A fabulous contemporary and sustainable kitchen in a family home.

Our brief

Our clients were transforming their 1930s Sheffield semi-detached home, with the help of architects CE+CA Studio and George Clarke for the TV programme Ugly House to Lovely House on Channel 4. They wanted to create a sustainable home for their growing family. Our brief was to design and create a beautiful and functional family kitchen, with sustainability at its core. We worked with closely with Amazing Productions to create a unique and bespoke design, which reflected the sustainable approach they were taking for this exciting development.

The design

We designed the kitchen to fit the new extended living space, which had been thoughtfully considered by the architects. The architects wanted to maximise both inside living and outside space, keeping a good balance between the two. The new open plan living space meant that the kitchen needed to flow seamlessly through to the rest of the room. It needed to look beautiful while keeping its functionality. Importantly, it also needed to fit visually with the creative look and feel throughout the whole house.

Kitchen island and breakfast bar

We designed the kitchen to work for a growing family and create a flexible living space. It was important that the new kitchen could be used for eating, working and homework, not just cooking and food preparation. We incorporated a breakfast bar to provide a seating area as well as an area for food prep. The central kitchen island marks out the functional side of the kitchen from the dining area on the other side. It allows movement and flow throughout the space.

Reclaimed timber

We used beautiful reclaimed iroko timber for the worktops and shelving. The wood was previously school lab benches, which we planed and sanded to remove the graffiti and reveal the beautiful wood grain below.

We used this same wood to create the lovely boot box and window in the window recess, which also functions as a doorstep. This allows access into the garden, meeting the architect’s vision of connecting the inside and outside spaces.

The window seat is a nice feature that allows low level seating in a light space in the kitchen, as well as providing hidden storage inside.

Sustainable core cabinets

All the kitchen cabinets are made from a special eco-board which is produced from 100% recycled timber. No tree was felled in the production of these cabinets, which makes them a great sustainable option.

Kitchen cabinet doors

We were keen to keep the kitchen sleek, so our design incorporated flat slab cabinet doors, which we spray painted in Farrow and Ball’s Parma Grey. The subtle colour complements the warm tones of the timber and is easy on the eye. The choice of doors is also sustainable because they are in-house designed and made in Sheffield. The cabinet doors and drawer fronts are made to order and have low wastage and low transport miles.

The result

In conclusion, the result is a fabulous sustainable family kitchen. It is not only functional but looks beautiful and is a joy to live in. It truly is a lovely kitchen in a lovely house.