We're extending a period home – here’s how we're avoiding the ‘white box’ trap to expand our space but make it feel feel like it's been there forever
The never-ending renovation and build project
Strategist and content creator Francesca Swan is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on the concept of 'Everything' and what makes a home special to you. See the rest of her articles here.
If there were a prize for the best house guests ever, I’d say, at this particular moment in time, we’d nail it. Seriously, if you’re looking for some stress-free visitors, we are a very good bet.
And that's not to say that we're not usually, just that we are especially perfect right now – given our “domestic circumstances” (read: never-ending renovation and build sent from hell to push us slowly over the edge).
So, take note, readers; if anybody does fancy inviting us over to escape from the final phase of our current hellscape, then we’d be more than happy to take you up on any offers. We can serve up a mean version of whatever is on your menu.
The temporary kitchen we've had for two years
Period building vs modern extension
So, as I’m sure you’re all aware, we are mid-way through our never-ending project to renovate our dilapidated period apartment and build a kitchen/diner extension and summerhouse. It’s been a big, old complex beast of a project – not least because building a new extension onto a heritage building takes a lot of consideration, expertise and planning. No surprises there…
The main intention is, eventually, for it to look like it's always been there and is a natural part of the structure. We didn’t want to simply tack a white box onto a handsome period building – we wanted to honour and improve what was there already.
Architecturally, the aim was to find a balance between something that felt sympathetic and aligned to the original building, yet not a pastiche. It’s a fine line to tread, but our architect did a beautiful job with recessed details that subtly mirror the original fascia features. It will also be rendered and painted the same colour as the original building which thankfully has recently been painted, which will also help it blend.
Lastly, we will plant it up with beautiful wisterias and lilacs, so eventually it will have abundant texture and colour and blend into nature.
Glazing goals
My end game is to be able to stand in the garden, look onto the house and see a consistent treatment between the living room windows and glazed French doors opening from the kitchen.
I really didn't want to shove standard brand-new doors in there, because, for me, it would have just looked very odd and a big red flag that it’s a new build.
After a LONG search (thank you eBay), I sourced some reclaimed glazed doors that perfectly matched the profile of the living room windows. Also, at a bargain price – a real win. We're getting them restored and they work beautifully to tie it all together and make the extension feel like it's in conversation with the original building.
By contrast, we needed big roof lights, so we've gone simple and modern – they are all recessed, so less of a giveaway in the grand scheme. This brings a good balance between the contemporary roof lights and the original doors, and they play off each other well.
Figuring out the interior flow and feel
Exterior sorted, the next challenge is to create a cohesive flow from the original apartment into the kitchen, so it feels like a natural part of the space. Yet, the big difference in room proportions does create a disjoint, which needs softening.
Firstly, the kitchen ceiling height is much lower compared to the rest of the apartment. This means recessed spots for lighting, paired with statement wall lights to bring character.
Next is how best to approach coving and skirting, because again, we don't have the room proportions and dimensions to mirror the original profiles and depths. Instead, these details will be much shallower and simpler, but still feel in conversation with the original features in the main building. The main thing is to avoid the boxy feeling.
The other hack to ensure cohesiveness is something I've talked about before – the bones. We've already established these in the apartment, now we are simply putting them to good use and realising the value of them.
Firstly, the flooring. Bavarian Oak chevron engineered hardwood flooring from Flooring Superstore will run into the kitchen, along with the rest of the apartment and summerhouse. We've also got our beautiful bronze Paladin radiators that we’ve used throughout, and the same switches and sockets from Corston Architectural.
All these threads run through the apartment, so it flows and feels like it has been considered and designed with intention. Which it has.
Kitchen planning
This was our opportunity to create our dream kitchen, so it goes without saying that the planning and design of the kitchen was crucial; understanding what we really wanted from it, choosing our suppliers, materials and finish.
