Lucy Cunliffe
Diane Berry Kitchens Ltd
I was so excited when Martin and Wanda Lyons walked in and we just clicked straight away, I am only 22 years old & they are in their forties with a eleven year old daughter. So often people want to work with older more experienced designers, which I understand but this family just accepted me as their designer allowing me to prove myself and help them create their dream space.
They wanted their kitchen to be the heart of their home, with it being a family household they wanted to create a space in which everyone would want to spend their time. So Wanda would enjoy having everyone around her But without them under her feet!
Following the colour scheme the clients wanted to use for the full house, which was grey tones - They fell in love with the concrete effect laminate door in our studio which is forgiving for things such as finger prints, adding some texture and interest. We then picked out a stunning white veined quartz to lift the kitchen and create a contrast against the door, I suggested quart for it robust nature and also a cost effective option compared to other materials like Dekton.
When looking at the architectural drawings and really thinking about how this room would work for the family. I felt the perfect location for this kitchen was within the extension area looking through the bifold doors onto the greenery in the garden, and able to face the rest of the room for a social feel too. I had positioned the tall run with appliances against the utility wall so you as you entered the room you didn’t feel over faced with appliances and tall units.
Martin and Wanda explained how they would like their kitchen to work, they often cook from fresh food loving to entertain family and friends specially at Christmas. On the basis of all of this I suggested 2 single ovens, 1 with a steam function to enable ease when cooking vegetables, rice and potato dishes (we hold cookery evening to help customer get the most from their appliances). I then put forward the idea of a combination microwave to maximize worktop space and also to gain extra oven space when it is required. As the family did not always eat at the same time we included for warming drawers to help keep the food warm, and often this will also be used to slow cook meat keeping all the flavors. A must for this family was a coffee machine away from the sink area (Wanda needed to get Martin out from under her feet!) so that was also included within the bank of ovens. The hob was going to be situated on the island facing the seating area so everybody could interact with mum while she was cooking, with this in mind I recommended a venting hob this allowed for the ceiling space to be free (also solved a problem as we had an RSJ and change of height) and for the focus to be on a feature pendant light. The clients went for a small 70/30 fridge freezer within the kitchen space as they had an American fridge freezer within their utility. The wine fridge was located on the back of the island so when entertaining people were not within the kitchen space when serving drinks, the cabinet to the right of the wine fridge is to be used for glass storage. And of course a must was a Quooker boiling tap.
I also strongly recommended the fridge freezer in the main tall run and found it a great learning curve to hear why they felt so strongly that it had to be on its own and it made me realise how different people can be in their habits, as it was more important to reduce congestion as so often family are staring into the fridge and would block the passage into the working space of the kitchen, and keep their daughter away from hot ovens.
Unfortunately due to delays with builders and delivery of bar stools, sofas etc the room isn’t quite completed. Martin and Wanda are delighted, they cannot wait to finally move in and begin to enjoy their dream home.
Project Cost: £39,200
