A Light-Filled, Joyful Kitchen in a 1970s London Home
This 1970s terraced house has been transformed with a basement kitchen renovation. Maple-veneered birch plywood fronts, white quartz countertops, and a subtle use of color create a light, cheerful, open-plan kitchen-diner that completely changes how the homeowners use their home.
Can you tell us a bit about your home?
'It's a 1970s terraced house built on a slope, so it's 2 floors at the front, going down to 3 at the back. It looks tiny at the front, but it's a bit of a tardis.'
Describe the kitchen before you renovated it.
'Our kitchen used to be on the middle floor immediately as you enter the house. It was dark, cut off and a bit sad. We decided to relocate it down to the basement - an underused, but very sizable space on the south side of the house. The hope was that the move would nudge us out into the garden more. It's now used as an open-plan kitchen/diner/second lounge. It's completely changed how we use the house for the better.'
What were your main goals for the renovation?
'A light, cheerful, open and functional space. I put a lot of thought into how we would move around the kitchen and tried to minimize any future niggles.'
What influenced your material choices?
'We toyed with the idea of color on the cupboards - we love color, but ultimately went with maple - a wood which we are very fond of (we have maple flooring upstairs) and chose to use color in the parts of the kitchen which could more easily be altered. We thought that way, it's less likely to date and we want it to last as long as possible.'
What influenced your quartz countertop and tile choices?
'We wanted a countertop that was durable and that didn't have flecks or sparkles in it - just completely solid white.
The terracotta tile sits really nicely with the maple. We added the matte sky blue tile for a little color underneath the kitchen peninsula. On reflection the blue addition is a lot like a mid-century kitchen I came across in a book which I kept returning to.'
How did you find working with Plykea?
'We had Fiona helping us with our kitchen and she couldn’t have been more helpful! Her knowledge is incredible. She was always thorough and pre-empted any questions we might have. When we had a problem due to contractor error, Plykea engineered a workaround which completely resolved the problem. Their customer service was ace. They are good people.'
What advice would you give to someone planning a kitchen renovation?
'It's probably obvious, but think about typical actions you do in a kitchen and make sure the position of everything makes sense e.g. having your cutlery drawer and crockery close to the dishwasher, plus your trash can so that you can scrape your plates clean before they go in.'
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