Quality craftsmanship and playful details have created a bright sage green kitchen, putting this home’s dark history to bed. Here is the story of its unique renovation…
It’s safe to say that this house has been through a lot – and I’m not talking about the typical wear and tear expected from a property built in 1824. A former vicarage, the Grade II listed Georgian home in Tormorden, West Yorkshire, was actually the scene of a double murder back in 1868. Still, inspired by its potential and unperturbed by its past, current homeowner and NHS consultant psychiatrist Annie decided to grant it a fresh start.
The house renovation
Annie has lived in the property with her husband Danny, a senior brewer, (and now with four-year-old daughter Ruby) since 2019. And while its previous owners in the last 150 years have kept the home ghost-free, it looked rather neglected when she and her family moved in.
“It was last owned by a couple who had bought it off the diocese eight years earlier,” Annie tells me. “It was in great need of some TLC and a full renovation was required. So each year, we have saved up and have been doing it bit by bit.”
The refurbishment included this charming new sage green kitchen, which sits at the front of the property. “The original kitchen was a smaller space at the back of the house. One of the reasons we wanted to move it was to make it a true focal point,” says Annie.
The kitchen design
The family decided to knock through the original north-facing dining room, which was the darkest space in the house and was barely being used, and combine it with the south-facing morning room, which was much brighter, to make one open-plan kitchen-dining space. “This utilises the features of the house much more effectively, while it has created a lovely flow and has let in more light to a once-dark home.”
When the time came to look for kitchen designers, they came across Trig. “We assumed it would be out of our price range, but Trig gave us a competitive quote and worked to our budget,” says Annie. “They also immediately recognised and respected the unique architecture and historical features of the property and were genuinely excited to create a kitchen befitting of the space. The craftsmanship is outstanding and the level of detail and quality is exceptional.”
The must-haves
One of the must-haves in the brief was an island with a ‘living’, homely vibe. “We wanted one that was raised off the floor to give the impression of a piece of furniture rather than the typical kitchen island,” she explains. “We designed the quartz inset with a wooden edge to emphasise this and to avoid another cold, hard edge in a cold house. The finished result is exactly what we hoped for.”
The island also pairs beautifully with the basketweave-patterned flooring as well as the pastel hues on the walls and cabinetry. “We wanted the kitchen to be bright, cheerful and light. The other rooms in the house are painted in darker colours but this is one of the few that gets a decent amount of sun, and we wanted to capitalise on this,” says Annie.
The colour palette
The soft terracotta shade was used to create a warm, Mediterranean feel in the kitchen while a more subtle, sage green hue was used for contrast. “Again, we wanted to avoid the kitchen feeling too much like a kitchen and break up the colours with wooden features like the mantlepiece, plate rack and island in oak,” she continues.
This harmonious pastel palette is interrupted by an eye-catching pocket of space that hosts the range cooker and the distressed checkerboard tiles above it – the latter add pattern and plenty of character.
Challenges
Annie says the spot was originally a fireplace with a 1970s gas fire, which meant a certain level of difficulty in the cooker’s installation. “We had the fireplace removed and opened up to accommodate a cooker. But finding an extractor fan to fit the space was almost impossible and required multiple measurements and one failed attempt – the hole for the extractor fan outlet was core-drilled at the wrong height and had to be redone.”
In fact, most aspects of the project came with their own set of challenges, as Annie reveals. “Absolutely every job in this house is complicated – the walls aren’t straight, nothing is symmetrical… it is a logistical nightmare!” But is it worth the trouble?
“We got there in the end, and we couldn’t be happier,” she tells me. “The kitchen brings us joy on a daily basis and it’s one we always hoped to have in this house. We love the island and how it’s the central point of the kitchen, which, in turn, takes centre stage in the home. We still have the hallway, utility room, bathroom, WCs and study to complete, though… It’s a labour of love.”
Photography: Rob Chapman
This house tour was featured in the July 2025 issue of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine.
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