed dining area, where one couple can enjoy spending time with friends
Simon Baker, a theatre sound designer, and his wife Emma, a theatre director, live in a threestorey, four-bedroom, Victorian end-of-terrace in Bristol. They wanted to create a large, sociable cooking and eating space
Describe the old kitchen to us…
It was an L-shaped galley kitchen. Most of it projected into the garden by 2.4 metres in a single-storey extension – it was so small that you could just about fit in a two-seater table. The working area of the kitchen was set further back in the house. It looked as if different eras of Ikea cabinetry had been installed and then undergone a lot of wear and tear, which isn’t unusual for a busy family home but they needed it all replacing.
What was the main problem?
Lack of space – wherever we were, there just wasn’t enough room. The rest of the ground floor was one big open area comprising a sitting room and a dining room that had been knocked together.
How did you plan to solve this issue?
Our first step was to employ architect Federica Vasetti of DHVA for advice. When we’d first arrived in Bristol we’d bought her old house. We’d loved it straight away, as she’d reconfigured its interior and created so much extra space in the process. We felt confident that she would design a better layout for us. She advised us on how to rework the ground floor and add a tiny kitchen extension. Planning permission was granted within eight weeks and then the building work began.
You wasted no time getting started…
No. First, our builder Neil Bridle and his team demolished the
original kitchen extension and then completely rebuilt it to span the width of the house at the back, effectively squaring off the projection. This meant we gained an extra four square metres, which, although it might not sound much, made a huge difference to us. It means we now have enough space in the new kitchen to have a full-size table where we can comfortably seat six – especially as Federica designed a bay window with bifold windows that include a space-saving built-in bench. This doubles as part of the seating for our new dining table, so we only need a single row of chairs.
What happened next?
The original kitchen – the part that hadn’t been demolished – was gutted, rewired and partly replastered. Fortunately, the replumbing was fairly minimal because the new sink and dishwasher are in the same positions as the old ones. But we did have to take the drains through to the new utility room, which had been created from part of the old dining room. A small RSJ (rolled-steel joist) was put in above the new bifold windows and door, and a new suspended timber floor, with insulation between the joists to reduce heat loss, replaced the old floor. We laid Marmoleum above it, replacing the existing laminate flooring. The building work took four months.
Your favourite finishing touches?
It has to be the Imperial Yellow Corian for the island worktop, which has become the focus of the room. I love a big, vibrant splash of colour, but just before buying it I lost my nerve and chose wooden worktops instead. I still have them – they’ve just not been fitted, as I decided I did want the yellow Corian after all! We used white Corian for the run of units along the wall so as not to overwhelm the space. The cabinetry is from John Lewis & Partners, and I installed it in exactly the same place as the previous cabinetry had been to take advantage of the existing plumbing. I love spending time in here now, sitting in the bay window with a cup of coffee and looking out onto our tiny courtyard garden.
‘That extra four square metres may not sound a lot, but it’s made such a difference to how we live. Now we have a dining table that can seat six people easily’