A Candy-Striped Plykea Kitchen in Grand Designs’ Cloud House
Featured on Grand Designs, the Cloud House is a pair of joyful pale pink, three-storey semi-detached homes in Gospel Oak, London, designed by Peter Morris Architects. Inspired by Miami and the eccentric architecture of the surrounding street, the houses feature playful arches, bold colour, rooftop terraces and a candy striped kitchen.
Can you tell us a bit about your home?
'20A (on the right, as you look from the street) is a fairly modest family home (133 sq m) – with an open-plan ground floor containing a kitchen with a three-metre-long pale pink central island and green and white striped Plykea doors, plus a dining area and sitting room, and an office / third bedroom at the front; and then a bedroom and bathroom on each of the two upper floors. At the top of the house – accessed via a four-metre-long turquoise skylight – is a sunny roof terrace, surrounded by arched pink walls, complete with an outdoor bath.
No 20 – the other half of the pair – is a larger, four-bedroom house (165 sq m) with an upside-down configuration.'
What were the main goals for the kitchen?
'To create a joyful, colourful space that would be a pleasure to be in every day.'
If budget was a concern, what were you prepared to save/spend on?
'We were very happy to save on the IKEA cabinets and the yellow handles are IKEA Begripa. We wanted to spend money on having beautiful colourful cupboard doors and drawer fronts, as well as pink Polyrey cover panels, plinths and worktops. We particularly loved the scalloping detail that was created in the Plykea workshop for our wall units. We would have liked to be able to have green and white striped units in our kitchen island too, but unfortunately we couldn’t afford these.'
Can you describe the overall look and feel of the kitchen?
'Fun, open, colourful and joyful! I love the scalloping on our wall units.'
What influenced your material choices?
'We wanted bold colours that would look good configured as stripes, and we wanted the perfect pale pink for our cover panels, plinths and worktops, which we found in the Rose Givre polyrey material, which Plykea kindly bought in especially for us.'
What did you enjoy about working with Plykea?
'Laura was a total superstar. Patient, kind, incredibly helpful and wise. We cannot thank them enough for all their support.'
What’s your top tip for renovating that we can share with future customers?
'A colourful kitchen is something that will bring you joy every day.'
If you’re planning an IKEA kitchen or wardrobe upgrade we’d love to meet you. Book an appointment to explore the materials, handles and worktops that we offer and say ‘hi’ to our team.