A couple of weeks ago I mentioned briefly that we’re about to give our kitchen a makeover, so today I want to share more about our plans and the thinking behind them.
We inherited our current kitchen when we bought the house in 2014, and apart from adding a row of pendant lights and some open shelving, we haven’t done anything else to it since we moved in. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, as you can see in the ‘before’ photos below, but it’s not what we’d have chosen ourselves and we can’t wait to create a scheme that’s a better reflection of us and the way we live. However, we do have a couple of big constraints. The first is the size: it’s a narrow galley-style space that’s bisected by a section of wall, and we’re not in a position to undertake any structural works to open it up. The second is our budget, which is fairly tight: around £2,000 for the whole project, including all materials and labour costs.
Luckily, it’s possible to transform a kitchen without having to rip everything out and start again from scratch. And, after almost five years in the house, we have a good idea about which aspects of the current design work well for us and which don’t, so we know exactly where to focus our attention.
Things we like…
- The layout – it works well, and there’s no other sensible way of arranging things in such a narrow space
- The lack of wall cabinets – it makes the kitchen feel airier and larger than it actually is
- The open shelves – they add a bit of extra storage and allow us to display a few favourite ceramics
- The hanging rail – again, it adds storage, and it means we can keep utensils within close reach of the hob and sink
- The row of pendant lights over one worktop – they create a focal point without encroaching on space, and they’re on dimmer switches so we can easily alter the mood of the kitchen
- The appliances – as much as we’d love integrated ones, they’re all fairly new and still work well
Things we don’t like…
- The high-gloss cupboard and door fronts – they can look great in the right setting, but they’re not quite to our taste
- The wooden worktops and upstands – they’re too dark and chunky for the space, and they jut out quite a way beyond the edge of the units
- The stainless-steel sink and tap – they look a bit outdated, and Bristol’s very hard water means it’s impossible to keep them limescale-free
- The lack of splashbacks – I love the minimalist look, but I’m fed up of having stains on the walls above the sink and hob
- The handles – they’re too big for a small space, and the corners are incredibly sharp!
The plan
So, the plan is to keep the existing cupboard carcasses and layout, but replace the door and drawer fronts, handles, worktops, sink and tap. The look we’re aiming for is minimalist and clutter-free, and we’ll be using some of the tricks from last month’s post on small kitchens. We’re also very keen to stick to neutral, timeless finishes that won’t date quickly and, even though we don’t have room for a dining area, we’d like to make the space as inviting and sociable as possible.
For the fronts, we’re using Bristol-based company HUSK, who normally make doors and drawers for standard IKEA units but who can deal with other kitchen brands (ours is from B&Q) on request. They use a birch ply core finished in Fenix NTM – a durable, scratch-resistant laminate with a sleek matte surface – and we’ve opted for a calming mid-grey colour called ‘Grigio Efeso’.
The fronts will be offset by wooden worktops to add a bit of warmth and texture to the space, but they’ll have a paler and more slimline appearance than the ones we have at the moment. It’s a combination that I came up with by chance when I placed the laminate sample from HUSK next to an oak serving board from Skagerak and saw just how well they went together! We’ll then add a few rows of plain white tiles above the worktops to create an understated splashback.
Our main aim with the sink is to minimise the amount of stainless steel and therefore the amount of limescale we have to deal with! We’re looking for a design that can be undermounted beneath the worktop or which has a very slim surround, and we’ll do away with the integrated draining board.
Other aspects of the existing kitchen, such as the hanging rail and open shelves, will remain the same, although they might get moved or extended. We’ll also keep the trio of pendant lights along one side, and I’d love to incorporate some black, white and grey-marble accents in the form of ceramics and other accessories.
1. The beautiful kitchen of ceramicist Tracy Dixon | 2. ‘Case’ pendant light, £65, Someday Designs | 3. Pale oak worktops from IKEA | 4. Fenix NTM ‘Grigio Efeso’ door and drawer fronts, from £39 each, HUSK | 5. Stoneware bowls, £8.99 each, H&M Home | 6. A stunning example of open shelving in place of wall cabinets (photo credit: Alvhem) | 7. Grey units with marble and pale oak (photo credit: Kristina Soljo for Real Living magazine) | 8. Marble chopping board, £25, Trouva | 9. White gloss non-bevelled metro tiles, £19.95 per sqm, wallsandfloors.co.uk
We’re hoping to have everything finished within the next couple of months, so I’ll share more as soon as I can…
Most photography by Abi Dare; mood-board images as credited above
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