Planning a kitchen renovation? Discover how interior designer Amy Stoddart has transformed this traditional Edwardian terraced house into a fun and bright space, perfect for family living…
Amy worked with MLA Architecture to reconfigure this Edwardian home in Wimbledon, creating a stunning, sun-filled kitchen extension. The project, for a couple and their daughter, took eight months to complete and a full year of planning before they broke ground. Here, Amy tells us how the renovation came together.
Planning the blue kitchen
Amy, at what stage were you brought into the project?
I was brought in at the beginning, before the clients had spoken to architects or builders. I was recommended by a friend of the clients; they trusted me wholeheartedly and even wanted me to recommend an architect.
How closely did you work with the architects on the project?
Very closely, especially at the beginning of the project. Naturally, as the project progressed, the contact was reduced, as the interiors began to progress and the structure was finished. Michael, the director of architecture practice MLA, did the initial feasibility and construction drawings; we then took over to do everything else internally.
What did you want to achieve with this design?
A classic and contemporary space with open-plan living and dining at the island. We also wanted to include plenty of storage, so we went as high as possible. The waterfall edges on the island help to soften the link between the kitchen and living spaces.
How did you decide on the colours in the kitchen?
The kitchen and living/dining room areas are next to each other, and we wanted to ensure they felt quite different from one another. The eclectic mix of the blue kitchen and green shades in the extension really helped to give each space its own identity, while still being sympathetic to the overall room scheme and design.
Challenges
Any unusual requests?
The clients loved the idea of a pot filler above the hob. It was something I’d never done before and I had to check it was feasible, regulation-wise, before we went ahead and specified it.
And was this difficult to install?
Yes, it was really quite tricky! The builders needed a very precise location for where the pipe needed to come out of the wall. Unlike installing a sink or standard tap, where you just need to be roughly within 600 millimetres of the base unit, this needed to be much more accurate. To add to the difficulties, the Perrin & Rowe tap was very delayed,
and it didn’t arrive on site until after the client had moved in. Luckily, the installation all went to plan.
Did you encounter any problems during this project?
Yes, we wanted to have sheer curtains at the back of the property. However, due to the beautiful shape of the metal-framed doors, this wasn’t possible without drilling into the steel and voiding the warranty. It was a shame, but we knew this from the outset and decided the preference was to keep the lovely shape.
The colourful ensuite
What was behind the strong choice of tiles in the bathroom?
Bathrooms are one of my favourite areas to design and I think they are a great opportunity to have a bit of fun! I originally proposed the encaustic-cement Bert & May tiles, not knowing whether the client would love them as much as I did, but as soon as they saw them in one of our design meetings they were on board.
What was the idea behind the bedroom and ensuite design?
The look through from the bedroom into the ensuite was always very important to us, we needed to make sure the colour palette was sympathetic and that both spaces flowed into each other.
What was the most enjoyable and successful part of working on this extension?
As with most of our projects, the most enjoyable part is seeing everything all come together on-site. Whether it’s the day the kitchen goes in, the wallpaper or the tiles – each step towards the move-in date is incredibly rewarding.
Photography: Chris Snook
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