‘We wouldn’t change a single thing about it’

By extending and rethinking their storage, Rachel and Ed have created a timeless, tidy and flexible space

Rachel Silver and her husband Ed Alves had lived in their Victorian house in North London for a long time before extending their kitchen into the side return to create a multi-purpose, all-in-one room. ‘We moved in during 2005 and were reasonably happy with the kitchen. But spending so much time in it during lockdown made us realise we needed something a little bigger with more storage,’ says Rachel. ‘We wanted a proper place for entertaining and the side return had always been dead space that attracted clutter.’

The extension was built by Plus Rooms, a family-run company that specialises in residential improvements, and incorporates full-height doors, a matching window, skylights and a central island. Ed, a furniture designer, made and fitted all the storage. These include shelves on both sides of the island, open shelving above the sink and a reading nook with a semiconcealed cat flap below the window.

‘I thought about the room for a long time and asked loads of people how they used storage in their kitchens,’ explains

Ed. ‘For example, rather than cupboards, I included big drawers because, even though the runners take up room, they provide much more usable storage space.’

Ed crafted the cabinets from birch ply, and painted them a grey-blue shade that matches the alcove units he’d built in the adjoining living room. ‘Originally, I fitted Victorian-style cupboards in keeping with the age of the house, but later I added more modern elements so that they didn’t feel as heavy,’ he says. The new shelves, which are divided vertically, are fixed at different heights to suit their differing contents. There’s a drawer cabinet, used for DVDs, and the TV is discreetly housed above the unit on the right, both of which float above the floor to create the illusion of space.

The extension, complete with bespoke storage, is so well designed that the couple wouldn’t do anything differently. ‘It’s really opened the house up, is brilliant for entertaining and everything has a place,’ says Rachel. ‘I love the shelving with the books and plants under the window. I thought our cat would want to lie on top of it in the sunshine, but he prefers the rocking chair instead!’

Ed fitted galley-style units along one wall in the kitchen, and built copious amounts of storage into the island for easy-to-access recipe books and crockery

Birch ply shelving and blue-lacquered cabinets bring a modern touch to the period living room, which is a couple of steps away from the new-look kitchen The couple lived with their previous kitchen for a long time before upgrading it. Extending sideways means they haven’t encroached into the garden.

Rachel knew exactly what she wanted in her new kitchen, but left all the design aspects to Ed