We loved the streamlined nature of our old kitchen and wanted to evolve the concept: clear surfaces, no appliances on display, very design led. However, in reality, we were relatively limited with space and layout options. I was very aware of the lower ceiling height and felt strongly that putting upper-level cabinets in the main room would have made the space feel much smaller and more closed off. We also wanted to include a dining table.
When it came to the initial plan and design, we had been happy with Howdens for our old kitchen, so it felt obvious to work with them. In the end, we went for a simple run of low-level cabinets that lead into floor-to-ceiling pantry units on both walls as you enter the office. This gives us a functional and effective, well designed kitchen with everything we need.
We've got a built-in extractor hob, so no horrid extractor hood. The dishwasher and bins are built in, we've got a Quooker tap, and most importantly a utility garage built into the side of the pantry, so no appliances will be on show.
The pantry storage area is going to work so well for us. The boiler will sit in there, and after years of living with a single-shelf freezer and a small fridge, a double fridge freezer feels like a dream come true. We’re already planning batch cooking and looking forward to being able to shop properly without going to Sainsbury’s every other day.
For my ADHD, organisation is a real Everything thing – and that has very much informed this streamlined kitchen design. Having the pantry space means we can geek out and get everything organised and stocked up with jars of our dried favourite pastas, seasonings all in matching containers and a meal planner on the door.
Kitchen design
Again, balancing a period building with something modern can be done well through consistency with beautiful, quality natural materials – good bones, again!
We’ve used marble in both the hallway and living room, so it made sense to bring into the kitchen to tie everything back together.
The run of lower level cabinets layout gives us a full clear wall that leads up to the roof light and window light – errr hello, massive marble statement wall! A Rosso Levanto marble worktop and lower-level splashback, paired with an Antico splashback up to the ceiling and framing the window.
When we got into design, although Howdens’ quality is amazing, we couldn’t quite get the finish, design or colour to work in harmony with the marble. I wanted a very simple cabinet design in a quality natural material, with colour being equally important to ensure everything worked tonally.
Enter stage left: Naked Kitchens; a family-run business with everything is made bespoke in Norfolk, and they offer a game-changing doors-only option.
With the budget already battered (hello, marble), this high–low mix allowed us to invest in the stone, working with Howdens for the carcasses and Naked Kitchens for bespoke doors in the right design, colour and quality. The beautiful, considered joinery holds its own next to the marble without looking shabby – and at a really good price too. This kitchen is built to last.
Design-wise, I’ve added rich oxblood brown and reds, with accent colours and a neutral palette for the pantry in a soft warm grey. The colour palette is quite nature-driven, so it flows easily into the garden, which is important given how open the space will be in summer. Importantly, it’s also all in conversation with the marble and the rest of the apartment.
I’ll bring in more personality through design pieces: a big statement mirror, unique vintage chairs, art, interesting wall lights and plants. All my Everything pieces! The aim is to create something warm, inviting, dynamic and slightly unexpected.
The key to getting it right
So that’s literally the bones of it! Whatever your project, the lesson is always the same: it’s worth taking the time to plan properly.
The starting point for me is always thinking about what you need from a space, how you live, what it needs to be in conversation with and how you want to feel in it. Find your Everything feeling – a response that fully immerses and captures you (apparently, organisation and marble for me in this case!) and use that as your guardrail.
Ultimately, our homes are always a work in progress. It’s fun, and quite natural to use our homes to express our personality and creativity as it evolves – changing up furniture, colour and styling for years to come.
But start by getting good quality bones right that will stand the test of time. Take time to plan and design the things that not only make your house a home but tie it all together – the things you really don’t want to mess around with.
If all goes to plan, the extension will extend our space and use of the property but feel like it's been there forever. We get extra space to live in a way that suits us, and the apartment gets a second lease of life. When it’s done, it will be an Everything kitchen, I’m pretty sure I will love forever.
We’re already planning our first dinner party in two years. It will be a belter, but the guest list seems to keep growing… maybe next we need a bigger extension? JOKE.
