‘Love at first sight,’ is how Julia described her and husband Ray’s first viewing of the spacious Victorian-Edwardian house that they now call home.
With its large rooms, plentiful windows and tall ceilings, the property had good bones, plus the previous owners had extensively remodelled to create a layout that worked for 21st-century living. In spite of this, the rear of the house – specifically the kitchen – needed attention.
‘The kitchen was about 30 years old and feeling its age,’ explains Julia. ‘It also led onto a small and draughty conservatory, which provided space for a dining table but also zapped warmth from the entire downstairs.’
Knocking down the conservatory
There was no question that the conservatory had to go, but Julia and Ray didn’t want a straight replacement.
‘We were looking for something that still brought the outside in, without feeling like it had just been stuck on the back of the house.’
After chatting through ideas with architect Jonathon Williams from Sketch Proposal, the couple opted to extend the kitchen, adding bifold doors and a ceiling lantern to bring the bright and open feeling of the conservatory, without the previous compromises.
This was easier said than done. ‘We spoke to lots of builders, and always had an issue, whether it was radio silence, massive estimates, or just not fully trusting them. Trust is so important when hiring a builder, because you are giving them your home,’ says Julia.
Finding Phil Ovenden at Dovecote Homes was a godsend: ‘We had got to the point where we were considering not doing the build because we couldn’t find anyone to do it.’
Creating an open-plan layout
Extending the space also meant a new open-plan layout. ‘We’ve ended up with three kitchens in one,’ explains Julia. ‘You’ve got the green area, which is the main cooking and social space; then you’ve got the cream cabinetry, which houses the coffee station and the pantry storage, and then the dining area with the red run of cabinetry that doubles as a server.’
While the extension and open floor plan sought to modernise the kitchen, Julia and Ray also wanted to keep the feel of the space firmly planted in traditional kitchen design. ‘We started by looking at original Victorian and Edwardian kitchens to see what elements we could incorporate into our space,’ says Julia.
Lanhydrock House, visited many years ago on a family holiday, provided a particular spark of inspiration. ‘We loved the large prep table and how it created a central point in the large room,’ says Julia.
Historically-inspired design
Originally, the pair considered a traditional dairy table-style island, but that would have compromised kitchen storage. ‘We loved the characterful look the tables had, but they just didn’t feel functional for our busy family,’ says Julia. However, they still wanted to find that perfect piece that felt historically inspired and brought a sense of uniqueness and personality to the space. A French-style oak bar, custom-built by The White Kitchen Company and inspired by the piece in Lanhydrock, with its curved edges and marble-look quartz top, proved the perfect solution.
‘It looks as though it has always been there,’ says Julia. ‘We love how the curved island feels like a piece of free-standing furniture but still has plenty of storage. It’s the perfect centrepiece and people naturally gravitate towards it when they enter the room.’
The kitchen’s colour palette also nodded to history. The red of the server is drawn from the classic Victorian tiles in the hallway, and the sage-toned green honours the link with the outside that Julia longed for, also taken from a heritage palette.
For similar colours, try Lick’s Green 02, available at B&Q paired with Dulux’s Heritage Pugin Red Velvet, also from B&Q.
Sourcing the splashback
The tiled splashback, another love at first sight choice, was more of a challenge than first anticipated. ‘We ordered the tiles months before we needed them, but were told that Mandarin Stone had discontinued them,’ says Julia. All was not lost, though, as Sue Bell at Mandarin Stone called up every shop requesting their samples and leftover stock, managing to gather enough tiles for Julia and Ray to create their dream splashback.
Perfect finish
The finished kitchen is truly timeless, perfectly bridging the traditional feel of the property with modern life.
‘I remember sitting in the old kitchen with Ray and deliberating whether to do the renovation or not, and my parents turned around and said, “Do it! It will change your life”, and it really has,’ says Julia. ‘We wanted to create a kitchen that was in keeping with the house and that hopefully, in 20 years, it’ll just be a case of repainting the cabinetry and maybe replacing the worktops. We’re so privileged to have been able to do the renovation and to have such a lovely space to work with.’
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