Kitchen Confidential | Victorian Family Home

When the homeowners purchased this 6 bedroom Victorian house they knew extensive changes would have to be made to its design to turn it into the family home they had dreamt of. The house needed modernising and an extension was built to make way for an open plan kitchen, dining and living space for the family to utilise. The extension was designed off of the original kitchen and has a large roof lantern that sits directly above the main kitchen and soft seating area beyond. The French windows open out onto the garden behind the soft seating area which is perfect for the summer months.

The goal with this Nickleby kitchen was about creating a calm, classic contemporary space with family living in mind and zoning the areas carefully has achieved just that. This dated space has now been turned into an elegant family home with family living in mind, but not only did the kitchen need to be practical it needed to fit the aesthetic of the rest of the home.

With an eye for design our clients wanted to create a bold but classic space and chose for the island and mantel to be finished in HM Yardarm and perimeter cabinetry to be finished in HM tailored grey which gives the space a clean balanced feel. The worktops are called Verona by CRL and compliment the Portobello oak accent wood perfectly.

To the left of the island is the cook’s pantry – one of the most requested elements in an HM kitchen. This cleverly conceals all of your herbs, spices, bottles in the racks and has open shelves to alleviate rummaging at the back of cupboards routine. Another brilliant addition is the engraved drawers to keep family food organised and easy to grab at a moment’s notice.

The Lacanche range cooker is positioned to the right of the pantry and housed in a false chimney with a bespoke Westin extraction cleverly concealed inside. The Lacanche is a 100cm Cluny model with two large ovens – one static and one convection with classic 5 burner gas hob and is finished in stainless steel with a brass trim and looks very much at home with the brass handles and surrounding colour palette. The antique effect mirror splashback sits above the Lacanche and helps to create a more open space by bouncing light back into the room and makes keeping an eye on children or talking to friends easier whilst cooking.

The sink run is located on the other side of the L shape in the kitchen and has open artisan shelving above for storing everyday items like glassware and tableware keeping the design open and spacious. Either side of this sink is an integrated Miele dishwasher and pull out euro cargo bin making clearing away dishes after a family meal even quicker and easier. The sink features the Perrin & Rowe Athenian tap and Parthian hot water tap which matched the Brass hardware and will slowly age over time.

Next to these elegant artisan shelves is a housed Fisher & Paykel Fridge Freezer has Nickelby cabinetry surrounding it with storage space above for cookbooks and there is also another under-counter fridge in the island for additional cold food storage.

The main prep area is on the island positioned directly in front of the main cooking run, the prep sink is handily located to the left hand side. The seating for 3 at the island with a breakfast bar at the opposite end to the prep sink which is conveniently located near the banquette dining area. The breakfast bar is delineated from the prep area by the natural Portobello oak and is a great spot for children to sit and have breakfast before school, serving drinks or checking morning emails with a coffee.

To see more images of the open plan family kitchen, please click here.