A little bit of drama? Well why not. At SGH we have lived and dreamed this very personal project for 8 and a half years. Since moving into our home we’ve known that the kitchen was not right. Not just aesthetically, but functionally. It just did not work. An entire space was taken up by units which were incapable of storing anything useful.
Scratch our heads, we just couldn’t fathom how there was so much wall space taken up with cupboards and yet there was no where to put the hoover. Or the bin. Or the iron. How was this possible? Not a single useful cupboard in the whole bunch. And worse, a big room with the dishwasher at one end, and the store cupboards at the other. With a table to circumnavigate in the middle. And the sink at one end, but the kettle at the other. It took forever to make a brew. In 8 years we just couldn’t get our heads round how it had been so, well, un-designed.
And now? Well… it actually works. It really, really works. We stand in one spot and, without moving, unload all the dishes, plates, cutlery etc from the dishwasher. And to load it? Same again. The sink/dishwasher/bin are all within arms reach. When we cook the utensils are just there, right in front of us. And the ingredients? In a drawer under the hob. Or in the fridge, just behind us. Need to take something out of the oven? No problem… here’s a workspace created just for that very purpose. Want to make a cup of coffee? A moment later it’s done. This pure, unadulterated joy at the functionality of the space is just overwhelming. The Tall One jokes that you’d think we’d had a designer in.
Oh, and did we mention how it looks really rather wonderful too? There is so much to show and say about this kitchen that we are bound to get kitchen-boring. Our friends would probably say we’ve been kitchen boring for quite some time. So we’re going to break it down into a few different posts, and then end up posting the portfolio online at the end. It may take some weeks. We’re sorry, but if you want us in the meantime, we’re likely to be un-loading the dishwasher, smiling ridiculously to ourselves.
Before, on a good day…
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And how it usually looked (except with a dining table right in the middle).
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Half-way through the build, when the hidden alcove was discovered (you can see the underfloor heating pipes going down).
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And after….
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The room before, looking at ‘the worst wall’ – damp, with the boiler and poor use of space.
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Half-way through the build with the small extension added.
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The space after, with a new style galley kitchen
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The sink wall before
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Half way through, boiler moved into it’s new ‘engine room cupboard’
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Key to getting this space right was not what you can see, but what you can’t. Underfloor heating, recessed extractor, and a new ‘engine room’ cupboard, which doubles as a utility (this might even get it’s own blog post later!).
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The sink area – in the same place, but much better designed – it has a double sink, which allows much better use of the space.
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The kitchen was made by Stump Furniture, who we would highly recommend. We have worked with Stuart, at Stump, and his team on a number of recent projects, and everyone who came into contact with them found them to be professional, friendly and with excellent craftsmanship – we’ll show you some of the insides of the cupboards on another post, but they are as beautiful inside as they are outside.
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Happy Friday!
SGHx