Back in January 2019 we were commissioned by a client to help with the interior design and project manage a new kitchen design and move plus remodel her Grade 2 listed property in Wales.

The original kitchen was situated on the ground floor of the property but the client wanted to change the use of this space to make it a dining room with a pull out sofa bed for a place for Friends and Family to stay over when visiting. The client wanted to repurpose her basement that was currently just being used as a dumping ground and move the kitchen into this space. The basement by its very nature had some limitations, namely:

the ceiling height was only 1.8 metres high to the bottom of the beams
the floor was made of large original flagstones that were very un even
Not one wall was straight
It was only a small room and needed to fit in a Belfast sink, washing machine, new hob, double oven and fridge freezer!
It was grade 2 listed
It had a solid shelf/wall that took up space in the room
It had random copper water pipes running along the walls and ceilings which would need to be re run and hidden in the walls

As you can see from the images I took from my first site meeting the space is very small and dark and it needed a good imagination and foresight to see how this room could go on to look.

We went through a couple of different design options and managed to find a layout that made the most of the space and enabled the client to have more storage than previously and extra workspace. All win win.

We decided to go with the Lochanna Clarkwell range, which is a traditional 5 piece shaker style kitchen, in the Atlantic blue colour on the base and light grey on the wall cabinet. By having the two tone we were hoping to ground the kitchen with the darker base units and make the space feel airier and more spacious by painting the walls and ceilings the same colour as the wall units.

The cabinets were finished off with a white quartz that had a polished finish which helps to bounce the light around the room.

The lighting scheme was also crucial to help create a workable and safe space in this dark room that only had natural daylight through the small window by the sink. We had to go with recessed spotlights as the low ceiling meant that a pendant was out of the question. To create a bit more interest In the room and to provide some task lighting we added in some adjustable wall spotlights that sit over the new shelving and the quartz clad wall shelf.

The one issue we had on site was the lack of space, the Welsh weather didn’t help either as it rained for most of the fit so the fitter couldn’t work outside and being 1.8 metres in height meant his head was also touching the ceiling. The plinths also had to be scribed due to the uneven nature of the original flagstones and we added in a plinth heater to take the chill off the cold floor. The addition of the Persian style rug helps warm up the space and provides an extra injection of colour.

Upstairs in the space where the kitchen used to be the client wanted to create more storage and have a room where she could entertain family and friends and also provide a space for them to stay over.

Luckily this room was blessed with original features such as floorboards which were in great condition, casement sash windows, beams and an unusually shaped space where the fireplace used to be. We didn’t want to detract too much from these features but enhance them so we opted with a neutral colour of shadow white on the walls and ceiling from Farrow and Ball and designed some floor to ceiling bespoke units to provide much needed storage in the space. All the woodwork was painted a couple of shades darker in Drop Cloth from Farrow and Ball to provide a slight contrast and add in a extra bit of interest to the room.

The client was keen on an industrial style look for this space so we had to find furniture and fittings that fitted with that aesthetic as well as in this more traditional environment. We sourced the lights, table and chairs all from independent suppliers off Etsy.

We were quite restricted on the sofa we could go with due to the 3 tight corners we had to navigate before getting it into the space and we needed it to be comfortable, look good but also not take up too much space in the room. We chose this style from MADE as it fitted the brief perfectly and provided a pop of colour in the room without being too overwhelming.