‘WE’VE MADE IT LIGHT & BRIGHT’
Karen’s statement floor takes pride of place in her now-spacious kitchen
The kitchen was a warren of rooms: a study, a kitchen with no sink, a utility room and a gardener’s loo and coal store,’ recalls Karen. ‘The previous owners had kept the house in the family since the day it was built in the 1900s and had done nothing to modernise it, so it badly needed updating.
We kept the utility room, as we knew it would be useful, and knocked down all the other walls to create a large openplan room. We added a narrow extension across the whole width of the new room to create a better-proportioned space, with a wall of glass to connect the house to the garden. The extension also allowed us to include some roof lights.
I knew I wanted aluminium bifold doors. The room faces south and on a sunny day I wanted to be able to throw them open. Aluminium is costly; we could have chosen UPVC or wood, but wooden bifold doors are less stable and we felt that in a period property, UPVC would not have done the house justice.
Budget flexibility
We were willing to spend a bit as the room was going to be a family room as well as a kitchen. We wanted it to be contemporary but also homely. We chose Waverley Kitchens who I have worked with many times as an architect. I love their aesthetic; they make bespoke cabinetry solutions in plywood and they offer tremendous flexibility in price. We did run over a little and in the end did not have quite enough for the log burner that we had planned to put in the low-shelved recess beside the craft desk. That will have to wait a few years.
No disasters
To be fair, we are both architects and very experienced at project management, so disasters were not part of the plan! We
had the plans in for council approval before we even moved in. My uncle is a builder and my dad is a retired builder, so we overcame any challenges pretty easily.
Bargain buys
The lighting was a real bargain. Scott was very particular about this very important, but often ignored, design element, and he found the zingy citrus pendant light trio and wall light to match at very reasonable prices. The retro-style bar stools were a good find on ebay. For the flooring I was inspired by Moroccan tiles, but felt they were a bit cold underfoot. Vinyl tiles were another option, but I worried that they might be hard to keep clean, so I was delighted to discover this beautiful, patterned sheet vinyl flooring. It ticked every box.
Lessons learned
As an architect I am learning all the time. New products and materials are coming out constantly, so there is a lot to keep up with. We had to extend and update the heating system for this project, and it was trickier than I had expected. Maybe learning how to cope living in a building site with a young family was the biggest lesson though!
Pleasing results
We love it; we are both so contented here and often comment on this. We designed this kitchen for the needs of our family. We both love to cook, and our kitchen has become the heart of our home. The children do their homework in here and our daughter does artwork at the desk. It is open to the garden and we are enjoying working on that as well.’
‘VINYL FLOORING HAS HAD A RESURGENCE–S’ THERE ARE SO MANY IMAGINATIVE DESIGN