{"id":2522,"date":"2024-08-13T01:46:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T17:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2024\/08\/13\/kitchen-of-the-week-a-brightly-colored-and-cost-conscious-london-kitchen\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T01:46:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T17:46:28","slug":"kitchen-of-the-week-a-brightly-colored-and-cost-conscious-london-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/it\/kitchen-of-the-week-a-brightly-colored-and-cost-conscious-london-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"La cucina della settimana: Una cucina londinese dai colori vivaci (e dai costi contenuti)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like so many people, Alexandra Evans and her husband, Tom, had always been cautious about color: \u201cWe had to think about resale value, so we painted everything white,\u201d she says. Then the couple bought a 1914 fixer upper in Richmond Park, in southwest London, for themselves and their three children, ages 4, 9, and 13. Feeling as if they had found their \u201cforever home,\u201d they decided it was time to welcome in the bright and the bold.<\/p>\n

Working with a trusted carpenter and crew, they embarked on the remodel themselves while also holding down their day jobs: He\u2019s a lawyer and she\u2019s the policy director for the British Board of Film Classification. And for the trickiest room in the house, the kitchen, they turned to Plain English offshoot British Standard, which offers readymade \u201csensible cupboards at sensible prices for people with good taste but modest means.\u201d The kitchen tally? \u00a312,500 (approximately $16,000), plus carpentry and fitting costs of \u00a35,000 ($6,367), many gallons of blue paint included.<\/p>\n

Photography courtesy of British Standard.<\/p>\n

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Above: The design was inspired by the couple\u2019s love of midcentury furnishings and by Alexandra\u2019s grandmother\u2019s kitchen: \u201cI\u2019m always trying to capture the style and joyfulness of my granny\u2019s house.\u201d It occupies the footprint of the previous kitchen, which hadn\u2019t been touched in decades. When Tom fixated on the Little Greene Paint Company\u2019s Deep Space Blue, it became the room\u2019s defining feature. \u201cPaired with a band of white, the blue pulls everything together and works really well as a splash back,\u201d says Alexandra.<\/p>\n

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Above: A new window wall with French doors connects the space to the garden. \u201cOur motto is, If it makes us smile, then it\u2019s in,\u201d says Alexandra, by way of explaining the red Smeg fridge and overall homemade look.<\/p>\n

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Above: The biggest challenge of the remodel? \u201cIt\u2019s not a huge room and we couldn\u2019t work out how to create the big communal eating space that was so important for us,\u201d says Alexandra. The solution was to ditch the previous L-shaped counter layout to make room for a booth-style seating area. It\u2019s composed of a midcentury table and antique church pews. The family are flea market regulars and use the open shelving and glass cupboards to display their finds.<\/p>\n

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Above: The Belfast Sink is a Villeroy & Boch purchased on eBay and fitted with a brass bridge faucet from architectural salvage company Cox\u2019s Yard. The counters are iroko, a tropical hardwood, that Alexandra and Tom spent many evenings finishing with a Danish clear oil to bring out the graining. Note the handy under-the-sink cupboard.<\/p>\n

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Above: The pots and pans drawers are fitted with vintage hanging knobs sourced from Silbury Antiques.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Above: \u201cWe love the communal feel of squeezing in as many people as possible at the table,\u201d says Alexandra. \u201cOur record is 12 during a birthday sleepover.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Above: The tumbling block floor is Illusion Feature Grey ceramic tiles from Tons of Tiles; \u00a33 ($3.79) per tile. Marine-Style Flush Pulls work well here because they prevent knob bumps.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Above: The design extends into a utility room that Alexandra describes as a \u201cmini version of our kitchen.\u201d The hanging enamelware light is from Labour & Wait and traveled with the family from their previous home.<\/p>\n

Here are four more designs that make use of British Standard cabinets:<\/p>\n