A Bright, Reconfigured Kitchen Designed for Family Living
This Victorian London home was transformed with a contemporary extension and a kitchen designed to improve light, space, and connection to the garden. Plykea fronts, built on IKEA units, combine dark green and white Fenix with birch plywood detailing to create a kitchen that complements the wider joinery. We spoke with Raf Zora Architects about the project.
Can you tell us a bit about the home?
'The house is a 100 year old Victorian terrace. It benefits from generous width to its footprint and has high ceilings. This had the potential of making the space feel especially generous, although it was fairly dark and cellular to begin with.'
Describe the kitchen before you renovated it.
'The house, including the kitchen, needed extensive renovation when we were appointed to carry out the design. The kitchen prior to the works was housed in a poor-quality addition to the original house and the kitchen units and appliances themselves were an ad hoc collection of cabinets and fittings. It was clear the kitchen and the space it was in was detracting rather than elevating the quality of the house and the family’s enjoyment of it.'
What were the main goals for the renovation?
'The kitchen is understandably a key part of most people’s houses and often feature in their aspirations for improving their homes. The family wanted the kitchen to be practical, attractive and meet the demands of a young, growing family. Choosing Plykea cabinet fronts here ensured the kitchen's contemporary and high-quality appearance while being practical to maintain when needed.'
Can you describe the overall look and feel of the kitchen?
'The design of the renovation and extension is contemporary, where clean lines and a calm, pared back palette of materials allow the generosity of the space, daylight and connections to the garden to be the stars of the show. The kitchen is very much part of this, and its configuration and palette are designed to lead your eye from the front of the house to the large and verdant rear garden through the large glazing installed.'
How did you develop the material palette for the kitchen?
'Birch plywood joinery was designed and installed elsewhere in the design, so to be able to use the same material for the Plykea fronts was a plus. Unlike the rest of the house we opted for Fenix laminate fronts to the doors / drawers rather than keep them as birch ply in appearance. This allowed the kitchen itself to be a special joinery element within the overall design, but also means it is easier to maintain given the stain resistance of Fenix. It's matte appearance perfectly complemented the rest of the material palette.'
What influenced your countertop choice?
'The benefit of Fenix is that it comes as a laminate and a solid material. The countertop is solid Fenix (sourced separately) to match the color of the wall units supplied by Plykea and keeps the palette calm.'
Were there any standout design features?
'The full-height wall units have birch ply fins inserted between them, to echo the stair guarding joinery which the units join onto and feel a part of. This elevated the design to appear even more bespoke while still being made from simple IKEA cabinets.'
How did you find working with Plykea?
'The various design and material options was great to explore as well as Plykea’s ability to support the design vision.'
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If you’re planning an IKEA kitchen upgrade, plywood kitchen, or custom kitchen fronts we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote and 2D visual.