Kitchen Design
Blue, Wood and Brick Bring Charm to a London Kitchen
A smart layout turns an uneven floor into an advantage and creates a compact yet cheerful space
An uneven site forced designer Eamonn Agha to create a stepped transition between a new addition and the original structure at this Victorian home in London. But he used the multiple levels to his advantage. By placing a peninsula right where the floor drops a step, he created a bar-height area on one side and a standard countertop height on the other. Deep blue cabinets and butcher-block countertops help visually hide the step down and bring warmth and charm to the compact space.
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Skylights in the new sloped roof bring plenty of light into the room.
For the pendant lights over the peninsula, Agha compensated for the slope of the ceiling by using a shorter cord for one pendant to keep the bulbs at the same height.
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For the pendant lights over the peninsula, Agha compensated for the slope of the ceiling by using a shorter cord for one pendant to keep the bulbs at the same height.
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The owners wanted a clear division between the cooking zone and the rest of the space, so they selected patterned floor tile. “The color complements the blue on the cabinets, and the tiles are easy to clean,” Agha says.
The hardworking peninsula features a paneled dishwasher on the far end (to the left of the sink), an undersink cabinet with pullout trash bins, and a storage cabinet on the near end.
The base cabinets on the range wall feature drawers at the far end for utensils and pots and pans. Agha made sure the drawers were strong enough to hold the weight of big casserole dishes.
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The hardworking peninsula features a paneled dishwasher on the far end (to the left of the sink), an undersink cabinet with pullout trash bins, and a storage cabinet on the near end.
The base cabinets on the range wall feature drawers at the far end for utensils and pots and pans. Agha made sure the drawers were strong enough to hold the weight of big casserole dishes.
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The couple preferred an undermount basin sink to an apron-front model. “We chose a ceramic one rather than stainless steel, as it’s more in keeping with the rest of the space,” Agha says.
The brass faucet coordinates with the brass outlet covers on the exterior of the peninsula, as well as the brass finishes of the cabinet hardware and pendant lights. “The oven and vent hood are stainless steel, so it was important to keep everything else the same [as each other] to avoid it feeling cluttered,” Agha says.
The couple didn’t want anything “too funky” on the wall, he says, so they chose white subway tile. “We laid them in a herringbone pattern to add a bit more character to the room.”
Cabinet paint: Dock Blue by Little Greene
The couple didn’t want anything “too funky” on the wall, he says, so they chose white subway tile. “We laid them in a herringbone pattern to add a bit more character to the room.”
Cabinet paint: Dock Blue by Little Greene
An exposed-brick wall adds texture and complements the warm tones in the wood floor and countertops, as well as in the brass finishes.
The tall cabinet at the left conceals the refrigerator.
The tall cabinet at the left conceals the refrigerator.
Because the floor-to-ceiling fridge cabinet takes up a lot of visual space, Agha chose not to build the upper cabinets to the ceiling. “The white walls frame the cabinets and give an airier feel,” he says.
Agha’s smart design made the challenges posed by the stepped construction practically moot. “The owners are really pleased with the kitchen,” he says. “The layout is neat and practical, and they can look out to the garden from the peninsula.”
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Agha’s smart design made the challenges posed by the stepped construction practically moot. “The owners are really pleased with the kitchen,” he says. “The layout is neat and practical, and they can look out to the garden from the peninsula.”
More on Houzz
10 Things You Didn’t Think Would Fit in a Small Kitchen
Read more kitchen design stories
Get kitchen design ideas
Find home design and building professionals near you
Shop for kitchen products
Who lives here: A newly married couple
Location: London
Size: 215 square feet (20 square meters)
Designer: Eamonn Agha of Holland Street Kitchens
A typical open-plan kitchen often features the island in the center of the space, but the newly married owners of this extended Victorian home weren’t keen on that arrangement. “They wanted to get the most out of the kitchen, but in a fairly neat layout,” Agha says.
He located the cooking zone in a corner where the original building ended. This area is on a higher level than the addition, so Agha turned the height difference into a design feature by lining up the peninsula with the step. In this photo, everything in the foreground of the peninsula is part of the addition. (You can see the step to the left of the base of the peninsula.) Everything behind the step is part of the original house.
“It worked out really well, as it allowed regular-height countertops in the kitchen and a taller bar area on the other side,” Agha says.