‘Bring on the Beverly Hills BLING!’
Vibrant colours, gold accents and a smidge of neon has turned Natalie’s kitchen into a superb five-star space
‘Add a twist to a foliage wall with a custom neon light’
After living with magnolia walls in a rented flat, we couldn’t wait to buy our first place and get creative,’ says Natalie. ‘Although the living room was our first priority, I was dying to rip out the boring white kitchen units as they didn’t fit our colourful style at all.
Layout rejig
With a long run of units along one side, plus a big fridge freezer at the end, there was precious little space for a dining area. I’d had five years to plan in my head what I wanted. My dad, who’s a joiner, recommended Howdens who drew up a proper plan based on my ideas. By moving the fridge freezer to the other end of the room and shortening the run of units, we freed up space for a round dining table that could seat four. A new integral washing machine was installed in the same spot as the previous freestanding model and we didn’t bother with a dishwasher as the old one rarely got used.
Choosing the style
It might sound cheesy but my inspiration was the Beverly Hills Hotel, as I love that combo of tropical pink and palm prints. Originally I wanted black cupboards with green terrazzo flooring but Howdens only did a charcoal kitchen. Instead I opted for dark green cabinets teamed with pink terrazzo floor tiles. Choosing the tiles took ages – I had about 45 samples at one point! In the end I chose gorgeous tiles from Mandarin Stone but combined them with cheaper wall tiles from Wickes so the budget didn’t get out of hand. As I’m not keen on matt black or silver, I chose brushed gold for the tap, handles and lights.
Hard work
When the cupboards were ripped out, we discovered several leaks and the room needed rewiring and replastering. Luckily