NEFF Kitchen Case Studies: Over 25k

This kitchen project was part of a full ground-floor refurbishment to a 1960s three-bedroom house in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire. The existing rooms were dated and in need of a complete refresh into an open-plan space with a focus on entertaining. Lynn Coyle of Silver Birch Interiors in Hamilton explains how she and her team went about answering the brief.

Our clients are cooking enthusiasts who love to entertain family and friends. With this in mind, the finished result had to be both aesthetically pleasing and very functional. The space we had to work with was originally three rooms – living room, kitchen and sun room. After a lot of thought, we advised the client that the best way to create the open-plan room they wanted was to remove the internal walls to create one large room. This gave us a blank canvas to start with – and gave them the space to include a downstairs toilet too.

We had to involve architects and structural engineers to provide the correct specification for the design. It was fairly complicated, requiring seven steel beams and support for most of the upper floor joists. Space planning was critical because of all the components that had to be incorporated. In addition, all the plumbing positions had to be moved and the room completely rewired. So, there was a lot to consider and to get right!

When it came to the layout of the kitchen, we proposed a large island unit incorporating the hob, sink and prep space. Ovens and tall storage are located behind with a storage wall featuring moveable open shelves, hooks and containers for keeping regularly used utensils and ingredients handy. A cantilevered breakfast bar is mounted on top of one end of the island at a right angle to create an L-shape (learn more about layouts), and offers comfortable seating for four. This configuration is mirrored with an L-shaped sitting area at the other end of the room.

The clients originally wanted Siemens appliances, but after seeing the Slide&Hide® function on display in our showroom, they were fully converted to NEFF. They had also planned to include an American-style fridge-freezer but we advised that it would create better symmetry in the space to go for a full-height fridge and full-height freezer. Not only does this provide just as much capacity but, as built-in appliances, they fit perfectly into the scheme. A particular request was for a built-in coffee machine, which we combined with two single ovens and a combi-microwave to create a bank of four placed behind the hob. Finally, to keep the sightlines in the room clear, there is a ceiling-mounted extractor in the bulkhead above the island. Every appliance is from the NEFF range – even down to the washer dryer, which is hidden under the stairs in a utility cupboard.

The only thing we would change about the design if we did it again, would be to change the domino hobs to a Flex Induction hob. The domino hob includes a Teppanyaki plate, but actually the Teppen yaki accessory for the Flex Induction hob works really well. Not only does it give the flexibility for different styles of cooking but is easier to clean.

However, overall, we were really pleased with this project. Our clients were delighted with the complete transformation and now have the stylish social space that they craved.