Problem room: ‘I gave my kitchen a revamp after a botched extension’
When her extension didn’t go to plan, Kirsty Wilson made the best of her existing kitchen on a budget, injecting colour and period details
Kirsty Wilson made the most of her existing kitchen on a budget
It had taken Kirsty two years to find this house, and she’d made offers on nine properties before getting this one, so nothing was going to deter her from moving forward – not even a near-death experience. ‘I contracted a life-threatening disease while filming in Costa Rica and was in hospital for months,’ Kirsty explains. ‘I completed on the house while I was still in hospital. When I moved in, I used a wheelchair and was learning how to walk again.’
As soon as Kirsty received the keys, she enlisted a team of builders and started making changes. However, things didn’t go to plan. The builders constructed an extension that wasn’t attached to the house and falsified the building documents. ‘The render they applied to the house also turned green and they eventually walked out on the job, but then came back the week after and stole £10,000 worth of materials,’ says Kirsty. With most of her savings gone, her plans for the kitchen needed a major rethink.
Kirsty’s kitchen was a neutral canvas that was fortunately in good condition, and she knew she’d have to do her best with what she had. ‘I had wanted to extend the kitchen and use rustic natural wood and install Crittall windows,’ says Kirsty. ‘After everything that had happened, I decided not to spend too much on the space as I’m going to rip it all out eventually. In lockdown I worked on my utility, which turned out really well. The reaction from people who saw the
transformation spurred me on, so I thought why not put some love into the kitchen as I don’t know how long I’ll have to live with it.’
The spacious kitchen has an open-plan layout, which includes a diner and lounge area, and there are two sets of bi-fold doors that let in lots of light. ‘When I moved in the walls were all white, so were the units and tiles, and I struggled to think of how I could make it homely. It lacked personality and didn’t reflect the period of the property,’ she explains. ‘I started by sanding and repainting all the units in Little Greene’s Basalt. I chose to use dark blue as it felt more like a warmer period colour. The addition of brass handles give the units more dimension as they were contemporary and handleless before.’
To break up the large expanse of white floor, Kirsty found a rug company based in Israel that makes heritage-style rugs in vinyl. ‘I wasn’t sure how it would look at first, but it’s actually brought in warmth and is very practical as we’re always spilling things on the floor and I have two dogs,’ she explains.
To break up the neutral décor further she found a family-run business to create the open scaffold shelving. ‘The shelves provide a great focal point but are also practical as we keep our pretty and most-used items there. To make the space feel more lived-in I’ve added faux plants and trees,’ says Kirsty.
There was so much brown in the house, including the bi-folds, ‘which were an awful orange-brown,’ Kirsty says, ‘but they’re a great feature and let loads of light in. I eventually want Crittall, so I thought, let me give it a go and try to transform them myself. I sanded the doors and then applied Little Greene’s Jack Black interior paint to them. In the middle I’ve used tape to get the Crittall effect. I then painted the rest of the interior doors to match.’ Now, despite the hiccups along the way, Kirsty’s kitchen has the homely, period feel she wanted.