Kitchen Transformation
A Smart Extension Creates Space for Quality Family Time
The Project
Our clients had lived in this home for many years and had previously renovated their kitchen to suit their tastes. However, several years on they found that their kitchen layout wasn’t working as well as it could for their family. They loved their home but needed a newly designed room in which they could more comfortably spend time together as a family.
As the family needed more space, they decided to plan a single-story extension to increase them footprint of the ground floor of their home. This additional space made way for a new open-plan kitchen with a large island and lounge area, along with a separate home office and upgraded utility room.
The Design Brief
This family loves to cook together, so they required a sociable kitchen layout to enable them to gather together. A kitchen island with lots of seating was also a must-have, along with plenty of storage to keep the space organised.
The couple is creative and wanted a design that would feel fresh, modern and reflect their tastes whilst retaining a ‘family vibe’. The design would also need to take into account the couple’s young children and the family dog, Fudge, ensuring that the materials would be durable and suit the rigour of daily family use.
Alongside the kitchen, KCA designed and installed a new utility room. The utility is where the family would give Fudge a bath after muddy walks so the sink and surrounding worktop, in particular, needed to be hardwearing.
Preparation
Before their new kitchen could be installed, the new extension had to be built and prepared for installation.
1. Removal of existing kitchen
The first stage involved the removal of the existing kitchen. Our client hired a trusted builder to carry out all of the extension work, including ripping out the existing kitchen.
When our clients had renovated their kitchen some years earlier, their children had left their own painted drawings on the walls before the kitchen was installed. Revealing these drawings so many years later was a real treat for our clients, who decided not to paint over the drawings but to leave them behind the cabinets of their new kitchen.
We think this is an amazing idea and a great way to make your children feel part of the project and preserve some history too.
2. Construction of New Extension
Our client’s chosen builder carried out the build of their new extension according to the architect’s plans. Skylights were installed to allow natural light into the room, along with new bi-fold doors leading to the garden.
The team at KCA liaised directly with the client’s trades throughout the build. We provided detailed technical drawings outlining the position of services along with a site preparation guide to ensure the room was properly prepared prior to the kitchen installation. Through clear information and communication with the trades on site, we were able to minimise potential delays and costly surprises.
The Final Outcome
To suit the couple’s style, we designed a modern, handleless kitchen. Whereas the previous kitchen was tucked to one side of the space, we opened up the kitchen and made it the focal point of the room. The new kitchen layout makes the best use of the width of the open-plan space with the island at its heart.
The door finish is a Putty Concrete laminate, which is incredibly hard-wearing making it a perfect material choice for families with young children and pets. Laminate is also a cost-effective material, making our clients budget go further by achieving a striking look for less.
We chose a two-tone colour scheme, designing most of the kitchen in a dark, Graphite Grey with the wall cabinets in the sink area in a lighter Opal Grey equivalent. The dark Graphite makes a dramatic impact and contrasts with the light, bright white room, whilst the lighter cabinets create balance and ensure that the kitchen still feels bright and spacious.
To complement the kitchen cabinets, we chose a Silestone Gris Expo worktop in a polished finish to build the layers of texture and colour. We introduced a reflective finish to the design scheme with Dove Grey glass splashback which almost disappears into the wall.
As one of our clients’ ran a business from home, a Quooker boiling water tap was a must. The Quooker provides instant hot water, so she doesn’t need to wait around for the kettle to boil.
To maximise storage, the island is designed with storage on both sides. The handleless cabinets create the look of a beautiful island feature panel whilst cleverly providing much-need storage space.
Our clients loved the look of appliances grouped together, so to achieve this minimalist look we created a bank of Siemens appliances including two ovens, a combi and a warming drawer. Due to the size and dimensions of the back wall, it wasn’t possible to position the appliances in the centre, so we designed them off-centre and balanced this by creating open shelving for the family to display their crockery.
We chose a Bora Pure Induction Cooktop and positioned it on the island for a social cooking experience. This particular appliance is an induction hob and extractor in one, removing the need for a separate cooker hood. Unlike an overhead extractor, this downdraft extractor draws air downwards into the island where it is cleaned and purified before being released back into the room
Clever Design Tips
Hiding Awkward Services
When renovating a kitchen, there are often structural pillars, beams, boilers and other services in precisely the wrong place. At KCA, we’re used to finding clever ways of working around these structures to ensure they don’t detract from the design, by concealing them or making them into a feature.
Our clients had an awkward soil pipe which wasn’t the most attractive. Our simple yet effective solution was to extend the open shelving in front of the soil pipe, this distracts the eye and makes the soil pipe almost unnoticeable.
Carefully Considered Storage
The experience you have when entering your kitchen is important, and it is not desirable for your first view to be the side of a deep cabinet.
In this kitchen, storage was required along the original kitchen wall, but we didn’t want it to encroach too much into the room. Our solution was to design reduced-depth larder units, providing lots of handy storage space whilst ensuring the kitchen’s first impression would be uplifting with a feeling of spaciousness.
If you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen, the KCA designers are here to help. We’ve been designing and installing kitchens since 1993 and we’d love to help you to achieve the kitchen of your dreams. Why not contact our design team today by calling 01344 883777 or request an appointment online here.
