Creating a dream kitchen

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Clare Doherty knocked through three small rooms and added an extension to create a light-filled contemporary kitchen.

The previous owners of this house lived here for more than 30 years. They hadn’t done any renovation work or decorating in years, so it was dated, with heavy wallpaper and swirly carpets,’ says Clare.

The kitchen had an adjoining pantry/ storeroom on one side, with a dining room on the opposite side, but Clare didn’t think the layout worked or maximised the space.

‘I didn’t tackle any major work when I first moved in and concentrated instead on making small changes to the house so I could get a feel for it,’ she says.

Meanwhile, she looked for inspiration in magazines, sketching out ideas for her dream kitchen. As she explains: ‘Although I revised the layout several times, it was based around an open-plan space divided into zones for cooking, dining and relaxing.’

When Clare was ready to tackle the structural work, she had the wall dividing the kitchen from the pantry/storeroom and the wall between the kitchen and dining room knocked through to create one space.

She also wanted to extend at the rear of the house to create more space for the new layout and link it with the garden.

‘A structural engineer drew up the plans and I hired the builders who had done some other jobs in the house as we had worked well together,’ says Clare.

Once the two walls were demolished, she marked out the kitchen area on the floor. However, the space left little room for a dining room table, so she decided to extend further than she had planned.

Although she had set a budget, Clare felt that she could spend a little more for her dream look. Luckily, the building work – which had already involved installing an RSJ for structural support – was at a stage where it could absorb a change in plan.

With the extra space created, Clare started looking at kitchen styles and fell in love with an elegant white contemporary design. This time, however, she couldn’t stretch her budget to afford it.

Undaunted, she went through her ideas with a local kitchen designer.

‘It actually came together quite quickly as I had done all the background work,’ says Clare. ‘I opted for similar high gloss white units and grey composite worktops.’

She chose simple porcelain floor tiles to reflect the new space’s light, open-plan feel and added a statement chandelier extractor fan above the island unit.

Clare had always planned on linking the new kitchen with the garden, so she installed folding sliding doors.

‘I looked at several options for doors, but I kept going back to folding sliding doors because they open right out, creating uninterrupted access to the garden, and they’re incredibly easy to use,’ she says.

When it came to the finishing touches for her open-plan living area, Clare continued the kitchen’s colour scheme, choosing grey sofas for an elegant, relaxed feel.

The project took six months – but it all went smoothly, as Clare explains: ‘I think it made a difference knowing exactly what I wanted. The only change to my plans would have been to install underfoor heating to free up the radiator space on the walls.

‘I love the open-plan feel – when people come round we tend to gather in this space, so my other rooms rarely get used.’

WORDS HEATHER GRATTON PHOTOGRAPHS JAMES ROBINSON STYLIST CATHERINE HUCKERBY
Featured in the November 2011 issue of Real Homes