Home
Project: Silver Birch Interiors
This project started life as a family kitchen that didn’t suit the family who lived there. They wanted a kitchen with an island and breakfast bar where they could all sit down together. Lynn Coyle of Silver Birch Interiors in Hamilton, South Lanashire suggested a structural change to create more room and the result is this stunning space. Lynn tells us how it came about.
THE DESIGN BRIEF
What was the space like before?
The original kitchen was a world away from the sociable space the family wanted for their day-to-day living. It was fairly narrow with an intrusive peninsular unit running across the middle. Their main requirement was an island unit with breakfast bar that would sit up to six people, and there simply wasn’t space to accommodate this. The answer was to remove the load-bearing wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room, for which task we enlisted the help of an architect and structural engineer.
What was the vision for the new kitchen?
Now we had a space we could work with, we proposed an L-shaped configuration of handleless units to help create flow around the room. In the centre is the sizeable island with the requested breakfast bar, plus hob and prep space. Adjacent, the sink run is home to the dishwasher, pull-out bins and boiling-water tap to create a working area for the cook.
An interesting design point is that the bank of tall units is built in so the doors are flush with the wall to create a sleek, seamless look. This allowed us to create a recessed shelf above the three striking NEFF appliances. The shelf adds detail and the mirrored back brings depth to the kitchen. To bring all the elements of the kitchen together, we selected a calming colour palette of neutral tones. These are punctuated by the contrasting textures of the oak-effect laminate, used for the breakfast bar and sink-run worktop, and the high-gloss cabinet doors.
THE FINISHED KITCHEN
How did you choose the appliances?
Something that always annoyed the homeowners about their old kitchen was the lack of fridge and freezer space, so this was key to the new design. Therefore, the tall bank of larder units house a NEFF full-height-fridge and a NEFF full-height freezer. Their other request – after watching The Great British Bake Off – was for a Slide&Hide single oven. We teamed this with a compact steam oven, built-in coffee machine and two warming drawers to create a bank of appliances. Finally, the homeowners originally wanted a gas hob but after seeing a showroom demonstration of the NEFF FlexInduction hob, they were convinced that the responsive and easy-clean option was the way to go.
What makes this kitchen such a success?
Removing the load-bearing wall and maximising floor space was a game changer in terms of increasing our design options on this project. The finished design didn’t just improve the look and layout of the space but enhanced the family’s way of living. What made it all worthwhile was the lovely review the homeowner left us as the end. They said they were completely overwhelmed with the outcome and just loved the fact that their kitchen looked like something straight out of a glossy magazine!
RECREATE THIS KITCHEN
